#Lessons from Joseph Smith revelations

[trberman]

Trusting God’s Purpose: Lessons from Doctrine and Covenants 3–5 in Church History

Photo by Rachel Strong on Unsplash Life has moments when everything feels uncertain, and as humans, we often wrestle with mistakes and doubt. Doctrine and Covenants 3–5 reminds us that God’s purposes remain steady, even when our own choices falter. These sections, given during pivotal moments in Joseph Smith’s history, teach us about trusting in the Lord, the power of repentance, and how divine…

[mindfulldsliving]

CFM | Understanding the Spirit of Elijah: Doctrine and Covenants 2 and Joseph Smith's History 1:27-65

This week’s Come Follow study of the Doctrine and Covenants highlights the eternal connection “The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn to their Fathers.” Understanding these scriptures help us understand the fulfillment of Elijah’s return, restoration of priesthood keys, and the sealing power of in temples uniting families beyond mortality. Through the Angel Moroni, Joseph Smith received divine…

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Can the Mormons talk honestly about polygamy?

▲ The Unification Church bought this church in Washington, DC, from the Mormons.

Can the Mormons talk honestly about polygamy? A new book could help. The unknowns about eternal polygamy are ‘answered with speculation and myths, creating undue fear and angst,’ says the author of a new book.

Religion News Service July 29, 2021 By Emily W. Jensen

https://religionnews.com/2021/07/29/can-the-lds-talk-honestly-about-polygamy-a-new-book-could-help/

Ten years ago, as I finished up teaching a Relief Society lesson, in which I discussed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ history of polygamy, my local Relief Society president came up to me and whispered, “You know, the Holy Spirit left the room the moment you said the ‘p’ word.”

The idea that a word could cause the Holy Spirit to flee in terror still makes me stammer — which is just what I did that day in response to the Relief Society president.

Oh, how things have changed. Today most of us own that polygamy was practiced by church members before it was outlawed in Utah in 1890. We should also be able to admit that its theological framework is still found in the church in many places. Talking about it shouldn’t be discouraged.

The church seems to agree, at least so far as to publish through Deseret Book a new tome called “Let’s Talk About Polygamy” by LDS church historian Brittany Chapman Nash. At a slim 134 pages, this little book delves deeper into the practice than its size lets on, hitting the points that every church member should know.

But they generally don’t. Even with the church-sponsored Gospel Topics essays on the subject and various historic works, including those in the church-sponsored Joseph Smith Papers, far too many members still believe that polygamy is an unspeakable word or maintain that Smith never practiced it.

Nash’s little book fills that informational void nicely. At its very beginning, she defines the practice, explaining that what went on among early LDS leaders’ families was actually polygyny (the taking of multiple wives), not polygamy (the taking of multiple spouses), but that polygamy is the more common term.

The book relates the history of the practice in the early church and its messy untethering process at the dawn of the 20th century. Nash wonderfully includes many women’s voices of the time in describing their reasons for embracing polygamy or rejecting it, and she explains the polygamous sealing process, which today’s temple sealing ceremony obviously echoes, even though the sealings are now done monogamously.

She also makes plain why so many early members felt they had to ascribe to the practice: Brigham Young, among others, taught that those men who were to be elevated to the highest degree of heaven and become Gods were those who entered into polygamy. Later, Wilford Woodruff, the LDS president who ended it, tried to soften Young’s dictum by explaining that men only needed to marry one other woman, not many multiples of women like so many high church leaders were doing at the time.

The book busts the myth that not many Mormons practiced polygamy, explaining that although the numbers aren’t exact because existing records are incomplete, taking Manti, Utah, as an example, at its height, just over 40% of its population was in polygamous households.

I appreciate that Nash trusts me as a reader and gives the age of Joseph Smith’s youngest wife, Helen Mar Kimball, as 14, not, as the Gospel Topics essay does, “sealed to Joseph several months before her 15th birthday.”

In her final chapter, Nash asks, “What does polygamy mean to saints today?” She goes head-on at the idea that many members are uncomfortable with the idea of polygamy as it was practiced then and worry that it will be practiced in the hereafter. Clearly, we are still haunted by our polygamist past.

As perhaps we should be: Nash explains that the revelation has “never been denounced” by the church. This means that while men can be sealed to multiple women eternally — if their wife dies or they are divorced and granted a clearance, say — women are painfully and misogynistically not afforded the same sealing promise.

The unknowns about eternal polygamy, Nash notes, are unfortunately “answered with speculation and myths, creating undue fear and angst within some Saints.”

Nash cites President Dallin Oaks, who in 2019 began his general conference talk describing a letter from a woman who was afraid of having to live in the same eternal home with her husband and his first deceased wife. The remark was greeted with laughter from the audience and a smile from Oaks.

I noted on Twitter then that you should never make fun of women afraid of eternal polygamy. Or, as another writer has said: “We haven’t really engaged with the issues, either institutionally or culturally. And by refusing to engage with the problems, we’re essentially telling our sisters and brothers who face them that we don’t care about their situation, because all is well with us.”

After all, Doctrine & Covenants 132, Smith’s revelation on eternal and plural marriage, which we are studying in this year’s Sunday school curriculum, is still canonized.

Overall, I do think this book will shake some members’ faith. That’s because many members still see polygamy as a “p” word, not to be uttered. But I’m grateful for the deft historical hand Nash wields in constructing a small but powerful work on polygamy. Let’s do talk about it. Emily Jensen She is the web editor for Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought and co-editor of “A Book of Mormons: Latter-day Saints on a Modern-Day Zion.”

(The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)

_______________________________________

Can the Moonies talk honestly about polygamy?

VIDEO: Hyung Jin Moon admits his father had sex with six Marys

[relatablemormonmoments]

April General Conference 2020

These are my personal notes on each of the talks given. This is to give those who chose not to listen to conference a chance to select which talks they would be comfortable listening to or reading.

Talks will be marked as such. This is the level of suggestion I have for interacting with each talk

Read and Listen to

Listen/Watch

Read

Don’t bother

Saturday Morning Session

Russell M. Nelson (Listen/Watch)

Life’s personal trials stretch far beyond this virus

If you are prepared you shall not fear - personal spiritual storehouses

Stand in holy places and be not moved

Seek to hear Jesus Christ who speaks to us through the power of the Holy Ghost

As our hearts change and we commence a lifelong quest to hear him

M. Russell Ballard (Read)

The Lord has watched that family forever, Joseph Smith was ordained in the premortal life for eternity.

Because the family was united, they survived these challenges when starting over in Palmyra, New York.

Joseph: Felt great confusion from many religious revivalists contradicting eachother

The bible did not contain all the answers to life’s questions, but rather told men and women how to find these answers through fervent prayer

Joseph asked the personages which sect was right -> fullness of the gospel would be noted to him at some future time

Joseph prepared to be a prophet of G-d

“No such things as visions or revelations”

Joseph was persecuted for his visions

Moroni appeared to Joseph to tell him about the plates

Hyrum witnessed the Gold plates and was one of the first members of the church in 1830.

Hyrum was promised the power to escape if he wanted to, or to lay down his life to glorify G-d

Hyrum sealed his testimony in blood

A faceless group of cowards became the mob that killed them

In life they were not divided and in death they were not separated.

“Mother, weep not for us, we have overcome the world”

“And G-d shall wipe away all tears from their eyes”

They come to know G-d through their suffering in ways that could not happen without it

As we listen to the spirit, share it and be courageous.

James R. Rasband (Read and Listen to)

Without the Book of Mormon, where would I turn for peace?

Trust in His atoning sacrifice

The more we understand, the more we will have reassurance that the Book of Mormon can comfort our souls

To bring about the plan of mercy and the demands of justice

Alma tormented by the pains of hell, believing he had murdered G-d’s children by leading them away, but then realised that they were saved by Christ’s Atonement

The thought that rescued Alma was the Atonement

King Benjamin declared that the glad tidings of joy came in the righteous judgement of men

We are accountable when we are not ignorant and we still sin - we can repent

How can those we harm be made whole?

ALL G-d’s children will be given the opportunity

The pain of our own mistakes is the fear of limiting our childrens’ joy.

Commands us to do all we can to make restitution

Can require a simple apology or years of humble effort

Joy D. Jones (Read and Listen to)

Women’s continuing roles in the restoration

As exemplars and devout leaders of the faith

Early sisters unitedly followed the prophet

“Sisters, it is our turn!”

To be a woman in this time is an especially noble calling

What children can do as they step forward->Is it hard to be the prophet?-> Hard to strive to be like Christ, Follow the example of Moses (the Lord loves effort), like piano lessons, requires practice to progress -> I want little Pearl to be the next prophet

Our journey indeed takes effort, hard work, and study

Offer up the desires of our hearts to G-d

G-d knows each of us by name and has a role for each of us to fulfill

The Lord expects us to receive revelation from him

“Increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.”

