Notice all the adsense ads for this post – what does it have to do with “Mormon Underwear” (well, other than I mentioned the term “Mormon” once or twice)? I find it fascinating what Google can dish up some times.
Category: Religion
What I Would Have Written About Last Week if I Had the Time
I am on a crunch to finish a software release at Work, so haven’t had an opportunity to blog in the last week. Here are some items I would have blogged about if I had the time. Maybe I’ll still write about them:
- Al Sharpton Apologizes to the LDS Church, coincidentally around the same time the entire Church learns about Forgiveness in Priesthood and Relief Society.
- “Utah Now” on KUED and Comments by the Commentators of “The Mormons” on PBS.
- Directed Light Power Station in Europe and how I think it would make a good Garden piece
- Arizona Mormon sues Government for right to not pay taxes, “since his church will already take care of him.”
- My Beliefs in God and Why I would probably be Bhuddist if it all weren’t true (expect this one soon)
- My Tribute to my Grandmother, who is sick in the Hospital right now
My Dad, the CIA Agent
I have a theory my Dad is a CIA Agent. There – I said it. If this post is not here tomorrow you’ll know why. Oh, and all your minds are going to be erased after reading this.
You see, I had a friend in Thailand whose Dad was a CIA agent growing up. He posed as an Accountant, even worked for an Oil company in Thailand, and his family, as far as they were concerned, thought he worked for the Oil company.
One day his Dad never came home from work. After some worry and searching, the family came to find out their Dad was not at work at all, but was actually captured in the Killing Fields of Cambodia over the Thailand border. This guy also lived in Houston where I grew up, and I actually got to hear the story from the Dad while there. The Dad has an entire story of using Urine for mosquito repellent, eventually escaping from a hole in the ground, and running naked through the jungle escaping over the border into Thailand. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
You see, my Dad growing up would often spend up to a month oversees. He would travel to countries such as Nigeria, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria, and we even lived in Indonesia for three years. It was while living in Indonesia that the Libya bombings took place. He was actually in Soviet Russia just down the street while the Coup was knocking on the Kremlin walls. He was there multiple times before that (we have in our possession a Soviet General’s uniform, among several coins, Soviet memorabilia, etc.).
Then, in the US, he was working for another “oil company” in Houston during the entire time the whole Enron scandal was going on. He later moved to Virginia, and lo and behold 9/11 happens while over there. Not to mention the company he was working for at the time happened to have its own accounting scandal. He’s now in Boston – I wonder what’s going to happen there.
My Dad never talked about work much growing up. He was somewhat muscular. Maybe it’s the whole “superhero dad” thing, but I think I am left with no other conclusion. My dad is in the …. wait, I seem to be forgetting what I was typing about.
Comments
I just realized I had a ton of comments awaiting moderation. In switching to WordPress lately, I didn’t realize I had moderation turned on. In noticing I wasn’t getting any comments lately, I went and checked, and sure enough, there were over 50 comments awaiting moderation. My apologies to those who commented to get no response from me. I will go through all the moderated comments now and try to respond to any pending questions. I need to decide now if I want to leave moderation on or just turn it off and risk a little spam here and there.
My Review on “The Mormons” (PBS)
Recently, PBS released a Frontline Documentary entitled “The Mormons” (note the Mormon church now has a sub-path on pbs.org). Produced by Helen Whitney, the film strives to provide an unbiased viewpoint on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and what has gotten the Church to be as large and magnificent as it is today. Controversial topics such as Polygamy, the Mountain Meadows Massacre were covered thoroughly, with viewpoints from all sides presented, providing a generally unbiased viewpoint on the topics.
I thought it was fairly well done. While it would not be a missionary presentation the Church would use in teaching about their beliefs (why spend 1/4 of the first half on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and why so much time on the Fundamentalists, and what about the whole excommunication part?), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints put it best by saying, “At a time when significant media and public attention is being turned to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and when news media is so often accused of superficiality in its coverage of religion, this serious treatment of a serious subject is a welcome change.” The documentary was certainly a welcome relief to the biased accusations and anti-Mormon rhetoric presented to counteract Mormons in the public domain such as Mitt Romney running for President.
I only hope those not of my faith could feel the touching influence of the Holy Spirit reflecting truth as I did throughout the documentary.
Mormon Guy to the Other Mormon Guy: Thank You!
Ken Jennings, King of Trivia, I bow to you. You said my thoughts exactly. Perhaps it’s just because we both grew up in foreign countries, or maybe because of the geeky tech world we live in, but some how the anti-Mormon rhetoric and slurs seem worse than I remember growing up, and only seem to get worse as we move on. I wish they would all just stick to telling me what they believe. I can vouch for my own religion and beliefs, thank you.
