MrShorty

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Everything posted by MrShorty

  1. I hope it's ok to post about some of these "children's" stories, but I enjoy reading them. This is about a family in England who manages to buy their first motor car. They find an old "one-of-a-kind" broken down jalopy (with a 12 cylinder, 8 L motor ). Mr Potts rebuilds the car. One day, they decide to go to the beach (along with the rest of England) and get stuck in a traffic jam. After insulting the drive, the car convinces Mr Potts to push a lever that extends wings and causes the car to fly over the traffic to a sand bar. The tide nearly strands them and they discover that the car is amphibious. They "drive" across the channel to France, where the help capture "Joe the monster," a notorious criminal. The book was a lot of fun. Interesting side notes that I learned as part of reading the book. 1) The author is the same Ian Fleming who authored the James Bond books. It was published in '63, just before his death. 2) The movie screenplay was written by Roald Dahl.
  2. A few different thoughts:1) While Christians often criticize LDS for the 8th article of faith ("...as far as it is translated correctly."), it seems that, at least at some level, Christians also believe in "as far as it is translated correctly." I find it admirable that they will put forward their best scholarship to try to come up with the best translation they can. 2) The bit about the story of the adulterous woman that is now in John's gospel, but doesn't appear to have been something John put in was interesting. The conclude that it is an actual event that early copyists tried to shoehorn somewhere in the Bible so the story wouldn't get lost. It is just an interesting part of how the Bible seems to have come together over the centuries.
  3. How about this one:If memory serves, it was during my final year at BYU-Provo (though it could have been shortly after graduation). I think everyone is familiar with the strict dress and grooming standard BYU requires to be a good student, but which aren't required of all church members to be good church members. My wife and I were visiting family in southern Idaho and had stopped at a restaurant in Logan. Our server was a young man. The first thing I noticed about him was that he had a pony tail (which means is hair was too long). I immediately felt smug and superior because, "he wouldn't be 'worthy' to enter the testing center to take a test, or check out a book from the HBLL." The 2nd thing I noticed about him was what looked like garments under his shirt. The Spirit immediately convicted me. I don't know for sure if this young man was even LDS, but for all I knew, he could have been an RM, temple worthy, EQ president in his student ward, or otherwise a faithful member of the church. I don't think I've ever been outwardly judgmental of others, but I realized in that moment that I need to make sure that I try not to see people through the lens of my own perceptions of right and wrong which can be superficial, but to look at them through what God defines as right and wrong. I think one way we do this is to judge each other based on certain "cultural" norms that we have been practicing for years or generations, but which aren't really part of the gospel, or that are "policy" type things that can change.
  4. I'm in the middle of a book my daughter suggested to me. It's an old book ('83) written by Gerald Lund (who also wrote The Work and the Glory). It's science fiction set in the near future after "The Termination" (aka nuclear holocaust). We follow the story of Eric Lloyd who is a member of a small village living in what was Star Valley Wyoming. The village is surviving on what they managed to gather before the holocaust and what they can gather from the land around them. One day, a company from the Alliance of Four Cities visits and captures the community. They are taken to Shalev, a new city built up to preserve western civilization. Among the founders of the city is a brain scientist who develops an implant that causes intense whenever the implantee feels certain negative emotions (like anger). Through these implants, the people of Shalev have developed a society free of crime, anger, poverty -- a nice little utopia. Eric and some friends decide to take exception to this society, and decide they want no part. That's as far as I've got so far. It has an interesting premise about free will/choice vs. conditioning. I'll have to keep reading to see how they make out trying to avoid being forced into this society.