We are promised a crown of righteousness

Prevent General Conference Overwhelm

The spirit helps us determine which work to do today

Our continuing ride is to receive revelation

We can then inspire the rising generation to do the same

Every woman and every man has direct access to the power of G-d

As women we must recognise our covenants as direct access to G-d

World’s greatest champion of women and womanhood is Jesus Christ

Neil L. Anderson (Read and Listen to)

Despite living in danger, Joseph continued proclaiming his truth

We are being blessed openly and spiritually, and in times of difficulty, the saviour brings these experiences back into our mind

“What I received was from Heaven, I know it and G-d knows that I know it.”

President Nelson was a heart surgeon uwu

“It’s a miracle” -> President Nelson had been directed by G-d

Glasses lost in ocean -> prevented driving car -> would be stranded -> “Praying would do nothing” ->his pair of glasses rested in her hand

114 years old -> missionaries give a blessing to critically ill baby -> miraculously recovered -> baptized at 103 years old, endowed at 104, now takes 14 hour bus ride to visit temple every year.

“Help me to never forget what I have felt” (on woman reading Book of Mormon and knowing it was true)

Abish believed! ABISH!

"A beautiful, warm, loving spirit surrounded me”

Sometimes fire, sometimes ideas, sometimes intelligence

Signs may not be grand or loud

Many have heard him but not realised it

We worthily do

Prayerfully listen and keep commandments

These experiences are for children as well

“Did G-d send a message that was just for me?”

ooo animation

Our book of life, luminous stones that help brighten the world ahead

I met this dude (Neil L. Anderson), he’s a sweetheart. He shook my hand. I had just joined the church at the age of five and had not yet seen more than 2 conferences

As you acknowledge and treasure the spiritually defining events in your life, you will find more.

Douglas D Holmes (Read)

New children and youth initiative

Principles the program is built on

The Lord is trying to help all of us

Relationships in our ongoing journey to Christ

Parents, friends, family members, leaders

Be open and honest with each other as we strive to be better together

When we see through Heavenly Father’s eyes, we will see their eternal worth

What you learn is who they are and who they can become

Knit our hearts in unity and in love

It’s not enough just to be bound together, we also need experiences

Word of G-d is spiritual power

Fuels our desire to repent and walk the covenant path. 

We allow the saviour to change us and become the best version of our selves,

Allow G-d’s children to choose to do what is right

Invitation to choose to become like saviour.

Goals are a tool that can help us come to heaven.

We need to engage in it

“They desire a cause”

“Only the Gospel can save the world from the calamity of its own self destruction.”    ------> ew this is kind of a yucky way to say it 

Empowering the youth

“You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation”

See the youth as President Nelson does

The youth will amaze you with their abilities and insight into the Gospel

Ultimate Purpose

Henry B. Eyring (It’s my boy!!!!) (Read and Listen to)

Inspiration has come to us

“In what way is my part vital”

Feel more joyful, optimistic and determined in serving the Lord

He will lift each of us

The work of the Lord is almost incomprehensible to mortals

Glorious promises made to the fathers

Energy, skill, and abilities of the Saints

Prophet Daniel

The Lord will offer the gift of his gospel to every nation and people

The power of G-d is upon it

Take upon them the name of Christ to grow in spiritual power

Obeying the commandments increases spiritual power

Pray in faith = revelation

As we face today’s challenges, every breath should be a prayer to  G-d

Always remember him and keep his commandments

Use all your power to call upon G-d to unleash the chains that bind you

Our determination can strengthen us in our resolve

Like Enos, have faith, be made whole

Goatee!!! XD

Pray while smiling, speak to Heavenly Father with joy in your voice

Your prayer will be received with a smile

May we find joy in the work

[bongaboi]

Texas: 2019 Alamo Bowl Champions

AUSTIN — Sam Ehlinger didn’t say those cursed words. Tom Herman didn’t mock an opposing player. Bevo didn’t attempt to maim another mascot.

This time, Texas took its bowl win in stride.

The Longhorns (8-5) reveled on New Year’s Eve, of course, after a stunning 38-10 demolition of 11th-ranked Utah (11-3) in the Alamo Bowl. But their words and reactions were more measured Tuesday night at an Alamodome brimming with burnt-orange gear.

“I think it taught a lot of the young guys that when you play together, you play mistake-free, you have fun, and then you lock in … that our talent can take us pretty far,” Ehlinger said Tuesday night. “Then once you add in mistake-free football, watch out.”

The junior quarterback added, with a self-aware smirk: “And so I think that it’s a great — I don’t know how to word this — but I’m not going to do this again. I’ll leave it at that.”

Is the way Texas won on the final day of 2019 the blueprint for the future? That’s yet to be determined with new offensive (Mike Yurcich) and defensive (Chris Ash) coordinators joining the staff and more changes likely to come.

Still, there’s reason to believe Texas won’t squander its bowl momentum — real or imagined — this time. It won’t have to deal with the same senior exodus, though losing offensive studs Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay and the respected voice and presence of defensive end Malcolm Roach will require an adjustment.

Texas will be flush with talent again in 2020, as it is every year. The material is always there on the Forty Acres, waiting to be shaped into a contender. But Herman admitted the coaches, himself included, failed in their duty to grow and develop these players in 2019, the main point cited in his staff shakeup.

Against Utah, many of those highly recruited players looked ready to move from “prospect” to “contributor.”

“You look at their guys, man for man, talent-wise,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said, “that’s got to be one of the best, if not the best, 7-5 — now 8-5 — teams in the country.”

Other Longhorns, like Alamo Bowl defensive MVP Joseph Ossai, seem poised to leap from “talented but inconsistent” to “certified game-changer.”

The sophomore linebacker could be a critical piece for Ash as a versatile pass-rushing menace who can play in the more traditional spot or attack off the edge. He was nigh unstoppable against Utah, swimming through and bowling over defenders to drag down quarterback Tyler Huntley three times to go with another three tackles for loss.

The defensive dominance of Ossai and his teammates was a welcome palette cleanser for Texas. The best news for Herman and Ash: 12 of the 14 players who recorded multiple tackles will return in 2020, barring any potential transfers. And that doesn’t include freshman corner Chris Adimora, who came up big with a first-down saving tackle and a breakup of a potential touchdown pass on Utah’s final first-half drive.

“What was going on out there was just us having fun, and us having confidence in the defense, the defensive scheme,” Ossai said. “We bought in 100 percent and went out there and executed. I think that was the key thing tonight, executing. We’ve done a poor job — I myself have done a poor job in the past of executing, and today I feel like we executed at a high level and the result was pleasing.”

Ehlinger never has operated at the college level without center Zach Shackelford, Duvernay and Johnson.

That means freshman slot receiver Jake Smith and 6-foot-4 sophomore Brennan Eagles will be thrust into more prominent roles, and that 6-6 converted tight end Malcolm Epps will need to grow more comfortable as a wideout. Junior tight end Cade Brewer, if healthy, could become Ehlinger’s new safety valve, and 6-2 freshman wideout Marcus Washington will have a chance to fight for more reps.

Ehlinger, now with three bowl wins and 33 starts under his belt, will have to nurture all of those players and aid in their growth. A backfield stocked with sophomore Keaontay Ingram, freshman Roschon Johnson and ballyhooed 2020 signee Bijan Robinson should alleviate some of the pressure, though the buck will stop with Ehlinger.

Texas again will have its mettle tested early with a Sept. 12 trip to Baton Rouge. Taking down possible defending national champion LSU in Week 2 would put not just the Big 12, but the entire country on notice.

That’s looking too deep into the future, though. Herman and his new coordinators have their work cut out for them, but what happened on New Year’s Eve in San Antonio at least served as a beacon of hope after a dispiriting regular season.

“Those guys, we had our ups and downs with that crew throughout the season,” Herman said. “But I think not just the four hours tonight, but throughout the bowl preparation, I think the light bulb went on as to what it takes to win at a championship level, and I’m excited to carry over those lessons into the offseason.”

[brothermouse]

I’m not annon, but I might be a little bit qualified to answer this. I’m a practicing member of the LDS Church and I’m interested in Church history.

Quick Church History lesson: There are two major points in church history were schisms have occurred. The first is the Secession Crisis, the second is the Manifesto.

The Secession Crisis occurred in the aftermath of the death of Church founder Joseph Smith. At the time of his death, Smith had been practicing and teaching some kind of polygamy, but it’s unclear how it worked. He was sealed (a sort of spiritual marriage) to multiple women, but only fathered children with his wife Emma. So sex may not have been a huge aspect of the sealings? One break off group, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now known as the Community of Christ) denounced polygamy altogether and would later appoint Joseph’s son as their leader.

The larger group however, followed Brigham Young, who would lead them to the Utah territory. This is the LDS Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Young tried to make more sense of polygamy and set up a more concrete structure for it. From around the 1850s to 1890 Church members and leaders worked to find a workable model of polygamy. One point that made it functional was not making it mandatory, which avoided the male child abandonment issue mentioned above. Also, things like divorce favored women. Anecdotally a woman in a polygamist marriages could divorce her husband for practically any reason she wanted. At it’s height only between 20 to 30 percent of members were in polygamist families.