Frankly, if others want to convert us, I suggest they try to find ways to make us happier, not try to take away from what already has made us happy. The continued jabs and stabs at our beliefs only offend, confuse, and hurt us. Our religion teaches us to inheritantly seek happiness. Most of us, especially myself, feel happiest when studying our beliefs. I have no doubt that if someone were to show us something happier and more joyful than what we have, we would seek it – I have only found that complete happiness in my Mormon faith though. There is nothing that has brought me more joy than the teachings of my faith.
As another Mormon Guy to the Internet: If you have something that will make me happier, please, teach that to me. Otherwise, please, as Ken Jennings said, shut up and think a minute!
“The Mormons” on PBS.org
I’ve mentioned my thoughts based on the trailer to the PBS Documentary, “The Mormons” that aired its first half tonight. My thoughts still remain the same – I think it’s an amazing documentary that remained pretty unbiased, a true educational tool for all types to learn about the Mormon religion. I felt the Spirit while watching.
I’d like to point out that pbs.org has made public a website devoted to the documentary today. There are Frequently Asked Questions, a forums area, and other items of interest that further explain the documentary. On Tuesday, you’ll even be able to watch the full program online. I encourage all to get on and participate in the discussions on there. I’ve heard plenty of reviews on the documentary itself. What are your thoughts on the website?
I Rode a Segway!
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| From 2007-04-28 Tu… |
I just got back from the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point, where they are Demoing Segways for people to try out. No hesitation, I was of course one of the first to try it out! I gave it for a whirl, then my wife – while it was pretty easy to move around once you got going, I have to admit it was not what I thought it would be like. It turns out, instead of leaning forward from your upper body as one would naturally do, you actually lean forward and backward with your feet at the ankles. You then use your hands and arms to turn the handle bars right and left to turn. It ends up feeling pretty natural, but afterwards my ankles were a bit sore. I will definitely have to add this to my Amazon Wish-list! For those that would like to try it themselves, starting next week (I believe 5/7), the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Draper, UT will start renting them out for $15 an hour. Get there early, as I imagine word will spread! Here’s some more pics from my wife’s and my date:
When Was the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Earth?
First of all, I apologize for the neglect in writing the last week. I was on vacation with my family to Disneyland – you can see the pictures on my picasaweb page.
I have been told again and again by various Seminary and Institute teachers that the Gift of the Holy Ghost was not on the earth during the period of Jesus Christ’s ministry. I am searching, but cannot find the source of that idea. In fact, I find evidence to the contrary. In “The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith”, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith (a later prophet of the LDS church and I believe grandson of Hyrum Smith), Joseph Smith says (p. 336), “John’s (meaning John the Baptist) mission was limited to preaching and baptizing; but what he did was legal; and when Jesus Christ came to any of John’s disciples, He baptized them with fire and the Holy Ghost.” Is this inferring that the Holy Ghost was given and existed during the time of Christ? I cannot find evidence of so in the Bible however.
Here are some other evidences of the Holy Ghost being on the earth:
Moses 6:52 (God talking to Adam) – “And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.”
Moses 6:65 (Adam being baptized) – “And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.”
So it appears Adam had the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Here’s an example of Noah having it:
Moses 8:24 (Noah preaching to the people) – “Believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not.”
I would almost wonder if John the Baptist, while we don’t have record of him practicing it, had the Melchizidek Priesthood, and therefore the possibility of the Gift of the Holy Ghost. In Matthew 3:4 it almost appears that John the Baptist (and by the reference, possibly Elijah as well) was endowed – in order to do so, I believe one must have the Gift of the Holy Ghost:
“And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair (Greek means “Garment”), and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey”
Are there any other references you are aware of? I guess the question should be, what times was the Gift of the Holy Ghost not on the Earth?
“The Mormons” Trailer on PBS
I was just made aware that PBS has released the trailer to their upcoming documentary on the Mormon faith, to be released April 30th. The url is here: http://www.pbs.org/mormons/view/2514.html?&c=3wm. I just hope it lives up to the trailer – I was very impressed! It seems to stay true to the facts, while sharing all controversies that have arisen through the faith. I believe all commentators save one are non-LDS, but the one, Terryl Givens, was my Bishop in Richmond, VA. He is an English Professor at University of Richmond, and also teaches various religion classes there – he’s perfectly appropriate for this series. He’s a very smart guy on many fronts. The other guys seem to also share an objective view of the faith and will I hope give a good contribution to the documentary. I felt the Spirit during the trailer – I hope the actual series projects the same feeling.
