Leaderboard

I’ve served as bishop for just over 5 years. Several weeks prior to meeting with the stake president I’d received a witness that the call was coming. Even so I spent sleepless nights when the call came wondering what I’d gotten myself into by accepting and how could I, with all my warts and weaknesses, be considered worthy and able. I’ve reached a point that while not really comfortable with the calling I at least somewhat know what I’m doing. There is a sizable number of people who on a regular basis offer thanks to me for what I do, but there are also those who are not happy with me or feel I’ve failed them. With them feeling that way I suppose it’s safe to say that I have. While serving, our ward council has seen some changes. Including those who were serving when I was ordained and set apart we’ve had: 5 bishop’s counselors, 3 executive secretaries, 2 ward clerks, 2 RS presidents, 4 YW presidents, 5 Primary presidents, 3 YM presidents, 3 HPG leaders, 4 EQ presidents, 4 SS presidents and 4 ward mission leaders. A number of those served for relatively short durations prior to moving out of the ward and a couple of the women were released when they were dealing with problem pregnancies. Bottom line, lots of fluidity in the ward council and much more when looking within the organizations. I suppose I could say I’ve had 7 counselors as the two women who served as RS president have been de facto counselors for me. As you would expect, the hours of working to keep up with everything have at times been long. The phone calls at all hours are trying. My favorite question to ask when an issue is brought to me is, “who is the home/visiting teacher?” I’m a big fan of delegation and have done so extensively. Even with doing so, it’s been a hard row to hoe. On the other hand I love the kids in the Primary and I am not a “kid” person. I’m tickled when a child’s eyes light up because, “…THE BISHOP BUMPED FISTS WITH ME!!!” My absolute favorite part of the call has been to interview the kids just prior to their baptism (with the office door cracked and their parents sitting right outside). The best one was the boy who had a cheat sheet in his little suit pocket so he could give the right answers. My amazement and gratefulness for how so many people step up to help others in so many ways grows daily. But I’ve also been burned by individuals who know and milk the system. That hurts. I will note that I’ve not yet been officially released. I traded e-mails with my stake president – with whom I am very good friends – to nail down the date the bishopric will be reorganized. He will be meeting with my wife and me prior to extend the official release. I’ve long thought that learning of my release would be a joyous day. Not so. I’m feeling a sense of loss. Of what exactly I haven’t yet figured out. When I was first sustained my wife gave me a card that said, “Congratulations and Condolences”. The same card could apply now. I’m left pondering, what comes next?

You should prick your finger and use your blood. I vote red. By the pricking of my thumbs...

So, this place has been far too serious today, and my holy grail pen arrives tomorrow, and I'm having a hard time deciding what ink should be its first - though I've narrowed it down to my top two (I think - there are numerous I could choose), so help me out here.... The pen is a demonstrator - meaning you can see the ink (the barrel is partly clear - it also has blue, gray, and while swirls). Here are pictures of the two inks: Robert Oster Fire & Ice Or De Atramentis Indigo Blue So far, among my IRL friends, one of these is getting all the votes, but I wouldn't want to sway your vote. (I've researched both inks, and each would make a better president than most, if not all, of our recent options, but they didn't want to run, so we'll just have to stick with putting them in my pen rather than the White House.)

No attempt at a politically unifying speech. Maybe what Trump said was what we needed to hear, but it certainly is not an open and welcoming inaugural speech. It is an open slap in the face to the previous administration(s) and to those who enthusiastically supported Obama's efforts. The battle lines have been drawn. If Trump can deliver on 50% of his rhetoric, he will be a stunning success. Here's to hoping.

Indeed... Joseph Smith did teach about the Importance of Calling and Election... He also taught that one of the reasons more of the Saints don't have such revelations is that God can't trust us to keep our mouths shut about them. Its not about keeping it secret... its about keeping it sacred. And all we have to do is look around and see just how this worlds will blaspheme anything and everything sacred.