In 1890 Church President Wilford Woodfuff issued a Manifesto officially terminating the practice of polygamy. That manifesto has since been canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants (A collection of revelations from Church leaders-mostly Joseph Smith). You can read it here, he gives the reasons for the change. It ended new polygamist marriages, but tacitly allowed pre existing marriages to continue.

Some members disregarded the manifesto and entered into new polygamist marriages in secret, leading to a second manifesto in 1904 by Church President Joseph F. Smith (remember the "F", he's a relative Joseph Smith). The Second Manifesto had much stronger wording and set the church policy of excommunicating those who officiated or entered into polygamous marriages. This is where the Fundamentalists broke away, believing that Church leadership had gone astray in stopping polygamy.

So now the FLDS church continued to practice polygamy, they set up their own leadership and priesthood and try to avoid the notice of federal law enforcement. In the meantime the LDS worked to rehabilitate their image through outreach and missionary work (when you think of Mormon Missionaries, you’re almost certainly thinking of LDS).

Because the FLDS made polygamy their whole jam, it led to a lot of problems. I may be wrong here but I believe that participation in polygamy is essential or at least highly important in salvation, according to their doctrine. That means that having only 20-30 percent practicing it is rookie numbers. Everyone has to participate. Then you have too many boys, not enough girls, you know the problems.

These different attitudes made the main differences in how LDS and FLDS would develop into the modern day. LDS has over 17.2 million members with 6.8 million of those in the US. FLDS on the other hand are mainly concentrated in small isolated communities and have at most an estimated 10k members.

So that’s the history lesson, let’s look at your questions:

In the Mormon world, what defines a Fundamentalist? Polygamy mostly. Within the Mormon world, polygamist and fundamentalist are practically interchangeable words.

Are there changes in LDS doctrine and practice that have been made that have divided the two, or is it more related to differences in interpretations? As I pointed out earlier, the LDS church denouncing polygamy was the main issue. But there are also differences in interpretations, such as how both believe Church hierarchy should work, the purpose of polygamy, etc.

And are these differences perceived as schismatic or otherwise a source of conflict between FLDS and LDS community members? In my experience, from an LDS perspective, we don’t really feel much in common with the FLDS. The cultural and theological gap between us is huge. I feel like I have more in common with that Community of Christ than the FLDS. They don’t want anything to do with us and we’re not to keen on associating with them.

I think annon is a little off when they say that the LDS turns a blind eye to FLDS practices. First, the fact is the FLDS are very closed off. They have decades of practice in operating without notice. Second, even if we did notice, there’s not much we can do besides report it to the authorities. We don’t control the cops, so we can’t force an investigation. They’re a completely different organization, so we can’t excommunicate or disfellowship them.

Ultimately I think it’s important for non Mormons to keep in mind that there are over 17,000,000 LDS members and less than 10,000 FLDS members. The FLDS are a lot easier to sensationalize so you see a disproportionate amount of chatter about them.

That said, I saw the original post op added to and, hoo boy. I feel like a little critical thinking could have helped you recognize hate speech and propaganda. At the very least a check with Wikipedia could have cleared most of this up. Next time, before you reblog something that called an entire group of people evil hate mongering monsters, maybe ask yourself, which is more likely: There’s a huge group of people out there who are literally Satan incarnate, or a stranger on the internet is trying to make you mad/scared enough to engage with their post so they can get more fake internet points?

Hey you're mostly correct with your addition to the mormon post, I just want to point out that male child abandonment is specific to fundamentalist LDS members. The mainstream church doesn't do that, they just turn a blind eye when the FLDS do.

Thanks for the clarification, anon. Assuming you see that I replied, or that someone with more precise knowledge on the subject sees this, do you think you could send another anon/reblog this expanding on the differences between the FLDS and the LDS? In the Mormon world, what defines a Fundamentalist? Are there changes in LDS doctrine and practice that have been made that have divided the two, or is it more related to differences in interpretations? And are these differences perceived as schismatic or otherwise a source of conflict between FLDS and LDS community members?

None of my questions above are rhetorical or sarcastic. I am sincerely inviting you, or someone as knowledgeable or more, to expand on the subject so interested readers can learn more about the realities of the FLDS and LDS communities outside of what news outlets discuss and commonly confuse and conflate. On my part, pretty much every non-LDS or FLDS member I've met (meaning most people I've met in general) has never heard reliable, clear explanations about where the two denominations separate or why.

[gellyopal]

Sunday afternoon 4/7

Dallin H. Oaks

The Laws of God contrast the Laws of man in that the most serious crime cash cause life in prison without hope for parole in the later versus redemption and forgiveness with the former.

Except ye repent ye can in no wise inherit the blessings of heaven. We must repent of all our actions or inactions that do not follow the commandments. We must also bring forth works of righteousness.

If we give all our might, mind, and strength we can become pure. Mortal judgement is used to seek divine guidance and will judge things such as baptism readiness and ex-members seeking to come back.

Divine judgment will look at our acts and desires of our heart. After the judgement we will all how and proclaim Jesus's judgement will be just. Good desires will be restored to good, evil to evil, filth to filth. To be clean before God we must repent before we get to the judgement seat.

We cannot hope for repentance in the spiritual world. This life is where we are better able and supple to change.

Will the restoration restore us of all our thoughts and addictions? It will not, those thoughts will be used to judge us.

--------------------

Juan Pablo Villar

Muscles only grow when we use them. The same is true for spiritual muscles. Learning about them is not enough to become stronger.

Visiting his brother on a mission he spent over 10 hours walking along his brother and companion. Though he was not taught a lesson, he grew a lot spiritually.

If men humble themselves before God, his grace is sufficient and the weak things can be made strong. We are given weakness so that we may be humble.

--------------------

Girret W. Gong

The symbol of Jesus Christ as our shepherd is powerful because no one would fulfill that role better. He recognizes the faithfulness of the 99 even as we seek after the 1.

Seeking to follow Jesus will set an example that others will follow. He warns is to look for false prophets who come in sheep's clothing but inward are raving wolves.

A woman developed a testimony when she found herself trying to save a young man caught stealing groceries.

--------------------

David A. Bednar

Everyone had the responsibility to seek and learn the gospel and receive essential ordinances. We need to learn for ourselves just as Joseph Smith did. We cannot expect the church to give us what we need, what cannot get all we need by simply attending church.

Nephi had goodly parents and rightfully still sought to understand for themselves. Sould we be able to read and comprehend all things written about Mans relation with God we would know very little.

The ultimate MTC are our homes. The most instructive Sunday school classes are family learning. Family history centers are at home. So are temple preparation classes.

We may be unsure what we can and can't say about the temple. The temple is a sacred place so we have reluctance to say anything, but this will only decrease desire to go to the temple.

Don't describe or show symbols, and don't talk about things promised to not talk about. Utilize videos on the church website to know how and what we can freely explain.

--------------------

Kyle S Mckay

God's timing is different from ours. A soon to come can mean a lifetime later. With Joseph in Egypt, God gave him peace but released him from jail only on his time.

If you repent without a hard heart you will immediately be given power of redemption from the atonement. In the face of death of oneself or a loved family member God can bring comfort immediately and it is great.

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Ronald A. Rasband

Pondering teaching from conference at home is key to understanding what has been taught. The emphasis on personal and family study is designed to increase our personal conversion. Our homes are only as powerful as the spirits of those living in it.

Prophets are watchmen who can see the movements of the enemy and warn us of them.

Though crafty and cunning Satan will not will. He strikes with flattery, with ease, comfort, a high for when we are low.

Building spiritual fortresses can help us turn our backs on Satan, preventing his advances.

Those with faith in God can hope for a better world. Seek to be like Jesus in all that you do.

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Russell M Nelson

Announced future rebuilding and rededication of many older temples, temple square, and Church plaza.

Please listen carefully and reverently. Don't call out of a temple to be built near you or near your heart.

May we dedicate our lives to serve God. Revelation continues and will continue until the work is done.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 13 August 2018

Quick Bits:

Astonishing X-Men Annual #1 is a rather dark tale of reuniting the remaining members of the original five X-Men and the current creature claiming to be Charles Xavier running around as X. Given his attitude in Charles Soule’s run and now in this story penned by Matthew Rosenberg, there still seems to be something very wrong with the once altruistic, peaceful founder of the team. I personally don’t really like this character, but it still leads to a good story from Rosenberg, Travel Foreman, and Jim Charalampidis. 

| Published by Marvel

By Night #3 is another fun issue with a bit of a twist as we follow Heather’s father and Jane’s co-worker instead of the women. The voice John Allison gives to Heather’s father, Chip, is hilarious, the perfect mix of no-nonsense “dad” thought and aimless absurdity.

| Published by Boom Entertainment / Boom! Box

Cable & Deadpool Annual #1 is a very entertaining issue of time-travel nonsense and Deadpool being tricked into a recreation of the plot of Terminator from an obsessive stalker. David F. Walker packs this story with humour, creepy lesson teaching, and a bit of a monologue on the nature of comics storytelling. All nicely illustrated by a rogues gallery of Paco Diaz, Danilo S. Beyruth, Nick Bradshaw, Luke Ross, Marco Rudy, Edgar Salazar, Flaviano, Francesco Manna, Leonard Kirk, Chris Sotomayor, and Jason Keith.

| Published by Marvel

Coda #4 packs the issue with more stunning artwork, from character designs to page layouts and panel transitions, by Matías Bergara (with colour assists from Michael Doig). This series is just a visual treat. It also helps that the story from Bergara and Si Spurrier is equally incredible, taking many of the traditional forms and modes of fantasy literature and turning them into something new. The opening poem outlining the fall of the world and the rise of Sir Hum’s wife is particularly inspired. 

