mrmarklin

I used to at times. But being in business has taught me that one can only do so much. An apple is eaten one bite at a time. One cannot do everything or be all things to all people.

Bolivia, southern Peru and northern Chile. This was in 1967-1969. I learned Spanish. I speak with no discernible accent. When in Spain a few years ago I was asked by the hotel manager at the front desk where I was from. He was surprised when I said I was American, since I hadn't any accent but my appearance is very Nordic/Anglo.

I loved camping, but have not done so since we bought our country home near where we used to camp! The wife is happier this way.

It was just a dream...........

I had a dream a while back that the Church decided to get rid of the Coffee/Tea requirement of the WOW. They decided that since studies about the health detriments were either minimal or inconclusive that having the Saints continue to keep this commandment was equivalent to Jews not eating pork. There just wasn't any rationale for it!

Interesting but irrelevant to the WOW. Of course any side effects of alcohol are secondary to the commandment. In ancient times, and up until 1930 alcohol was used by members of the church mostly because the health benefits of an alcoholic beverage were better than drinking water from possibly contaminated wells. Obviously there are Biblical admonishments against excessive use..............

Shogun by James Clavell. The definitive novel of Japan. Once you're into it it's impossible to put down All Clavell's novels are superb. Mystery? Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. Agatha Christies' Poirot series also a winner. Science Fiction? Honor Harrington series by David Weber. I can also recommend Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois M Bujold. Actually both these authors are a cut above. Vampires? The best author IMHO is P N Elrod. Vampire Files series. Romance? Almost anything by Georgette Heyer. She is without peer in this genre. Oh yeah, Jane Austen too. Someone has already mentioned the Dresden files and Harry Potter for wizardry!

There may be something to the number 14. I was just in the Holy Land, and the birthplace of Jesus is marked by a 14 point star. Number of generations between David and the Christ.

....The real question is not so much why do Mormons leave the Church, but why after leaving, they can't leave it alone. There are a lot of antis and ex Mormons out there that continue to post on LDS fora. Why? I have no desire to post on the fora of other religions.

These were simple magic tricks. I've never believed that Pharaoh's magicians had any special powers at all.

Well Eowyn, humanity is fairly wicked, but some of your quotes are from gloom and doom advocates that are trying to motivate their constituents. i really don't think society in general is more wicked than some of the people last century. Pol Pot murdered millions just because of their political beliefs, and he wasn't the worst! Check out the wickedness of Chairman Mao or Stalin! Then of course we have Hitler who murdered six millions because of their race. He also ran slave labor camps that "employed" millions as well. Abortion was always used as birth control to some extent by the above mentioned evil men. BTW these guys were all atheists and preached it readily. Are we we more wicked? Probably not. I'll grant there's still a lot of evil out there. But the twentieth century. Has had the worst of it so far.

What makes you say this? Evidence? This is not my experience.

What I'm saying is that the world is getting better, and despite setbacks, in general, living standards are higher, literacy is higher, health is better, people live longer and current developments appear to be continuing these trends. No I would not call for more chaos. I submit to all of you that the current trends are the preconditions to the millennium, not more chaos.

I believe current favorable trends will continue because God wants them to. For the gospel to be preached around the world, more liberal societies are needed. We can now preach to less than 1/2 the world. China, most muslin nations and hardcore communist places etc are off limits. Columbus in 1492 began this trend and with the restoration of the gospel, liberality, as well as an unheard of living standard, the trend has accelerated. And it's getting faster. I live near Silicon Valley and incredible miracles are being wrought every day. The road won't be easy as within the last 100 years two of the most devastating wars ever fought wreaked devastation. But the results? In 1918 all the non constitutional monarchs of Europe fell. Following WW II the Jews were promised a nation and they have one. The UN was formed and the seeds of the European Community were sown. Who expects a major European war now? Yes, we still have problems, but on the whole, the world is becoming a better place than it was exactly 100 years ago today. Then WWI was happening.

I disagree totally with your premise of what we "know". I don't personally believe that the world will be as chaotic as you seem to think prior to the 2nd coming. The current trends for the last 200 years or more are exactly the opposite. Remember:. The gospel is rolling forth and will fill the whole world. No no way do I contribute to chaos. I believe it would have the opposite effect to what you postulate.

Lots of reasons given, but for most people that are in voluntary organizations there is a rule of thumb called the 80-20 rule. Twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work. Those committed to the Church do most of the work and tend to rise in leadership accordingly. They are the 20%. There is also a group that will attend regularly, usually another 20%, but don't ask them to do too much too often! Of course a good social environment can improve attendance somewhat, but mostly it is what it is In in my experience, not only in the Church, is that most people are fairly committed to those organizations they belong to even if their attendance may be sporadic at best. Just because someone doesn't attend Church doesn't necessarily mean they don't believe, or have "left the Church".

As a longtime member who has served in a bishopric I can absolutely say that the greatest amount of problems I've seen come from those who have not sufficiently prepared their lives for children. Lack of education, under employment which goes hand in glove with that, leads to a lack of resources and creates many problems for bishops around the world. I'm not saying one cannot make it trusting in the Lord, but the Lord helps those who help themselves. Most of the examples above are the exceptions. and exceptions don't prove the rule.

Job is not fiction. We we are all Job. Almost all of us will have to deal with some sort of adversity. Loss of livelihood, loss of loved ones, including wives, loss of health--even at a young age. Did the Lord turn the devil loose on Job? Sure He did. There was no other way for Him to find out if Job would be faithful. But Job's attitude is the real story of how he dealt with his problems. Despite his "friends" spite he kept his faith through all adversity just as many of us will do. Yeah, Job is real. Look in the mirror.

IMO it means submitting to the absence of God. Christ had to endure His suffering alone. It will not be required of us.

I'll tell you what I wore to church last Sunday:Remember, Silicon Valley area. Formal Guayabera (pressed) shirt 100% linen. (The cheapo cotton ones are not worth mentioning). Wool slacks, Italian shoes with leather soles and rubber heels. Polyester blend suits are one of my pet peeves, along with polyester ties. Then people are wearing unpressed "white" shirts that are either "wash and wear" and/or have never seen a dry cleaner. Crepe sole shoes are another problem, and I notice that missionaries use them a lot. If I was their mission president, it would not be allowed. Yeah, I'm better dressed than that. FWIW, other than my Guayaberas, I don't own a white shirt. Had enough of those serving on a mission.

There is a book called Dress for Sucess by a former IBM salesman. It has a lot of insight and is still as relevant today as it was the many years ago since it was written. Depending on your industry, one should dress appropriately. I work in Silicon Valley, and ties have been gone for almost 20 years. My personal dress is reflective of my clients and peers. I always hated ties etc. and the related attire so have been very glad to be liberated from this. The above being said, attorneys still wear ties in court, certain sales people still wear ties, and there are still formal events to go to.....I regard dressing for these events as putting on a costume. I only own one suit, purchased when my daughter married and have only worn it on one or two occasions since by request. My next tie event will be the cruise I'm going on in August. They are having formal nights, and I'll rent the appropriate "costume" on the ship. I don't wear a tie to church but I would venture to say I'm better dressed than the average male attendee with his foam soled shoes, limp collared white shirt, polyester tie and the polyester blend suit.

FWIW my wife is from the tribe of Dan.

There's a reason Califonia real estate is expensive. No snow in SF Bay Area.

Mormon myth. We already live in Zion, IMNSHO.

NFL football, particularly the Raiders...................lets just say you're getting close to Sacred Territory. Yes, sports are OK.