Bro Snuffer is an author. His best known book was about how to make ones Calling and Election Sure. It was a pretty decent book. For whatever reason his later books and blogs began to attack the church. He got himself excommuncated because of it. He now has his own church and followers based on his corrections to the church doctrine and practices. Their primary target for converts are existing Mormons. Their primary opening line is to talk about making ones Calling and Election Sure. The Church appears to be treating the subject of Calling and Election to be a matter of personal study... As such you have some that feel the church is ignoring or otherwise hiding the subject thus the Snufferites can play on that to win people over. Thus when @skalenfehl opens with talking about Calling and Election he draws down the comparison. Its kind of like someone coming on to the forum and Asking about Jesus and Satan being brothers... Alot of people see that as being straight out of the anti-mormon play book even if the person asking is innocent.

It's the substance that lines the countertops of Mafia hit men.

My free-time hobby is learning about different faiths and the people who believe in them. That is very much seeing another person's viewpoint. I've learned that in order to walk in someone else's shoes I need to take mine off first- shelf my objections, my bias', and whether or not I think their beliefs are bunk. Instead, learn their reasoning and their world as they see it: what's important, what's beautiful, what's worrisome, what's not worth bothering with. From this experiences I've tremendously came to more understand and respect my fellow man and their beliefs. While I may totally disagree with their beliefs, I do see God moving in their lives and from their lens I learn my about my beliefs. It is a wonderful experience.

Um, you mean how the professional speech-writer who wrote the IA talked about the idea of shifting focus and power from DC to the people? Let's not get delusional here. Nothing happened except a bunch of sounds came out of a human mouth. We can all hope that some of the things in that speech will be attempted by politicians (I'm skeptical), and we can pray that some of them actually happen (still skeptical). But the speech was just a speech, it didn't dismantle corrupt or wasteful bureaucracies, it didn't shut down useless government offices, revoke crippling regulations, nor end frivolous lawsuits. Whether any real good comes from this change in administrations is yet to be seen. The speech-writer did his job well, though. Not that it matters. My pen has arrived and when I add up the online votes and IRL votes, we have a tie.

Thanks so much. Yes, I'm a new kid on the block.

Because America just has to be different. Soccer instead of football. Fahrenheit instead of Celsius. Color instead of colour. Oh, T and P also sound different in the US than in the Philippines.

I'm gonna smack you. Hah! But this reminds me... the R sound in the Philippines is different from the R sound in the US... just to make it more complicated.

I'm not disagreeing. I don't suggest it be kept secret. I'm simply pondering if internet forums, or even published books, is sacred. The temple is sacred. People share experiences in the sanctity of the Celestial room and others. Our homes are sacred. Sacrament meeting is sacred - that's the purpose of Testimony Sunday, so we can share these sacred things. Of course, if you have the proper priesthood keys for it, you can share through any doors the keys unlock in the same manner that Joseph Smith was given the priesthood keys to share the revelation of this new dispensation. Just my 2 cents.

There are worlds of difference between "Don't talk about it" and "Don't declare that you know the Churches position" when the church has declared the subject not relevant to its goals and mission.

Marc, your experience is awesome and magnificent and sacred. It's this sacred part I'm worried about. Yes, it is good to share. But, I don't think pearls should be treated the same way as... I don't know... @zil's ink or something. That's why we have temples, right? Anyway, I'm just some random sinner on the internet, what do I know...

How old is son? Boys develop sounds later. Many kids don't make good r sounds until 8-9 years old. Especially at the end of words. But if you want to try. R sound: Growl like a dog. First step, you try growling like a dog. Put your hand over your voice box. See how it vibrates? Demonstrate your growling to son. Put his hands over your voicebox. Now, you ask him to growl like a dog. Put his hands over his voice box. Try 5 times per week, about 15 minutes at a time. Then practice one syllable words beginning in r. Eg red not bread. Give it several weeks Then try at end of words. Fur not burnt.