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Coyotes #5 is a welcome return for this series after the trade break, beginning a new story-arc that goes more in depth to the history between the wolves and the grandmothers, as the book’s purpose pivots to the offence. I love the ingenuity of the mythology of this story being built by Sean Lewis and Caitlin Yarsky. Also, like the first four issues, Yarsky’s art is just stunning.

| Published by Image

Crowded #1 is great. The concept of tapping into our current app-driven and crowdfunded world is brilliant, especially as extended to an assassination app in reapr. Christopher Sebela, Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, Triona Farrell, and Cardinal Rae seem to have captured magic in a bottle here and the execution is just phenomenal. The characters of Charlie and Vita are instantly relatable, the premise is on fire, and the art is exceptional. I really want to see what Charlie isn’t telling us.

| Published by Image

Ether: Copper Golems #4 is another stunning visual feast from David Rubín. Seriously, he has outdone himself this issue, as he handles the usual fantasy sequences, then changes art styles several times as we get our characters living out some of their fantasies. His work is just stunning. The story that he and Matt Kindt are telling just keeps getting better and better.

| Published by Dark Horse

Extermination #1 begins the next big X-Men event with a bang as past, present, future, and alternate universes collide in this explosive issue. I feel like discussing just about any piece of it is a spoiler, so I’ll just suggest that if you’re at all interested in the original five brought to our time, you need to read this. Ed Brisson, Pepe Larraz, and Marte Gracia present an impressive opening salvo.

| Published by Marvel

Flavor #4 is a bit of a piece-shuffling issue, as Xoo spends a bit of time in jail and we get a couple more hints as to the something that is being done with children. Although we still don’t know what, and a bit of a revelation of Anant’s mother. Joseph Keatinge, Wook Jin Clark, and Tamra Bonvillain continue to work wonders on this series. Highly recommended for all ages. 

| Published by Image

Gideon Falls #6 ups the level of weird in this concluding chapter of the first arc. To say that the implications of that final page are confusing, compelling, and chilling is an understatement, as Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, and Dave Stewart construct one of the oddest instalments of this series yet. A lot of this series has been in building tone and atmosphere, spooky unexplained happenings, and here the story goes full David Lynch. It’s wonderful.

| Published by Image

The Gravediggers Union #9 is the conclusion to what has been an exciting and different take on the occult and elder gods mythology from Wes Craig, Toby Cypress, and Niko Guardia. Fittingly, this end comes down to the family conflict that this arc has revolved around, and it’s a well played out finale. I highly recommend this series.

| Published by Image

Hunt for Wolverine: The Claws of a Killer #4 is probably the least satisfying “conclusion” of these minis so far, giving us a kind of hand-wavy explanation for what they were tracking, no insight into the organization who brought about these zombies while resurrecting family members, and Daken shuffled off to who knows where. Mariko Tamaki successfully captures the tone and atmosphere of many of the original Wolverine series stories laced with action and black ops, but unfortunately also carries on its tradition of obfuscation instead of an enticing mystery. Nice art from Butch Guice, Mack Chater, Cam Smith, and Jordan Boyd, though.

| Published by Marvel

Ice Cream Man #6 is highly inventive, even for a series as highly imaginative already that this one is. Instead of one story, here, W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, and Chris O’Halloran give us three different flavours to fulfill the “Strange Neapolitan”. It’s a mostly silent issue of three different paths our protagonist can possibly take with each of them presenting their own flavour of horror. This is a really great issue.

| Published by Image

Infinity Wars #2 is pretty damn epic. I know that the pieces will be reshuffled and everything will be put back together more or less as we found it, but hot damn are Gerry Duggan, Mike Deodato Jr., and Frank Martin working overtime to tell a heavy story here. The art is some of the best I’ve ever seen from Deodato and Martin and the stakes have just ratcheted through the roof. I’m loving every moment of this book so far.

| Published by Marvel

The Lost City Explorers #3 is still doling out the tension as the kids continue to try to evade Sagan security on their way to try to find Hel and Homer Coates’ father’s discovery site under New York City. We’re still only get bits and pieces before a revelation of whatever the discovery actually is, but Zack Kaplan, Alvaro Sarraseca, and Dee Cunniffe are still presenting a compelling story.

| Published by AfterShock

Luke Cage #1 is another digital original like Cloak & Dagger and Jessica Jones, and also like the latter series offers two chapters at once, and is really rather good, from Anthony Del Col, Jahnoy Lindsay, and Ian Herring. This sets up an interesting mystery of a strange kind of serial killer, the possibility of Luke suffering from CTE, and the wonderful family dynamic between Luke and his daughter.

| Published by Marvel

The Magic Order #3 continues as a slow burn as Madame Albany and her coterie keep working their way through murdering her family members, all while those family members attempt to track down information on who her assassin is and how to stop him. Mark Millar, Olivier Coipel, and Dave Stewart are crafting a wonderful story here that reminds me a bit of Wanted, but good and about magic.

| Published by Image

Multiple Man #3 takes a particularly dark turn as Matthew Rosenberg, Andy MacDonald, and Tamra Bonvillain toss us into the dark future where an evil Madrox reigns. Of the dark futures where the X-Men stories have taken place, this is probably one of the most twisted, even as Rosenberg peppers it with some nice humour. The throw rug in particular is hilarious.

| Published by Marvel

Ninja-K #10 is a single issue story focusing on Ninja-H and the horrors that soldiers can have to deal with and how they sometimes cope with it. It has some great art from Larry Stroman, Ryan Winn, and Andrew Dalhouse.

| Published by Valiant

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #308 is probably the best issue of this series since Chip Zdarsky and Michael Walsh’s single issue story of Peter and Jonah hashing it out in issue 6. Zdarsky shows us here that he really excels at getting into the head’s of some of the characters, giving us a good look from their perspective, and humanizing them. He does that here with Flint Marko, the Sandman, and it feels like an interesting transition to something else. It also helps that it’s wonderfully illustrated by Chris Bachalo and his usual team of inkers of Tim Townsend, Al Vey, Wayne Faucher, and John Livesay. This is a great start and I’m excited to see what comes next for this story.

| Published by Marvel

Rumble #6 begins this volume’s second arc and is the other series with glorious David Rubín artwork this week (this one with colours from Dave Stewart). I love this book, with its fun mix of humour and arcane magic and fantasy, and how John Arcudi, originally James Harren, now Rubín have built the characters, the overall story, and the absolutely beautiful artwork.

| Published by Image

Stellar #3 takes an interesting look at the existential price of war and at the notion of “you can never go home again” in this somewhat depressing, but no less entertaining, issue.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Thor #4 is the glorious conclusion to this opening arc sending Thor to Niffleheim to fight Sindr in this leg of the War of the Realms. The artwork from Mike del Mundo is incredible.

| Published by Marvel

Tony Stark: Iron Man #3 builds another largely single issue story into the larger arc, with a beta test of Tony’s new eScape platform. I like how Dan Slott and Valerio Schiti have been approaching this series and building up Stark’s supporting cast, while also progressing the recurring subplot of Bethany Cabe’s subterfuge and X-51′s newfound robot rights activism.

| Published by Marvel

Volition #1 is another interesting debut from AfterShock, this time focusing on a world featuring artificial intelligence that hasn’t sparked an apocalypse, instead adapting and continuing on as just another class within society, fighting to survive and combat prejudice like their human counterparts, as created by Ryan Parrott and Omar Francia. The art is gorgeous and a real driving factor for the story, Francia’s style reminds me a bit of JG Jones and it’s incredible.

| Published by AfterShock

Weapon H #6 continues to be that weird, offbeat comic from Marvel that used to be published in the ‘80s or ‘90s that nobody read, but was actually rather good. Greg Pak has been doing a great job of building up this rather eclectic cast of characters and the art has been wonderful. Here Ario Anindito takes on the art chores with Morry Hollowell and it’s quite nice. His style reminds me a bit of Brian Hurtt mixed with Leinil Yu and it really fits the gritty action of the story.

| Published by Marvel

Weapon X #22 is more irreverent fun with the “new” Weapon X-Force team as they follow the money instead of altruistic reasons for saving people (though their second mission out already sees a reversion to the old remit). It’s a not-so-serious take on what is almost a team entirely composed of villains with a good sense of humour and action from Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente, Yildiray Cinar, and Frank D’Armata. It’s also another good place for some obscure X-mythology insertions and follow-ups in the story. 