  5. Finished, and with a very different ending from the movie. (spoilers ahead, if you don't want to know how it ends) In both cases, the African Queen is sunk in a storm. In the movie, she remains somewhat afloat just below the surface, and the Louise by pure chance happens to run into her, setting off the explosives and sinking the Louise. In the book, nothing of the kind happens. Rose and Alnutt, in an act of mercy by the German captain, are turned over to the British forces nearby and eventually get sent to some consul on the African coast where they can get married and return to England. The Louise is sunk by two British naval ships that are trucked in overland. What I find really interesting, I guess, is in all of the wasted effort by Rose and Alnutt in coming down the river. Their purpose in setting out on the expedition is to "strike a blow for England." In the end, their death defying effort to come down the river, fight through rapids, marshes, malaria, and so on did nothing. The regular army was already well on their way to capturing the lake. The only result of the adventure is that Rose and Charlie fall in love. I'm not really good at discussing the meaning of literature, but it just struck me as an interesting commentary on life. How many of our "adventures" completely miss their target or prove to be worthless, except in a lesson learned, or some other "incidental" blessing that is gained. Or perhaps it shows how much life is about the journey and not necessarily about a specific goal or target.
  6. My knowledge of the resurrection helped me cope with the loss of my first born as a baby.
  7. As suggested by my username, I've "been there, done that." I wish I had some good advice. I know there was a time (about late elementary into Jr High, so about the same age as your daughter) where I took the teasing pretty personally. It seems my mom used to just tell me that that's the way I was (along with many in her family). I don't know your daughter, but I might suggest that part of the difficulty comes with the age. I'm not sure how much of it was "conscious decision" and how much was pure luck, but I learned to accept myself as short, and even learned to take some pride in it. How many times did I climb into the back seat of a car with a bunch of other guys, and while they complained and bemoaned the lack of leg room, I could stretch out and be comfortable. I'm not really sure how to teach it, but many of us short people learn certain truths about "body image" from being short that I hope your daughter learns. Learns to accept herself as she is, learns to recognize some of the advantages to being short, and to learn that, when it really counts in life, physical stature isn't important. ("Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" kind of stuff).
  8. Been listening to a recorded version of The African Queen by C. S. Forester. The movie has long been one of our favorites, so I decided to see what the original story added. Written in 1935, the story is set in German Central Africa in WW I. Rose is a "straight-laced" missionary whose brother dies. She "hooks up" with Alnutt and The African Queen and convinces Alnutt to take her down the river to "strike a blow for England" against the German occupiers. The story recounts their journey down the river overcoming various difficulties with the river and the boat. I still have ~45 minutes left of the recording, so I haven't quite reached the end. A couple of observations so far: 1) Hepburn and Bogart did not prepare me for the sensuality displayed in the book. For something written in the depression, it was rather shocking when Rose and Alnutt ended up sleeping together (unmarried and all ). Forester doesn't go into pornographic detail, but he doesn't leave any doubt about the nature of their relationship. Just a word of warning to those who would find this objectionable. 2) It has been a while since I saw the movie, but it seems that Bogart was a stronger character than Alnutt was portrayed in the book. I don't know how real feminists would feel about the story, but it really seems that Rose is the real strong character in the book, and Alnutt is often feeding off of Rose's strengths rather than being strong himself. 3) I can't tell if Forester has a positive or negative view of religion. He seems to spin Rose's "loss of virtue" as a positive, in that she is casting off the shackles of religion. But, later, we find her extremely penitent for her lack of prayer and attention to such duties, but not entirely repentant of her sexual relationship with Alnutt. In the next couple of days, I'll find out how their "blow for England" goes. At some point, I'll probably pull out the movie with my wife and watch it, too.
  9. I read through the plagues/exodus the other night, and it occurred to me that the events recounted would represent a very significant event in Egyptian history. So I got to wondering if there have been any accounts (probably from the Egyptian perspective) of the events in Exodus.