Do you know that I honestly have no idea what a Snufferite is? Hi Marc. Nice to meet you.

You rang?

we've had to deal with obama for 8 years- that makes for a pretty low bar for expectations. my take away from this election is that the lds population is not as influential in this state as it would appear (there were more legislative items with moral issues that the church was against that got voted in than out) yes he was the schoolyard bully (at least verbiosely) however clinton was more like the mafia. between the two i'd much rather have to suffer under trump than suffer under hillary. I htink you answered yourself here. If all your options are crappy, then you will have a crappy result. it's worse. It's not jsut the individuals but the whole party that comes with them... the republicans are terrible and the democrats are worse and it's almost nigh impossible to get a 3rd option. there's a difference between a qualified leader and a good leader. Hitler was a qualified leader. everything in the media is fluff. if you ever get to watch a lot of actual congress actions and congress time (not the news face time) you'll be willing to lynch about everyone on both sides. exactly. she promised to wipe iran off the map (2015 in a dartmouth college). trump hasn't made any promises to go to war with any specific nation. lds view lives of innocent children very strongly if you take a group of 1000 kids and killed three of them to infinitely improve the lives of the remaining 997 kids the LDS would still vote against it. there is no such thing as free money (at least not without inflation increases to go with it). free money should be raising red flags up and down the isle. unfortunately said health plan included a few elements that trumped the rest of it (ie stance on abortion). probably. however you will find that most (correction almost all laws) laws come with a load of crap with them no matter how altruistic the intent is. i would highly recommend doing a deep and comprehensive study of the US gov especially from 1900-1970s (but mid 1800s have some shining gems too). Hillary's baggage is much closer to elements that are very scary. where as having someone who is ineffectual and won't get much done beyond using foul verbiage is actually a rather blessed relief. as it was he did have to limp the rest of his life. we settled a place that the local survival experts said we were straight up certified stupid to try to settle (mostly mountain men but also a couple natives). we are still weird. Then the feds got involved. This time was different. You kept moving on, you respected your citizens and followed Jesus example, you took your leave. So now, you are willing to fight to keep your paradise. Because they were trying to take away what you have trekked through arduous conditions after peacefully moving on from your persecutors, to claim of your own in the brand new country. Shrewdly, though, you realized that you could not defeat the USA but you could join it. You made some compromises but you had that determined spirit to keep moving forward, limp or no limp. You built a beautiful state. You had a rich spiritual and religious environment, but you also had an openness to ideas. At one time, Utahns weren't so staunchly aligned with one party. One party that was especially disliked in Utah, was the party that fought against you having statehood, the Republican Party. Utah was really a moderate political state with a very strong Democratic leaning. parties change over time, and if you want to make things better for your situation you have to fight for it- in the US that means picking a side and working it for everything it has, plus lots of other people saw that utah had good land, and utah was straightly inbetween california and the rest of the US. pretty sure that has happened to some extent. Humans always develop an us vs them mentality. actually we gave the GOP a good scare shortly before the 2016 november election. I just wish we as a state could have had it realised on the day when it would have really counted. We still do move forward a lot.... however as stated before there are no other places we can physically go to. and we still get blamed for tons of crap. if i recall right i believe we are the only state that's been able to forge an equality law that gave protections to both LGBTQ and religious sides (both complain that it doesn't do enough for their side XD) the persecution still exists it's just changed format. I know how you feel. for the past decade or so i've been watching animal farm play out in politics all the while feeling like the title of the book "I have no mouth and I must scream".... altho watching the hillary campaign page on FB in november was really scary. let me thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.. especially for not ranting how stupid we are, or how we should be exterminated for supporting trump, or being right wing terrorists. my advice, first take a lot of deep breaths. second realise that no matter what FB says we've had worse presidents than the last 4(including our most recent one) at worse times in history. 3 realise that people will be truly sick and tired of him and republicans at the end of 4 years, and if not then for sure after 8... and the pendulum will start to swing the other way again. that change is happening more so out of expediency than anything else.... ironically a lot of that expediency is generated from fallout from what christian societies in the US put into law in previous generations. we're still bogeymen to a lot of people. as of a year ago i would have said the church has tons of influence upon the politics in utah... however after this last election i'm having another look at that. I would also like to go back to that open society idea.... however what's happening in the work, education, and government landscapes is that if religion gets brought in at all you are lucky if you just get roasted and skewered socially (rather than losing your job either by being fired or by being sued out of house and home). I also wish that more people would vote as well... but one must always be open to the chance that they might be in the minority in regards to the vote. thank you for sharing! it has been an interesting read! i'm out of time to go through your proposal so i hope to get to it in the next day or two thank you, you have no idea how comforting that is. I earnestly hope this is the case. i will try responding the best i can to this as i do live in utah.

