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So yeah this was one of "those" mornings. I overslept, didn't feel well, was stuck in nasty traffic, and then to put icing on the cake, I got pulled over. Now, just to put this out there right off the bat: The officer, being a MD State Trooper, was very professional, polite, and I have no problems with him at all. This isn't an anti-cop rant or anything. He pulled me over because my Captain America license plate frame was partially blocking my registration stickers and he gave me a warning, since my driving record is pretty clean. I also asked him to assist me in getting back into traffic because there wasn't much speed up room in front of me. The emergency lane was about to end because of a bridge. He did so, no problem. But here's my epiphany. I've seen a lot of videos where people assert their rights by not rolling their window down all the way, not answering any questions, recording the incident on a dash cam or phone... And I was prepared to do these things. I have a dash cam, I have an app on my phone that records video and uploads to a remote location so it can't be deleted, and I even have a copy of a DOJ memo to the Baltimore PD asserting that people have a right to record officers. But as I sat there getting my license and registration out, I just felt like all of that was unnecessary. I mean, yes, those rights exist and I won't say that people should never assert them, but I also think those things should be used judiciously. If you feel like the officer is being unprofessional, that's the time to start recording. I just didn't see a need this morning. It's not that I was intimidated. The trooper wasn't being overbearing or nasty or anything like that. And it's not like I get unduly nervous when I see roof lights in my rearview. It's just that this kind of thing was just the officer doing his job (he was right, I looked at it later and the frame does block the stickers) and he did it like a professional. That's all I can ask for. Sure, it helps that he only gave me a warning and not a ticket, but honestly I don't think I'd have been mad at him if he had decided to go with a ticket. I've gotten tickets before and I deserved them all... well, one or two I don't think I did so I went to traffic court. Won one, lost one. But the point is I wasn't being picked on or persecuted or anything. It was fine and it's not ruining my day or anything like that. So now I have a slightly different perspective when I see YouTube videos of people giving officers a hard time for no real reason. Again, I do believe in asserting rights, but I also don't think that it's something you should do when politeness and courtesy work better. The trooper was polite and courteous, so why would I want to start giving him a hard time? Just to prove I have guts? Just to make a video to post on YouTube? Bah. Maybe I'm just too old for that stuff. So now I have to wait until the IT guys get in so I can ask to borrow a screwdriver... Epilogue: Want to hear something funny? Just last night I had a dream that I got pulled over, and it was @mirkwood...

Which naturally leads to others to ask... "To what end are you asking?" Lets say I have a genetic predisposition to alcoholism... But I have never touched an alcoholic drink in my life... Should people treat me different? Should laws be passed? Should my insurance rates go up? What value do you hope to get? What end do you hope to get? What consensus do you hope to reach? By learning this information. That can't be more accurately and more fairly reached by judging me by what I actually do?

Vort. Posts like these put you solidly on the top of my Leaderboard (sorry @zil). It's so lame but man, it just solidly hits my funny bone.

I'm not sure what you mean by too many desserts. Can there be such a thing? The very idea of too many desserts is something that I'd like to seriously test out to see if it is really possible.

"They're 'shroom houses!" hah Zil has her hands full with the head of the homeowners' association... Big Papa!

I think you are very right. Thinking back, I can think of a few situations where a stake president presented a training of some sort using a powerpoint and it was fantastic. I can think of another situation where one was using a white board and it was very lecture like. I guess a lot of the time we become slaves to the tools rather than masters of them.

The former is responsible for policies that murder prenatal infants, marginalize anyone who doesn't agree to promote their sociopolitical agenda, and promote anti-religion as "science". I'd say that pretty much trumps your list in every detail.

1 Nephi 8:26 http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/29/technology/amazon-aerial-warehouse/

We’re Mormon. We know it, we live it, we love it. But what happens when you feel like you don’t know it? What happens when you’re struggling to live it and to love it? What happens when you’re part of a community of believers, but you are struggling to believe? And that leads us to the real kicker: what if you don’t feel like you fit in? Feelings of Inadequacy and Doubt Maybe you’ve felt this way. Maybe you’ve grappled with your faith and faced struggles before you were able to gain a testimony of your very own. Maybe you’re even facing these feelings at this very moment. Even if you’ve never struggled with your own faith, you likely know someone who has or is currently struggling with his or her beliefs and feelings of belonging. Truthfully, it’s a lot more common than you might think. Joseph Smith taught that “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” Though that... View the full article

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Did I write you a ticket? lol

Thanks man. I was always watching I just decided to take a break from posting until I felt like I had something useful to contribute. Sometimes I get diarrhea of the mouth (fingers?) and speak much but say little. I should have been in politics. And I think you're 100% right about environment being a bigger factor than genetics. A person may be genetically vulnerable to alcoholism but it will never come up unless that person lives in a culture where drinking goes on... and even then, being vulnerable to it isn't the same as being guaranteed to succumb. Ultimately we're responsible for our own choices, and I get nervous when people look to assign blame elsewhere. Once we're absolved of responsibility for our own bad behavior, chaos follows rapidly. Yes, I do admit that our decisions are influenced by outside factors, but nobody's raised to believe that torturing someone on Facebook is A-OK. We all learn the same basic lessons about right and wrong.

What!? I swore I had that fixed. Back to the drawing board...

The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_God_Like_a_Fire_Is_Burning#Lyrics_and_commentary It's a great testimony of the greatness of the restoration,. And it has an awesome Hosanna shout.