  10. Thank you for the comments. If I may respond to some of the questions/comments: She's early in her 2nd decade (how's that for obscure?) so she's starting to reach an age where I want to make sure I give her a proper perspective on the priesthood and it's role vs. personal faith and prayer. She and I both have a similar cough and we've been to the doctors to rule out serious causes. It appears to be a manifestation of acid reflux. Mostly the effect on her sleep is in getting to sleep. Once she's asleep, she will sleep fine all night. The other effect is that she gets anxious about it, which aggravates the cough. As I see it, the effect the blessing is similar to a "placebo" in that it quiets those anxieties so she can relax and go to sleep. My fear is that the blessing becomes merely a part of the ritual, and she becomes dependent on it as a matter of ritual rather than a real attempt to call upon the powers of heaven. I guess in a larger context, these are the two views I've been trying to balance myself over the years. I have often noticed in myself that I will wait until I am nearly on my death bed or nearly overcome by some challenge before I will turn to the priesthood to receive a blessing. I feel like we are missing out when we reserve priesthood blessing for "rare" and "special" occasions only. I think I would prefer to err on the side of giving her a blessing even if I don't feel it is necessary or expedient.When you say, "priesthood blessings are not aspirin." what do you mean? on edit: or perhaps from a different angle. what is the difference between faith in God or faith in the priesthood and "faith" in a "placebo"
  11. A situation is developing with my daughter that is concerning me. To try to be brief, she has a chronic cough that isn't serious, but it often makes it difficult for her to sleep. Or, at least she thinks it will make it difficult for her to sleep. She is getting into the habit of asking for a blessing before bed, and it seems to help her sleep. What I'm worried about is that she is going to become "psychology dependent" on the blessing to sleep even when it isn't necessary. I don't want to deny my daughter her privilege to call on the priesthood when she needs help, but I also don't want her to think of the priesthood as a crutch without which she can't sleep. Any opinions? Am I making too much of it? Should I do something to make sure she learns not to rely too heavily on the priesthood for "routine" problems?
  12. Pardon my ignorance, but can you explain to me the significance of Ash Wednesday? I know Lent is a time of "fasting"/abstinence, but what happened 40 days before Christ's death that is being commemorated with Ash Wednesday?
  13. Started reading Matt 26 last night about the woman who annointed Christ with the ointment "for his burial." The same story is repeated in Mark 14 and John 12. In each account, Christ defends her actions as something she was doing in preparation for his death/burial. I recall many lessons/discussions where it is pointed out that the apostles didn't seem to pick up on Christ's prophecies concerning his death. I guess it was just interesting that this woman (Mary according to John) seemed to pick up on the fact that Christ was destined to die soon.
  14. I can't remember when or where it was, but I recall one Easter where a class or a teacher or something like that took me (us) through the last week of Christ's life in the week leading up to Easter. Ever since, I've always had a little of a soft spot for the entire week leading up to Easter. Sometime I would like to find a decent "study guide" or similar to use during Holy Week to refresh my memory on the details leading up to Christ's death/resurrection. Do any of you do anything special during the week leading up to Easter?
  15. Thanks, Pam, and then onto vs. 9 "We have not: for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us."
  16. I hope it's not too nitpicky, but, for further clarification, does "sexual relations" only mean vaginal intercourse, or are we allowed to include other sexual behaviors in there? Looking back over my life, I see that Dr Chapman's physical touch love language applies to me. Which means not only does intercourse make me feel loved, but so do all the other things like kissing, hugging, cuddling, etc. In that respect, I think I could marry someone with a chronic inability to engage in intercourse, as long as she was willing to a) vailidate my sexuality as normal and important, b) continue to engage in other forms of physical affection, and c) express a willingness to explore our sexuality beyond simple intercourse.That's spoken from what I know now. I think I could have gotten into a lot of trouble based on what I knew back then. I don't think I knew how important sex was when I was single. I had grown up in the church and been taught all about how sex (at least outside of marriage, but I don't know if that last part got emphasized enough) was dirty, sinful, ugly, etc. I remember many times being taught that sex had little if anything to do with love. "Good girls (and guys) don't" and so on. Nobody really taught how important sex can be to the overall health of a marriage relationship. As for the "test drive" approach. Looking back, I think one of the major contributors to our sexless marriage was my own inhibitions about talking about sex. I never learned as a young person how to really talk about my sexuality in a safe, healthy, normative way. Most of the discussions I had were condemning of sex, and so I never learned how to talk about my feelings and desires. Now, I think one of the major contributors to our inability to make it better is that I have a very hard time talking about it with my wife in a healthy way. John Gottman says that it is more important how we deal with conflict rather than what the specific complaint is that predicts happiness in marriage. What I think the law of chastity can do for an engaged couple is force them to learn to talk about their sexual desires/expectations/fears with each other. That can set a foundation for talking about sex after marriage that simply "test driving" may not set. That said, I think part of the issue with the law of chastity is that it is so often taught in a way that gives rise to things like the "good girl syndrome" that Laura Brotherson talks about. I sometimes wonder if our chasitity lessons wouldn't be significantly improved if we included some discussion of things like Dr. Chapman's love languages where we could explain to our youth that some people will find sex an important part of how they give/receive love. Or Dr. Harley's stuf about how sexual fulfillment is a legitimate and often very important "need" for keeping a couple together. Sometimes I think it would help them a lot if we showed them better how sex fits into a healthy marriage rather than harping incessantly on the evils of extra-marital sex. (I hope some of that makes sense)
  17. I find it an interesting contrast to Laman and Lemuel. I can't remember the exact reference, but it's right after Nephi goes through the vision of the tree of life, he finds his brothers complaining that they can't understand their father's vision. Nephi asks them if they have inquired of the Lord, to which they reply that the Lord doesn't make such things known to them. They didn't believe God would make things known to them so they wouldn't ask. Yes, it is amazing that God can make things known unto us.