I did not vote for Trump because I did not think he was someone I wanted as president (as you so clearly describe) I did not vote for Hilary because I did not think she was someone I wanted as president (as you glossed over) Most people tend to exaggerate the flaws of those they don't like and minimize the flaws of those that they do... And consider themselves fair. I know I do... but since I didn't vote for/like either of them... I think I can be fair between the two. I want the government to shrink, because all government laws/powers are backed up with the threat of violence. Therefore I want that to be very narrow in scope. All the democrats who are quaking at the thought of what Trump can do... Seem totally ok with giving that power to Obama/Hilary. That is hypocrisy. A Moral/Principled stance is not it is Good if we do it to You, but Bad if you do it to Us. But then I do not for see the republicans making any attempt to shrink the government now that they have control... So round and round we go.

If you're curious about the history of Mormons and the political parties, you can start with this: Mormons and American Politics. If you want to know why many Mormons voted against Hillary, you could try asking and then restating their position to ensure you understand.

Of course, she'd have the sense to tell the SP only a man would be crazy enough to accept such a calling.

Hi there! I've been in some executive secretary or clerk role to watch 3 different Bishops leave, and they've all said the same thing. Delegation is important, their favorite parts were with the children, and they're worried about what next. Oh yeah - and I've watched them all struggle to be Christlike and loving with certain kinds of people. Let's see - what now? Bishop #1 moved out of the ward, I never see him any more. Bishop #2 is now on the high council, and Bishop #3 is just tickled pink to be sitting back in the congregation and have his life back. You'll find your path! Thanks for accepting the calling, and all I'm sure you've done.

Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans, and people of the world: Thank you. We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people. Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come. We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done. Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Today's ceremony, however, has very special meaning. Because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another -- but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People. For too long, a small group in our nation's Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished -- but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered -- but the jobs left, and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories; their triumphs have not been your triumphs; and while they celebrated in our nation's capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land. That all changes -- starting right here, and right now, because this moment is your moment: it belongs to you. It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country. What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer. Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement the likes of which the world has never seen before. At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction: that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighborhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are the just and reasonable demands of a righteous public. But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of knowledge; and the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation -- and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams; and their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans. For many decades, we've enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidized the armies of other countries while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military; we've defended other nation's borders while refusing to defend our own; and spent trillions of dollars overseas while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We've made other countries rich while the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon. One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions upon millions of American workers left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed across the entire world. But that is the past. And now we are looking only to the future. We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this moment on, it's going to be America First. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body -- and I will never, ever let you down. America will start winning again, winning like never before. We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams. We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work -- rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor. We will follow two simple rules: Buy American and hire American. We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world -- but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow. We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones -- and unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the Earth. At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity." We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable. There should be no fear -- we are protected, and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement and, most importantly, we are protected by God. Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talk and no action -- constantly complaining but never doing anything about it. The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action. Do not let anyone tell you it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again. We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions. It is time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget: that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots, we all enjoy the same glorious freedoms, and we all salute the same great American Flag. And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator. So to all Americans, in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way. Together, We will make America strong again. We will make wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together, we will make America great again. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.