I don't deign to speak for JAG as he is quite capable of defending himself but I would just like to point out that nothing in JAG's post indicated that ALL poor people are unable to get their lives in order. I just read it again. Twice. And I still don't see where you got that conclusion from. Rather, what I read is that JAG stated that there are those who squander their resources and end up poor. He didn't say that those who are poor squandered their resources. Big ginormous difference between those two sentences. In light of that, my experience in the Philippines point to one plain truth. It takes a certain skill/knowledge/experience to stay out of poverty. Giving cash to poor people who has no skill/knowledge/experience to stay out of poverty would only give them a party season then back to poverty. Therefore, the best way to get a person out of poverty is to give him skill/knowledge/opportunities for experience needed to stay out of poverty instead of giving him cash. This also applies to those who have skill/knowledge/experience who, by unfortunate circumstances, end up in poverty. Give a guy cash and he'll eat for a day. Give a guy a job and he'll eat for a long time.

Hmm... an episode of Game of Thrones on Vidangel would be 15 minutes long. No point in watching it really...

Shroom houses? Is that what they call the compound now?

I love Pres Eyring. He gave a talk in which he explained that he prayed for more trials to make him a better person. That man is living on a whole different planet!

I'm sorry but I really dislike this comment as it's making the assumption that someone is poor because they are unable to get their lives in order. This might be true for a small micro section of society but lots of families with means are disfunctional too. A few years ago they did a social experiment in the UK where they gave so many families all of their benefits for the year. Yes, they made mistakes, for some it was the biggest amount of money they had, had in their lives but at the end of the experience some had started their own businesses, one was at university and the others had work. It gave them options rather then living day to day and their self respect back.

I need to step up my game. @Vort is on the leader board way too much

Wow, that's going to leave a welt!

But that's just because a youthful adventure resulted in the right leg being shorter than the left - so he leans a bit to the right. It's hardly noticeable really.

Blasphemy! PM me and we'll arrange for me to ship you a fountain pen and a really nice mini notebook. Perfect for noting the contact info of your fellow ponies...

I can get behind Trump's "Hacking is bad and should be fought, but for pete's sake, look at what they hacked!" The Mormon leaks people finally got their grubby little fingers on the holy grail of supposed Mormon scandal fodder: A paycheck stub from 2000 for Henry B. Eyering, then an Apostle. Modest, compared with what these men could be making in the public sector. Jan Shipps was astounded- the head bosses of our global church with quite substantial holdings, make a bit less than the average pastor of an average middle-class congregation. I'm humbled and grateful to learn some of the ill-gotten dirt here. Yeah, hacking is bad. But I'm quite happy to pass around the link to this particular hack, because I think we end up gaining credibility and looking pretty good.

@Backroads I am not sure how the situation plays out because I have not dealt with it personally. I wonder myself as to how this situation is handled.

That's messed up and dangerous.

I read this today and thought it had allot to do with this topic. I'd highly recommend it. http://happiness-seekers.com/2017/01/02/the-alarming-truth-behind-anti-mormonism/ Specifically:

Yea, but wait until 4:20...then the whole picture changes...

There is so much good information. Often the best place to source the information is straight from a business owner. This quote is from honeytraveler.com. You will find some amazing and insightful information. Scott says: January 4th, 2013 "I am assuming that the honey you purchased has crystallized and you would like to soften it up to eat. Gently heating it up in very warm water (hot to the touch, not burning – 110 degrees F.) in a loosely sealed jar will prevent a lot of the volatile components of the honey from evaporating. If you don’t actually heat the honey over 95 degrees F., then the enzymes should not be harmed. Even a little higher temp for a short period would be ok, but should be avoided. The interesting thing is that you won’t have to actually heat the honey every time you use it—assuming you eat it within a few days. When you heat the honey, you are not melting it. It will not harden up again when it cools. You are actually decrystalling the honey, not melting it. It will take some time to actually recrystallize, sometimes quite a while. Stored at around 70 degrees F. will keep it liquid longest. Nevertheless, if you had a large amount of honey, then you might want to separate out a smaller amount just to make handling easier. I have so many honeys I eat them very slowly, so I store my rarer honeys in the freezer to keep the longest and then take out what I want to use. The everyday honeys sit on the counter for quick access! "

Thank you for sharing this! I was really overwhelmed while listening to it and I think it may be a new favorite of mine!

I have lots of cousins who would date you.... ... they need visas. But seriously. There are 2 people in our Ward who went to the Phlippines to look for a wife. One of them got married there and brought his wife to the US, the other brought his fiancee to the US and got married here. Right now, I'm enjoying lunch prepared by one of those Filipinas.

People come to the church, settle in, and announcements are made a few times a year that those who wish to be members should contact the appropriate people. An application is filled out, including commitment to our beliefs, our community, and yes, to tithing (though accountability is mostly between the individual and God). Many people give, who are not members. We had one older lady who regularly exercised gifts of the Spirit, gave more than 10%, even taught classes. She was never a member, though. Her reason was that she did not believe tithing was biblical for New Testament faith. We figured that one did not have to believe in tithing to get to heaven. :-)

Lighten up, Gary.

Here's an Evangelical's positive take on LDS Church growth, and six reasons why it might be so: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/frenchrevolution/2012/07/10/six-reasons-why-mormons-are-beating-baptists-in-church-growth/ Here are the 6 reasons in a nutshell: 1. LDS have bigger families. 2. LDS have lower divorce rates. 3. LDS evangelize. 4. LDS are orthodox (members know and believe what the church teaches). 5. LDS leaders ask a lot of their members. 6. LDS are less selfish.

Modern science and simple observation tells you that surgery drinks, fact food, etc are bad for you. That is good, and should be listened to. God commanded us to take care of our bodies. He doesn't need compel us in every little detail therein.