| Published by Marvel

The Weatherman #3 continues to keep readers a little off balance with some of the elements in the story, echoing what’s going on with out protagonist, Nathan Bright. Jody LeHeup, Nathan Fox, and Dave Stewart are crafting something here that feels a lot like some of the zanier action strips from 2000 AD and it’s pretty glorious.

| Published by Image

Other Highlights: Analog #5, Babyteeth #12, Cinema Purgatorio #15, Crude #5, Deadpool: Assassin #5, Doctor Strange #4, Edge of Spider-Geddon #1, Evolution #9, Infinity 8 #5, Jeepers Creepers #4, Jim Henson’s Beneath the Dark Crystal #2, Jughead: The Hunger #7, Mage: The Hero Denied #11, Manifest Destiny #36, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #30, Mysticons - Volume 1, Proxima Centauri #3, RuinWorld #2, Sherlock Holmes: The Vanishing Man #4, Spider: School’s Out #6, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Terra Incognita #2, Star Wars: Beckett #1, Star Wars: Poe Dameron #30, Summit #8, TMNT: Bebop & Rocksteady Hit the Road #3, TMNT: Urban Legends #4, Usagi Yojimbo: The Hidden #5, The Wicked + The Divine #38, Witchfinder: The Gates of Heaven #4

Recommended Collections: Bettie Page - Volume 2: Model Agent, East of West - Volume 8, Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories - Volume 2, Kill or Be Killed - Volume 4, Old Man Hawkeye - Volume 1: An Eye for an Eye, , Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 3: Amazing Fantasy, Rose - Volume 2, Transformers: Lost Light - Volume 3

d. emerson eddy has now been doing this incarnation of weekly round-ups for a year. Has it really been that long?

[eldermillarmissionblog]

White Mountain YSA Transfer 3

Hello everyone!

Hope your week has been good! I don't have much time to write an email today but here are some quick updates:

We got transfer news on Saturday night and Elder Walker and I are both staying in the area. We are both super excited. We are practically the same person and get along great…haha.

We had an awesome lesson with Juan this week and brought a member with us. Juan is such a stud. He is really doing well overcoming his personal struggles and has desires to start coming to church and to surround himself with positive influences. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to make the Savior a more integral part of his life :)

We did a fun service as an entire zone this past week removing pavers around a monument on Main Street in Snowflake. It was a little crazy though because we had about 40mph winds and and dust was flying everywhere. 

Spiritual thought:

Practically my entire mission I have shared the message of Spiritual CPR (church, pray, read). There are so many blessings we can all experience as we read the scriptures, pray to our Father in Heaven, and worship at church. However, as Elder Walker and I studied this concept this week, we came across a scripture that added a deeper meaning to these principles. The scripture is found in the Doctrine and Covenants, which is a collection of modern revelations given to the prophet Joseph Smith. Some revelations were messages from the Lord to specific individuals and others were meant for the Church in general.

Doctrine and Covenants 6:20-21

20 Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.

21 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.

We especially liked the part that talks about how we should "treasure" up the word of God in our hearts. It was interesting to see that it doesn't just say that we should keep the word in our hearts. It says to treasure them -- or see and understand their value. In reference to Spiritual CPR, we can read the scriptures, pray, and go to church, but are we getting anything out of it? I would invite you all to "treasure" in your mind and heart the value of studying the scriptures, earnestly praying, and faithfully worshipping at church. I know that as we dedicate ourselves more to having meaningful Spiritual CPR we will develop a strong relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen :)

Love you all! Make it a great week!

—Elder Millar

Pics:

Zone activities and service

Saying bye to Elder Ricks

We were asked to draw our favorite animal from the Book of Mormon. I took some liberties. XD

A giant pig.

[readbykena-blog]

13 years - 305 books

I am an avid reader and friends frequently ask me what I am reading. Here I will try and post a brief review of each book I read. To begin with here is a list of books I have read over the last 13 years. Feel free to ask me any questions.

2017: (22)

-Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

-Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

-Corporate Communication, Theory & Practice by Joep Cornelissen

-Mariette in Ecstasy by Ron Hansen

-Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

-A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

-Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

-Theorizing Crisis Communication by Timothy Sallow and Matthew Seeger

-Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism by Eric Burns

-The Global Public Relations Handbook by Krishnamurthy Sriramesh and Dejan Vercic

-The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

-When My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park

-The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

- Introducing Communication Research by Donald Treadwell

- We are never meeting in real life by Samantha Irby

- Ethics in Public Relations by Kathy Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Bronstein

- The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

- Origin by Dan Brown

- What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton

- Social Media Communication by Jeremy Harris Lipshultz

- A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

2016: (20)

-A Renegade History of the United States by Thaddeus Russell

-Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

-The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale

-Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

-The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

-The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

-The Speechwriter by Barton Swaim

- In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

-The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

-The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

-But What If We're Wrong by Chuck Klosterman

-Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

-Brewster by Mark Slouka

-Rosemary The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

-The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

-The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith

-Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

-The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

-The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

-A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman 

2015: (29)

-All The Truth Is Out by Matt Bai

-Double Down by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann

-The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

-Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

-Yes Please by Amy Poehler

-A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

-All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

-The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

-The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

-To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway

-In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway

-A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka

-The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway

-Persuading Scientists by Hamid Ghanadan

-The Splendid Things We Planned by Blake Bailey

-Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

-A Heartbreaking Word of Staggering Genius by David Eggers

-Polio, An American Story by David Oshinsky 

-The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer

-Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

-One Summer America, 1927 by Bill Bryson

-Brain on Fire by Susannah Catalan

-The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

-The Making of Modern Medicine by Michael Bliss

-People I Want to Punch in the Throat by Jen Mann

-Internal Medicine by Terrence Holt

-The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

-The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

-The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

2014: (10)

-David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

-Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants by The Oatmeal

-Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

-Wild by Sheryl Strayed

-Stiff by Mary Roach

-An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

-Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

-Dataclysm by Christian Rudder

-Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracey Kidder

-Columbine by Dave Cullen

2013: (13)

-The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner

-The Path Between The Seas by David McCullough

-Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

-I Wear the Black Hat by Chuck Klosterman

-Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

-A Hologram For The King by Dave Eggers

-Inferno by Dan Brown

-The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

-Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky

-Monkey Mind by Daniel Smith

-The Brief Wondrous Live of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

-Truth in Advertising by John Kenny

-The Cell Game by Alex Prud'Homme

2012: (16)

-Walden by Henry David Thoreau

-Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

-The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman

-Overtreated By Shannon Brownlee

-Listen To Your Heart by Fern Michaels (TERRIBLE BOOK!)

-The Ten, Make That Nine Habits of Very Organized People. Make That Ten, by Steve Martin

-The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

-Baby Proof by Emily Giffen

-Natural Experiments of History by Jared Diamond

-The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

-The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

-Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

-Secrets of The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg

-A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

-The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

-Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

2011: (20)

-Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

-I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

-Tinkers by Paul Harding

-How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

-What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

-The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

-The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee

-An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

-Tea Time For the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith

-Bossypants by Tina Fey

-The Pearl by John Steinbeck

-Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

-Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillian and Al Switzler

-Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

-The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

-Of Thee I Zing by Laura Ingraham

-A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

-Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

-The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

-Trust Me I'm Dr. Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne

2010: (26)

- History's Worst Decisions and the people who made them by Stephen Weir

- Junky by William S. Burroughs

- One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

- Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman

- Food Rules by Michael Pollan

- Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler

- Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

- Drive by Daniel Pink

-The Help by Kathryn Stockett

-The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

-US Americans Talk About Love Edited by John Bowe

-For You Mom, Finally by Ruth Reichl

-The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter

-Cowboys Are My Weakness by Pam Houston

-The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

-Barrel Fever by David Sedaris

-You Are Not a Stranger Here by Adam Haslett

-Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

-The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

-The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

-I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

-The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

-Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris and Ian Falconer

-Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

-A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

2009: (22)

• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

• Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella

• A Long Way Gone, memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah

• Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

• Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill

• Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet

• Crawfish Mountain by Ken Wells

• My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

• Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

• A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

• Mistakes Were Made, by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

• Gertrude by Herman Hesse

• The Sportswriter by Richard Ford

- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

- The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

- Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

- When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

- Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

- Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich

-The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

-Super Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner

2008: (21)

• The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

• Inside the Minds, The Art of Public Relations by CEOs

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

• Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol

• The Pig Did It by Joseph Caldwell

• The Known World by Edward P. Jones

• Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck

• Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susan

• Wired by Bob Woodward

• One Pill Makes You Smaller by Lisa Dierbeck

• A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

• Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg

• Pound for Pound by F.X. Toole

• All the Way Home by David Giffels

• Bonk by Mary Roach

• In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin

• Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris

• The Sea by John Banville

• Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman

• Female Chauvinist Pigs, Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture by Ariel Levy

2007: (28)