The bolded/italicized emphasis is mine. A beautiful talk written and spoken by Marion G. Romney in 1977 during general conference: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1977/04/the-light-of-christ?lang=eng&_r=1 On October 19, 2016, after obeying the Lord and testifying to a coworker the things the Lord put into my mouth, on my way to my car in the parking lot after work, as I pondered everything that had just happened, the Lord interrupted my thoughts and spoke to me saying, "today, I covenant with thee thou shalt have eternal life." When I heard this, my heart suddenly felt so much joy and peace that it felt like it would leap out of my chest and soar through the sky. That's the only way I know how to describe how I felt.

This is a jaw droppingly short sighted thing to say. Fun fact: it's quite likely that the time elapsed between homo sapien and stegosaurus is LESS than the time elapsed between stegosaurus and triceratops. The start of the Jurassic period was 200 million years ago. That time period represents less than 5% of the Earth's age. The age of the earth itself represents only a little less than a third of the age of the universe. And you're going to claim that because homo sapien has failed to replicate the conditions of your Designer as proof of your Designer's existence? Homo sapien's existence is still being measured on the scale of thousands of years. And it took your Designer over eight BILLION years to produce intelligent life! When put into perspective, I have to say, your Designer doesn't sound anywhere near as Intelligent as you make her sound.

@Jane_Doe Children often improve with time, nothing to do with therapy. Sadly some children really need the therapy but do not get it. Unfortunately, you do not know which group your child falls into!

We were doing XYZ, and then signed up for therapy. After 2 months of assessing (majority of it off-topic), we finally got into therapy. Lady told us to do XYZ (the exact same thing we had been doing). After 3 months she had a birthday had to move programs and be completely assessed again (majority of it off-topic), which has been long and frustrating. I'm hoping the new therapist will be better. Oh, and yes little girl has much improved, but I don't think it has anything to do with going to therapy.

Or in other words Talk is cheap. Trump is going to have to get in the trenches with the Republican's and the Democrats and get most of them working his way. By any definition of the words that is going to be incredibly difficult. Will he be able to??? Who knows... His fans say yes. His detractors say no... everyone else is we will see.

I really like how the IA shifted focus and power from DC back to the people all across the nation.. The long forgotten are forgotten no more. Like Vort, I think this is a backhanded slap to the faces of everyone who has forgotten who is supposed to serve whom. A not so gentle wake-up call that will no doubt continue to be ignored and vigorously resisted, though increasingly to their dis-benefit. I am particularly pleased to see all the protesting--not just because, as Rush indicated, it show the world who these people really are, but also it is an ironic and unintended celebration of free speech. The intolerable behavior of the intolerant is fearlessly and graciously tolerated by the truly tolerant. Let the self-discrediting weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth from the rent-a-mobs stand as a monument to their collective immaturity, as well as a monument to the greatness of America for given even buffoons the freedom to speak their minds-what little there may be. All in all, a good day and a positive step towards greatness. Thanks, -Wade Englund-

Was hoping to hear your take Vort. Obviously populist, but no more a slap in the face then Obama's farewell speech. ie.."If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce."

I don't disagree with anything you've posted just now. But scientists have yet to observe just one incident of many things including as I mentioned measurable evidence of God's existence. And I think that's alright. It may easily be that all knowledge of how God creates life is forever unavailable to mortals in a temporal sphere. I don't by any means say that scientists should therefore give up searching--because continual scientific research is the door to so many wonderful advancements. I am saying that perhaps part of God's method for creating life is more wonderful and fascinating than anything we can fully imagine or discover even though we can certainly come closer as we continue to research than we were a thousand years ago, or even 20 years ago. In my world view there is room for faith and knowledge even though neither my faith nor my knowledge is what I'd like it to be.