  18. Randomly opened my scriptures the other night and started reading the book of Joshua. A couple of things that caught my attention. In 1:4, it appears to me that Joshua is promised that the Israelite's inheritance would extend all the way to the Euphrates River. It doesn't seem like even at their greatest extend under King David that they ever got close to as far as the Euphrates. How do scholars/others view this prophecy? Does it maybe refer to the time taken in captivity (Daniel's time)? Maybe something yet to be fulfilled? Maybe something else that I'm not understanding? In chapter 2, the story of Rahab impressed me -- in particular Rahab's faith in a foreign god. She was willing to stand up to her own king in hiding the Israelite scouts. I'm guessing that she would have been facing charges similar to treason (which is usually punishable by death) all because she believed the Israelite God, "is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." (2:11)
  19. Or maybe something like what Alma the Elder did when he was baptized, essentially baptizing himself (see Mosiah 18) Or perhaps more like what Joseph Smith and Olivery Cowdery were told to do by baptizing each other. There would have been 11 others called to the apostleship with Nephi, so perhaps one of the other apostles baptized Nephi.
  20. If I understand the meaning of "expand" you should have a proof somewhere that the log of a product equals the sum of the log's of the factors. log(a*b)=log(a)+log(b). Does that fit in with the section you're studying?
  21. As I listen to Christian radio, every once in a while I will hear something that doesn't "mesh" with what I have been led to believe that Christian's believe. One that I've heard a couple of times deals with different "levels" of reward or position in heaven. It is often presented along the lines of "coming to saving faith opens the door and lets you into heaven. Once there, some will be rewarded more than others based on our obedience/disobedience" or something along those lines. The picture I had been presented was basically a two sided coin: heaven or hell and everyone in heaven is rewarded equally and everyone in hell is "rewarded" equally.
  22. "Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost" seems to be an interesting topic. As Ashley suggested, I'm not sure how much consensus there is. For example, among the references Google gave were some who felt that Christ has to be physically in front of you in order to commit this sin (which means no one is capable of committing this sin at present). Others had other ideas.
  23. I'll never forget that day sitting in Dr Jeffrey's Evolution class at BYU. He comes into class pushing a cart of hominid skulls. Starts off with a discussion of what makes an ape skull different from a human skull, then proceeds to show different skulls essentially showing the progression from ape-like to human-like. I still haven't figured out how to reconcile these opposing ideas. I often think the truth is probably going to be very interesting, and maybe unexpected.
  24. Does it have to be an either or thing? There's no way I can ever do enough to save myself, so salvation has to come by grace through faith. However, as noted, "faith without works is dead." So my faith has to be strong enough to motivate me to strive in all I do to be obedient to God's commands, which means I have to actually do something. So I see both as part of the equation -- I have to have faith in Christ, and I have to show that faith by my works -- the two things go together.
  25. There are a lot of good hymns. When I have to pick a favorite, my favorite is "I Stand All Amazed"