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

• 1984 by George Orwell

• What Ifs? Of American History edited by Robert Cowley

• The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer

• Rabbit, run by John Updike

• Life of Pi by Yann Martel

• The Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer

• Pigtopia by Kitty Fitzgerald

• FiSH by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen

• The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

• 1776 by David McCullough

• Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

• Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

• Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart

• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

• Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald

• Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

• Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis

• The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

• Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

• A Dog Year by Jon Katz

• 1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles Mann

• IV by Chuck Klosterman

• Devil in the Details by Jennifer Traig

• The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

• The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

• Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

2006: (27)

• Collapse, How societies choose to fail or succeed by Jared Diamond

• The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

• Freakonomics by Levitt & Dubner

• Harry and Ike by Steve Neal

• State of Denial by Bob Woodward

• Crossroads in American History by James McPherson & Alan Brinkley

• The Lexus & The Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman

• The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant

• Strategery by Bill Sammon

• Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

• Japanese Canadian Redress, The Toronto Story

• The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War by Howard Blum

• The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

• Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

• Red Weather by Pauls Toutonghi

• Wifey by Judy Blume

• Frantic Transmissions to and from LA by Kate Braverman

• Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs

• Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

• A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

• The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

• The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-time by Mark Hadden

• A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

• Marley & Me by John Grogan

• The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

• Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell

• Boni y Tigre by Kathrin Sander

2005: (51)

• Guns, Germs, And Steel by Jared Diamond

• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

• Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

• The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf

• A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

• Mary Magdalene by Lynn Picknett

• Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson

• The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

• Bob Dylan Chronicles Volumn 1 by Bob Dylan

• Smashed by Koren Zailckas

• Culture Shock Costa Rica by Claire Wallerstein

• The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs

• Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim by David Sedaris

• Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart

• All the President's Men by Bernstein & Woodward

• The Final Days by Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein

• The Secret Man by Bob Woodward

• Shadow (5 Pres. & the Legacy of Watergate by Bob Woodward

• All Politics is Local, by Tip O'Neill

• What's the Matter With Kansas? (How Conservatives Won the Heart of America) by Thomas Frank

• Don't think of an Elephant by George Lakoff

• Confessions of a Political Junkie by Hunter S. Thompson

• America The Book by Jon Stuart

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

• The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

• Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

• Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

• The Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London

• Animal Farm by Goerge Orwell

• Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnecut

• The Stranger by Albert Camus

• Empire Falls by Richard Russo

• The Great Fire by Shirly Hazzard

• A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

• Skirt and the Fiddle by Tristian Egolf

• Drive Like Hell by Dallas Hudgens

• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

• Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

• Deception Point by Dan Brown

• Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

• The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyers

• Angry Housewives by Lorna Landvik

• The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

• Loving Che by Ana Menendez

• Wolves in Chic Clothing by Carrie Karasyov & Jill Kargman

• Citizen Girl by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

• And Sister by Sophie Kinsella

• Trading Up by Candace Bushnell

[mindfulldsliving]

Hearken, O Ye People: A Call to Repent and Return to the Lord

“Hearken, O ye people” isn’t just an invitation—it’s a command from the Lord. Doctrine and Covenants 1 is His call to review our hearts, repent, and recommit to His covenant. Given as the preface to the revelations of this dispensation, this section emphasizes the urgency of listening to His voice and aligning our lives with His will. It’s not just for the early Saints; it’s for all of us today.…

[nerdygaymormon]

Joseph Smith--History : God can be found outside church

I think there’s many lessons for queer people in this book.

It’s interesting to read how Joseph chose not to join the church his mom attended and she was okay with that. That’s a level of self-determination not often found in LDS households. Studies have shown that attending a conservative church, such as the LDS church, is harmful to queer people and what a wonderful thing it would be if they were free to explore other churches or even to choose not to go, not required to go to unsafe spaces.

Joseph read James 1:5 in the Bible and decided to ask God which church to join. He relied on personal revelation as to what to do about church attendance.

What we can learn from the way Joseph’s parents and family reacted?

Joseph shared his answer with a preacher who treated the answer with contempt, saying it is from the Devil. Wow does this hit home, the number of times I’ve heard it said that if a person received an answer that doesn’t match what the current church president says on the subject that the person was deceived, the answer is from the devil. We should trust people when they tell us the answer they received to a heart-felt, sincere prayer.

Not only did the preacher say this answer to Joseph’s prayer was from the devil, he also said that there is no such thing as visions and revelations, those ceased with the apostles and there would never be any more. When church members today tell queer folks that there’s not going to be more revelation concerning their place in this church, we sound like those preachers. Who are we to limit God?

Whether it was in his home, in his bed, or in the woods, many of Joseph Smith’s most important spiritual experiences did not occur in the pews of a church. Most queer people leave church, and fortunately church is not the only, or even main place, that we can connect with the divine.

[thesinglesjukebox]

NEON TREES - USED TO LIKE

[6.62]

Seems like we still do…

Alfred Soto: Apparently The Singles Jukebox has a history reviewing Neon Trees, and, interestingly, so have I. The guitar crunch and enthusiastic chorus promise pre-hip-hop pleasures — by a CMJ-beloved quartet in 1986, say. In a timeline devoid of verities, young bands must make their own. Or find them. [4]

Kylo Nocom: When rock radio acts are either annoyingly ubiquitous or complete one-hit-wonders, Neon Trees being a two-hit wonder always seems to make their legacy a bit awkward given that it seems like it barely exists. Of course, “Everybody Talks” and “Animal” remain among the best pop rock hits of the century so far with their incessant twee energy. Even if the title phrase could read as a self-aware Hail Mary attempt à la “Never Really Over,” “Used to Like” has a confidence that suggests a reality in which their style of nervy power pop has always remained en vogue. The highlights include the pseudo-“Fireflies” synth melody and the bridge’s glitched breakdown — certainly features that date the song, yet feel indescribably joyful right now. [8]

Tobi Tella: Less schticky and more honest than I expected from the band, but also trends less interesting. I appreciate the attempt at propulsion and fun in the chorus and bridge, but I think going a little further would’ve given it more impact. [6]

Edward Okulicz: The groove is rubbery, the hook is dinky, the song as a whole is… cuddly? That can’t have been the goal, but like the accidental invention of Teflon, the result sticks, it just works. [7]

Brad Shoup: The line “get back to what you used to like about me” might be… a little emblematic, but hearing Tyler Glenn murder some vowels in the bridge really did send me back. After all this time, Neon Trees’ pneumatic new wave remains more uncanny than one thousand hypnagogic pop acts. [7]

Ian Mathers: There is, of course, a tinge of self-loathing to the idea of going back to what used to be likeable, or loveable, or even just tolerable, about yourself. Not only have circumstances shifted away from what you want (now, although god knows we often don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone), but we’re placing the blame and the solution strictly on ourselves. Of course, demanding that someone else “gets back to what you used to like about me” puts it in the realm of the person who changed on you showing up at your door and expecting you to act like nothing happened. Which doesn’t make them nice, but nice isn’t always the same as appealing. [7]

Andy Hutchins: The parallel paths of Neon Trees and The Killers — bands of Mormons and ex-Mos from desert lands that toured together because the latter essentially discovered the former — fascinate me. The Killers struck with classically rock songs and have kept both making those songs and getting weirder for 20 years, becoming one of the biggest bands in the world at a time despite their singles having no purchase at pop radio: They haven’t had a top-40 hit since Brandon Flowers immortally wondered “Are we human or are we dancer?” and yet released a platinum album in 2012 and an album that debuted at No. 1 in 2017; a third is due this spring, and it’s probably going to be even more of Flowers making his band the millennial equivalent to U2. It’s probably going to be pretty good and sell even if it barely registers in the pop mainstream. Tyler Glenn, on the other hand, is the kind of former Mormon who’ll spit on Joseph Smith and revel in a lack of sobriety while working toward 15 years of trying to write the perfect pop song. “Used to Like” is not that, but its energy jangles, and its romanticizing of the liquored-up fuck-up Glenn is happy to play is at least trying to make an anti-hero compelling. Especially while The Weeknd is in the midst of working the same gimmick on the other end of the dial as a Vegas tourist, it’s nice to have a local providing the view from the ground, raging against his own dying of the light. [6]

Jackie Powell: Tyler Glenn told Billboard in November that “Used to Like” is about the pain that comes and goes when a co-dependent relationship shatters. That much is clear in the visual treatment. The loneliness is given a very modern image that is overused in our 2020 vernacular: the ghost. A white sheet/ghost figure follows Glenn through the void of his own loss. He meets someone at a bar and the mood changes. The ghost steps aside and stops its pursuit, but by the end of the clip, we see that Glenn didn’t slay the ghost. It greets him in the morning leaving him feeling melancholy. The track itself is a well-mixed solute of the entire Neon Trees discography, giving fans nostalgia while also inviting in newcomers who want to rock out and simultaneously feel a bit droopy. Producer Mike Green mixes the melodic and rhythm guitar of Habits, the dark ’80s synths of Picture Show and a touch of the high energy but depressing undertones of Pop Psychology. Glenn’s storytelling is like a three-minute brisk workout all about modern love that runs circles around the New York Times column and its corresponding Amazon Prime series. It simply does the job with more energy and speed. Elaine Bradley’s drumming keeps the tempo and the track moving because when her beat keeping cuts out with seven seconds remaining, Glenn brings his “yeah yeah yeahs” down the octave and down a dynamic, symbolizing that the marathon has been run. The lesson has been learned. This track aids with the transitional emotional journey that we don’t really talk about. But do we really talk about why people used to like each other anyway? Maybe Glenn is saying we should. [8]

[academicatheism]

What do you think about Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, paganism, and other beliefs?