Personally, I would more easily accept that Pasteur's experiments showed that mice don't spontaneously generate from sweaty rags and wheat, for example, and not that he proved life cannot arise in so-called natural processes. I'm skeptical that we can scientifically prove that intelligent design is required for life to arise (even though I believe that God created the Universe) any more than we can scientifically prove God exists.

I feel frustration, too. In my case it is a grandson.

I have no problem believing that God created the Universe, and that Evolution is just one aspect of how the universe he created works.

"Glories stream from heaven afar, Heavenly host sing Alleluiar(?)"

I didn't figure I needed to add yet another caveat, which was obvious, but OK, fine: "with ONLY the person to whom you are married" (as opposed to "not with a person to whom you are not married" - there's a subtle difference). (No, I'm not trying to quote anything, I'm trying to explain how some people see it - doesn't matter whether you agree, only that you intellectually comprehend the idea.) I also didn't say you had to interpret things one way or the other, and I don't think I implied right or wrong ways to interpret, I'm just saying there are different ways to interpret and I can understand the interpretations which I've heard / read.

Yes, Spanish and Russian R sounds are different from English too - harder.

Hee hee.

Whoa! Awesome! I'm taking you out of that compound. You need to move to mine.

And so I'm also told. The s is the next hardest. Or so I'm told. In any case, speech therapy is practice, practice, practice... with demonstration. So yes, play and talking are important parts of it (toys are the stuff of knowledge at 3 years old - the Montessori elementary classroom is all toys... each toy developing certain skillsets, so it's not just any toy you buy from Toys R Us). But demonstration needs to be in it too.

As one who has spent many years documenting Microsoft's stupidity, I will rise to their defense. Generally speaking, Microsoft understands the need to document their products better than most other companies. They don't do enough, and the doc team is still one of the first to go when budget cuts are implemented, but Microsoft has largely set the industry standard for documentation. Even the term "programming writer" (or "programmer writer") is a Microsoft innovation, referring to a technical writer with specific facility in programming topics, such as one who writes SDK documentation, API guides, and such.

A) CDs are cheap. Burn one, stick it in the CD player and see what happens. B) Don't you have the manuals for the car? If not, have you tried looking on the internet for them? Or do they not tell you anything about this? (As my brother says: "Microsoft's stupidity wouldn't be nearly as frustrating if they'd just document it.") C) I just plug an MP3 player (or my cell phone) into the radio's AUX in jack.

Correction: The origins of life is philosophy because we can't scientifically prove an intelligent designer.

Guys, ID aside, I'm truly just dumbfounded that a group of college educated adults cannot get an agreement on what constitutes science, I mean, I know that the American education system have challenges, but c'mon... What makes this even more ridiculous is everybody involved in the discussion believe in an intelligent designer except for one - our resident atheist who is very easy to spot because he calls himself Godless. You would think this would be an easy topic.

I agree with you. I am absolutely certain that many of the sexual differences we observe are culturally conditioned. But I am equally sure that there are differences both subtle and stark between the sexes. I suspect most of our cultural conditioning about sexual differences are based on these underlying and very real biological differences.

LiterateParakeet is correct. I meant the terms as a humorous criticism.

"Male" is a genetic condition. Saying that men tend to be _________ is saying that ________ is a genetically related condition.

I think he can make you spiritually sick, which can lead to physical and mental illnesses. But he can only make you spiritually sick a) if you let him (surrender your agency to him) or b) if someone in a position of unrighteous dominion robs you of your agency and introduces the means of mental or physical harm.

While serving my mission, often times a week before someone's baptism something terrible would happen. Someone would die, they would get sick, or something like that. The typical missionary response was "I hate Satan!"... but I don't know that he has the ability. All he is is a spirit and so all the damage he could do is that of the spirit. I think what is happening is God is testing them to see how committed they are to his gospel. with the case of Job, I have heard many times that it is a symbolic story. But I'm not positive. I don't think Satan can do physical damage to us (unless we allow him and invite him in). However, he can tempt us to doubt and become angry when trials come upon us. that is my insight and understanding.