Judaism is plain false. They believe in the same war god the Christians believe in. Their eschatology was either borrowed or at best co-created alongside Zoroastrians. The rabbis condone unspeakable things in the Talmud and that’s not to mention open disagreements that can’t be coming from the same source. Judaism is plagued by the same thing other religions are plagued by: the fingerprints of religious men. If it were truly a revelation, the fingerprints of men wouldn’t be present at all. If it were a religion revealed by a god that is nothing like humans, there wouldn’t be obvious examples of pedophilia considered halakah, which is a term signifying that an act is in accordance with Jewish law. Jews till this day celebrate Simeon ben Yohai, a rabbi who endorsed pedophilia.

Hinduism and Buddhism are quite connected. The ancient asceticisms were noble, in part, but today’s Hinduism is quite disconnected from that. It’s far more diverse with each locality having their gods and representations of certain gods. Secular versions of Advaita Vedanta or Zen Buddhism are unproblematic as these would ask us to achieve mental equanimity, inner peace, self-control, and a number of valuable things. There’s that and meditation is beneficial. I regard Hindu and Buddhist myths as false; asuras, the Narakas, reincarnation, and their entire eschatology are bunk. I also regard the gods of Hinduism as false, for some are credited with creating the universe and I maintain that this universe simply isn’t created and could not have been.

Sikhism has a militant history, but also has palpable connections to Islam and Hinduism. The issue in Sikhism is similar to what I discussed about Judaism: too many gurus purporting to have a revelation from Ik Onkar. This revelation is achieved through nadar and this is how truth is received and known. Yet the gurus had known disagreements. Once again, the fingerprints of men are too present, the desires of men too pronounced. 

Paganism is quite the umbrella term, but included in it are mythology like the now dead religions of the Ancient Greeks, Romans, and indigenous African cultures, the mystery religions that emerged alongside Christianity, and the occult: theosophy, Thelema, Satanism, and Wicca. My knowledge of each varies, but I’ve found enough in all to know that while some of them teach lessons of value and point to truths, specifically about humans, none of them are worth my affiliation. Thelema, for example, has a Kantian principle at its core: in the Liber, the Thelemite is to respect the autonomy of others. “Do what thou wilt” extends not only to oneself, but to others, and this is achieved in realizing that the distinction between oneself and other people is entirely an illusion. As such, the autonomy in you is also the autonomy in them; implicit in this is the Kantian idea of treating others as ends in themselves rather than as means, treating them as self-governing beings rather than seeking ways to use and exploit them. This, to my mind, is probably the marquee truth in all of ethics and it is echoed in Thelema. Despite that, however, I see no good reason to devote myself to the three gods in The Book of the Law.

Ultimately, a religion that earns my affiliation would either have a god that actually exists, rituals that have demonstrable utility, and/or a cosmogony and/or eschatology that is in keeping with what we know about the universe through science. Any religion that is false, unethical, inhumane, or impractical in some way isn’t worth my affiliation. That’s precisely why I’m not religious. Religion is a product of culture, but it is also a response to some sociopolitical need at some given time in that culture’s history. This is why ancient religions that still exist today have as a part of them these inexplicable stories and laws that make modern folks cringe. There’s obviously something repulsive about asking parents to take their disobedient children to the city to get stoned to death and yet, this is exactly what we find in the Bible. Whatever the ancient Jews’ needs were are unbeknownst to us, but such a law makes no sense in the eyes of modern people. Religious law, philosophy, and cosmogony are outmoded and should be treated as such. No religion is a revelation; they are all an inadequate response to a problem at some time in a culture’s history. Clearly, these purported solutions might have covered the wound, but in many cases, they allowed for it to get infected.

Note: I’d like to point out that I lumped in what some may consider cults, but cults and religions are difficult to demarcate and develop over very similar trajectories. While religions serve more communal needs, cults may serve a personal need or the needs of a small group. Joseph Smith may have fabricated his numerous visions just so that he could have multiple wives. Or he could have been trying to undermine the Orthodoxy. Whatever his motivation, it was personal. Mormonism might have started out as a cult, but today it’s a recognized religion.

[lds-talk]

Hey. So. I'm an inactive member. When I first prayed about the BoM, the answer came in a very specific and powerful way. So I thought at the time anyway. For a long time after that I couldn't get anything like that (or anything discernible at all really) as a response to prayers. A while ago I returned to the place I offered that first prayer and asked a question, and asked that the answer came in the same way it came the first time. It did, but the answer was wrong. Thoughts?

Hey there! thanks for stopping in. first, i want to discuss a little bit the answers between these two very specific occasions and all the times you feel like it was hard to discern answers. It is extremely hard once you’ve had wonderful and powerful experiences with the spirit to fine tune yourself to the little more subtle feelings of the spirit. They are so small and quiet .. almost unnoticeable. This is the most common way the spirit communicates with us, and it takes a long time to learn how the spirit is communicating with us. Sometimes... the answer that The Lord is giving us, is no answer.  I was studying this recently and will touch on explaining this again later.  I know from personal experience that sometimes once we have a strong experience we feel like that is how we will get most answers when that is unlikely. when I first seriously studied and prayed about the Book of Mormon   I didn’t feel like I had an answer for months, I was expecting a Moroni 10:3-5 answer... Just like other people I know had experienced. I wondered what I was doing wrong, I didn’t doubt the book.. I just felt ignored and was waiting for that confirmation. I remember kneeling down and probably quite rudely expressing to Father how ignored I felt, asking why He wouldn’t confirm the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon to me...  as i prayed these words came clearly into my head... more clear than anything  “ you already know it is true so why do you keep asking me” This was exactly what I needed. Because I did already know... that knowledge came through reading and studying (I am also an extremely candid person, i don't do sugar coating things) It made me rethink why I kept asking for something I already knew... But is was 100% not what I expected. We need to be prepared for that. On the subject of praying again and receiving answers that may be wrong or different... remember the gift of discernment. we are not restricted from other influences... remember the first vision?  Joseph smith was overcome by a demon... a very being and follower of Satan.. trying to stop Him from doing the very thing that would bring to pass The restoration of Christ’s Gospel enabling us to walk back to our Father in Heaven... He didn’t want it. so He tried to stop it. I cannot say anything specific on that because I am not you.. I do not know your question or the answer you were given. On the subject of the Spirit.. and sometimes our answers not being what we expect.. or sometimes no answer.  there is an institute lesson on this and many conference talks.  if you would like some let me know and i can post links. but here are some quotes out of that lesson :“We do not always receive inspiration or revelation when we request it. Sometimes we are delayed in receiving revelation, and sometimes we are left to our own judgment and understanding based on study and reason. We cannot force spiritual things. It must be so. Our life’s purpose to obtain experience and to develop faith would be frustrated if our Heavenly Father enlightened us immediately on every question or directed us in every act. We must reach conclusions and make decisions and experience the consequences in order to develop self-reliance and faith.”   - Elder Dallin H. Oaks “He is our perfect Father. He loves us beyond our capacity to understand. He knows what is best for us. He sees the end from the beginning. He wants us to act to gain needed experience.“When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence.“When He answers no, it is to prevent error.“When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with His teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act.“Most often what we have chosen to do is right. He will confirm the correctness of our choices His way. That confirmation generally comes through packets of help found along the way. We discover them by being spiritually sensitive. They are like notes from a loving Father as evidence of His approval.If, in trust, we begin something which is not right, He will let us know before we have gone too far. We sense that help by recognizing troubled or uneasy feelings.”  Honestly this reply is probably going to get too long. All I can invite you to do is to read the book of Mormon (and the Bible) to pay attention to those thoughts and feelings that come into your heart and mind as you read. Watch the latest general conference if you haven’t already. I promise you .. you will find answers as you listen and read!  Talk to you Father in Heaven, ask to recognize your answers. Be patient with yourself...  I dont know if you’d feel comfortable at church... or even feel like you can attend. But I know sacrament meeting is a wonderful place to feel the spirit and find answers ... when you feel ready. Some scriptures to read: Doctrine & covenants 6: 14-15, 22-23 Galations 5: 22-26 1 Nephi 4-6 Doctrine & covenants 9: 8-9 Moroni 7:16 2 Nephi 32:8-9 3 Nephi 11: 3 Helaman 5: 30 1 kings 19: 12 The Book of Mormon introduction Moroni 10:3-5 I hope This was somehow able to help you. I wish you all the luck in the world finding your answers.i’ll be praying for you. if you want anymore rescourse for reading.. or some help.. please come flick us a message - Kita xx 

[spenfenn-blog]

Success—A Journey or a Destination? Success-- A Journey or a Destination? Hartman Rector, Jr. Following the theme that was so masterfully developed this morning by President Tanner, I would like to present a few thoughts on success. Success is that illusive and almost indefinable goal to which all men are looking, but success is hardly ever the same thing to two different people. The dictionary defines success as “the favorable termination of a venture,” which implies it is a risky, daring, or dangerous undertaking. A second definition is, “the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence,” and surely this is the most commonly used definition today. We are prone to apply the term successful to those who look prosperous or wealthy or appear to have scaled the pinnacle of accomplishment in their own particular profession. Whether a man be a doctor, lawyer, financier, builder, politician, an admiral or a general, an actor, an airline pilot, or an athlete, all these and many others have the term success applied to them. But is this really success? Man’s definition of success is, many times, very difficult to comprehend. Some feel to be right is to be successful. Henry Clay said he would rather be right than president. Perhaps he felt successful: he ran for the presidency three times and failed all three times. “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. After some years it can boast a long series of successes.” (Abner-Eschenbach.) “The reasonable man will know that the actual magnitude of success obtained bears no real relation to the amount of pleasure that is conveyed; the man who becomes prime minister or wins a Nobel prize is not really more elated than he who secures a trophy for playing Ping Pong or wins a bronze medal for growing large chrysanthemums.” (Harold Necholson.) The Lord doesn’t seem to measure success in terms of attainment of position or power or wealth. A prophet in the Book of Mormon (where, by the way, the most succinct and unvarnished truths can be found) said, “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Ne. 2:24–25.) If man is that he might have joy, then success to the Lord must include the attainment of real joy. On the basis of this definition, then, no one is really successful who is not happy. If this be the Lord’s definition, then there is precious little success in this world. Success in its practical application seems to be more a state of mind than anything else. Obviously, many people never make it because they are ungrateful. They are not thankful for what they have; therefore, they are unhappy and thus are not successful. I have never seen a happy person who was not thankful for what he had, to paraphrase the Prophet Joseph Smith, who stated that “doubt and faith cannot exist in the same person at the same time.” (6th Lecture on Faith.) It is also doubtful that success and unhappiness can exist in the same person at the same time. Generally speaking, we are unhappy because we are dissatisfied, and this because we pursue after things that cannot make us happy, even if we obtain them. In the words of H. W. Beecher, “Success is full of promise till men get it, and then is as a last year’s nest, from which the bird has flown.” There is a great lesson to be learned here. Some think of success as obtaining “something for nothing” or the securing of a great bargain. The words of James Russell Lowell seem particularly applicable. He said, “Earth gets its price from what Earth gives us.” In order to be happy, it is particularly important that we learn that everything has its price and not expect something for nothing. This seems to be what earth life is all about--to teach us the lesson that as ye sow, so shall ye reap. We cannot receive something for nothing: on the contrary, we will pay for everything we receive. To continue with Lowell’s quote: “Earth gets its price from what Earth gives us; The beggar is taxed for a corner to die in. … We bargain for the graves we lie in; At the devil’s booth are all things sold, Each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold; For a cap and bells our lives we pay, Bubbles we buy with a whole soul’s tasking. For ’tis heaven alone that is given away, ’Tis only God may be had for the asking. …” (“The Vision of Sir Launfal,” Stanza 3.) How true this is! We pursue after bubbles many times, thinking they will make us happy and that obtaining this particular bubble would make us successful. There are many, many bubbles for sale. This is another word for material possessions, which the world would have us believe are necessary to make us happy. We get the idea from modern advertising that happiness comes from the accumulation of material possessions. We must have a new house, a new car, or a snowmobile, or maybe even a boat. Elder ElRay L. Christiansen tells an interesting story about his neighbor who bought a boat. He really couldn’t afford a boat; but he bought it anyway, because he had a credit card. In order to pay for the boat, he had to take a second job, which meant he had to work on Saturday. This, of course, left one day per week on which he could use the boat. When do you suppose that was? Yes, you are right--it was Sunday. But he loved his boat and invited Brother Christiansen over to admire it, saying, “Isn’t it beautiful? What shall we name it?” (Now, you see, it is a member of the family--it has to have a name.) Brother Christiansen said, “Why don’t you call it The Sabbath Breaker?” (Conference Report, April 1962, p. 33.) Now, please don’t misunderstand me--I have nothing against boats. I have a friend who has a boat, and he calls his boat “Never on Sunday,” which, of course, is a better name for a boat. There is no real joy or happiness in the accumulation of material possessions. There are too many people today who are so miserable in this life that they cannot stand themselves. They are seeking any avenue of escape--to get out of this life, even to taking their own lives. Many of these people have material possessions heaped up in piles all around them--and many of their associates would say they were successful. But material possessions have not made them happy. The Master emphasized this when he said, “For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26.) And then he added significantly, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33.) A young man came to see me recently who had been called by the Lord to fill a mission. He was a fine young man--handsome, strong, sharp--but he said he didn’t want to go on his mission because there were other things that he would rather do. As we visited he told me that one thing he would rather do was drive a dune buggy. We talked about the relative merits of trading eternal life for a dune buggy; and he decided, perhaps, that was not exactly a fair exchange. I suggested to him that if he still wanted to drive a dune buggy after he had filled his mission, the Lord would probably let him do so, since the Lord always grants unto men “according to their desire.” (Alma 29:4.) We must not be misled. The only real joy and happiness we can know here upon this earth, as well as in the eternities, will come through obedience to the Lord’s commandments. Alma’s statement that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10) is still valid. Again he has said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (John 13:17.) He did not say, but could have said, “Unhappy are ye if you don’t.” Sometimes young people get upset because they do not know what profession to follow. They feel it is so vital that they must have a revelation from the Lord, so they will know what to do with their lives. Generally speaking, I’m not sure that the Lord really cares what we choose as a vocation--whether we are a plumber or a librarian--so long as we keep the commandments of God. Of course, it is sometimes easier to keep the commandments when we are happy in our professions, and to that extent it is important that we do something we enjoy. The Lord, through living prophets as well as prophets in earlier times, has made it abundantly clear where real joy can be found, and he has placed the emphasis for real joy squarely on the family. President David O. McKay’s statement that “no other success can compensate for failure in the home” will forever live in our hearts. President Harold B. Lee uttered an equally significant statement when he said, “Now, you husbands, remember that the most important of the Lord’s work that you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home.” (First Presidency Directive, April 14, 1969.) These statements and others update and reemphasize the Lord’s injunction to Adam and Eve in the Garden when he commanded them to “be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth.” (Gen. 1:28.) Why should they do this? “That ye may have joy and rejoicing in your posterity.” The Lord gives no commandments to his children that are not calculated to make them happy and thus successful. Therefore, he has added to the basic commandment of “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth,” the reason for so doing: that you may have joy and rejoicing in your posterity. Lehi’s statement that “man is that he might have joy” takes on even more significance in light of this and the foregoing statement made by living prophets. And the Prophet Joseph Smith also added to this statement when he said, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it. …” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 255.) From what we have considered, that path inevitably leads to the altar of the temple. I have, many times, seen the Spirit lift choice young people who had come to the temple to become a family; and it seemed to me in these instances that the temple became a “heavenly family house,” the sealing room became a “heavenly family room,” and the altar of the temple became a “heavenly family altar.” For as they knelt there, they were joined by the Lord through his priesthood for all eternity and thus were made “one,” a family, in the Lord. The importance of this ordinance cannot be overemphasized, for if we raise a family outside the temple, we may lose it. We have no promise with respect to the continuation of family ties after we leave this life unless the covenants have been solemnized at the altar of the temple. Otherwise, it is only “until death do ye part.” God is the Heavenly Father of the human family. He is obviously concerned with families. If you doubt it, look around you. We are all his children--we belong to him. For this reason, he has commanded that a house be built for his family. Our heavenly and eternal Father wants us to be happy, so he has established and ordained families as the basic unit of his church. Yes--and also of exaltation in his celestial kingdom. Happiness seems vital to success, or is it that success is vital to happiness? Either way. I do not believe I have ever seen happy parents who had unhappy children; and, conversely, I have never seen unhappy children who had happy parents. So, then, what is required of parents, who have been so joined in the Lord’s house, concerning their children? First, they are to love each other--this is so vital; then they are to welcome choice spirits from the Lord and teach them to love the Lord, keep his commandments, and walk uprightly before him. When they do this, they have given these children the foundation for attaining real joy here in this world and in the world to come. For they will have eternal life, which is the ultimate success, and they will be made rich. “… Behold, he that has eternal life is rich.” (D&C 6:7.) May this be our goal, and may we be willing to pay the price to obtain it and not be taken in by all the misinformation which is abroad in the land today about birth control, abortion and sex education, and other Satan-inspired philosophies; that we may look to the Lord and follow his living prophets and oracles today. I pray that we will, for I bear witness that God our Heavenly Father lives, and that he hears and answers prayers, and that he is concerned about his children, so much so that he sent his Only Begotten Son that we might have immortality and eternal life. May we follow him, and may we keep his commandments, and may we be successful, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.