Colirio

Members
  • Posts

    490
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

Posts posted by Colirio

  1. Some thoughts: 

     

    1. There is a political swamp. 

         a. Denizens of the swamp (long term political officials) use their political power and persuasion to structure the organization for them to stay in power long term. 

         b. Denizens use their power to put down any detractors or factions that might pose a threat to their power. 

         c. Denizens pay the costs (ie. money, favors, extortion, etc.) to enlist the help of others to keep them in power. 

     

    2. Political rivals of the swamp fight an uphill battle. 

         a. The structure has been built to keep them out. 

         b. The denizens have the power to protect the people, which includes protecting themselves from corrupting influences. 

         c. Political rivals of the swamp often have few friends except the enemies of the swamp. 

     

     

    That being said, if you take away power to investigate crimes of anyone, including political rivals, you undermine the foundation of law. 

     

    Does government and law exist anywhere except in the minds of the people? 

  2. On 10/18/2019 at 5:40 PM, Mores said:

     And once you add into it the specifics of the Law of Moses (which we know via Potiphar's wife that Joseph still adhered to as best he could) the probability is that the way he went about it was far different than the characterization that you're spitting out.

     

    In what way was Joseph living the law of Moses? 

  3. It seems to me that our allies in the Middle East have a way of becoming our enemies a decade or two later. 

     

    We spend a lot of our blood, sweat, and tears to build these nations in that region for such short term gains. 

     

    If oil is the reason, what is the REAL cost for that oil? The truth is that we are not going to have long term peace no matter which regime we support with billions of dollars in military support and infrastructure. We will be spending just as much propping up the next regime a few years later. Rinse and repeat. 

  4. 3 hours ago, Mores said:

    If you think about it, that statement doesn't really clarify anything.  There was no word as "church" in the Hebrew lexicon of the time.  So, whatever Nephi actually wrote, it didn't necessarily mean the same thing as what we think of as "church" today.

     

    When you state that there was no "formal organization" at the time Nephi wrote those words, to what are you referring?

     

    Clearly, Joseph Smith translated the word as "church." He also translates the word as "church" from Nephi's writings speaking of the church if the Lamb in chapter 14: 

    1 Nephi 14:12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

     

    It seems to me the record states that this meaning of church is referring to the saints of God. 

     

    Throughout the Book of Mormon record, translated by Joseph Smith, we read of the "church" being organized by prophets. (Mosiah 25 and Alma 6 especially) 

     

    Unless I am misunderstanding what you meant by no "formal organization" at the time, I disagree with your assertion completely. It might not have the same organizational appearance that it does now, but the saints were clearly organized in prior dispensations. 

  5. 19 hours ago, Mores said:

    ...church...

    There was no "formal ogranization" at the time Nephi wrote those words.  

     

    I'm not so sure about that. 

     

     

    1 Nephi 4:24 And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the plates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were without the walls.

    25 And I also bade him that he should follow me.

    26 And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me. 

  6. 4 hours ago, Traveler said:

     

    Now, having posted these things - I very much dislike any comparisons of government politics in the USA today to the Nazi politics of Germany even though there are some scary comparisons.  Foremost because the Nazi movement was a socialists movement (or if you will, a liberal left wing movement) that has somehow become labeled as a ultra right wing conservative movement. 

     

    The Traveler

     

    So, instead of refuting any of the points @anatess2 made about the positive impacts that President Trump has made, you instead compare him to Hitler and daydream about an idealized leadership? 🤣

     

    1. The mainstream media is heavily biased and full of lies. Is it even a LITTLE bit possible, even just a smidgeon, that your judgment of the man's character might be influenced by the bias of his enemies? 

     

    2. There are no Pahoran, Captain Moroni, or founding father types stepping up to the plate to lead the country. It really does stink, doesn't it?  The ideal you have proposed doesn't seem to be in the running. So, what other option do you propose? 

     

  7. Yes.

    I put it in a small section at the bottom of the resume for special skills/hobbies. 

     

    Every single time I have been interviewed it came up and they talked about it. I used the opportunity to speak of the leadership experiences, the learning to appreciate a culture different than the one I was raised in, the teamwork experiences, the setting goals and working hard to accomplish them, the learning to get along with coworkers even when we disagreed, and many other qualities that the company was probably wanting to know about me. 

     

    Having been on the hiring side many times before, one of the biggest struggles is to come up with questions that ask about those types of experiences in the applicant’s past. My missionary experiences, especially as a young man, are ALWAYS relevant to any job I applied for.

     

    Being memorable in a positive way is generally the toughest part of being interviewed, especially when there might be hundreds (thousands) of other applicants. A missionary experience in someone’s past can create that memorable part for an interviewer. 

     

    Thats not even to begin speaking of the additional, positive things a mission experience tells an interviewer: 

    - Most likely honest. 

    - Most likely someone who helps others. 

    - Most likely someone who has ideas that are outside the normal, run-of-the-mill thought processes. 

     

    So, yes. Include it and use it positively if/when the situation arises. 

  8. On 8/26/2019 at 4:24 PM, JohnsonJones said:

     

    On the otherhand, as a faithful Mormon, for our day and our time, I would say that it was revelation that our Prophet told us not to use certain phrases in reference to who we are, as we want to be identified as Christians and Saints, faithful followers in the Church of Jesus Christ, not followers of Mormon.

     

    Pretty much every (all?) revelation in the church in the latter days came in response to a prophet asking a question and receiving a response. (Starting with Joseph Smith wanting to know which church he should join.) 

     

    That being the case, it stands to reason that it would be President Nelson’s questioning of the Lord on the matter that would result in such a response. 

  9. Debating the secular reasons for these things seems somewhat futile to me. 

     

    Speaking of the latter days, Jesus Christ said: 

    Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

     

    I do not believe the solution to these problems is to be found in governmental, legal management of the situation. 

     

    Legally restricting the citizenry from keeping and bearing arms does nothing to aid this situation. In fact, it removes their ability to respond to the emergency. 

     

    Likewise, keeping good men and women armed to be able to respond to these emergencies does not strike at the iniquitous root of the problem. 

     

    As latter-day saints, we already know the solution is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The wars and battles in The Book of Mormon did not change the hearts of the Lamanites, but the spreading of the gospel did. That seems to be the solution in this case as well. 

  10. As the hymn states, "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings from heaven." 

     

    While I don't agree that it is necessarily a weakness to choose another way as sometimes we are required to get our ox out of the mire, it is of great importance to find out the Lord's will and follow it; even if it requires great sacrifice. 

     

    President Dallin H. Oaks 

    April 2019 General Priesthood Session

    "At a stake conference in Cali, Colombia, a sister told how she and her fiancé desired to be married in the temple, but at that time the closest temple was in faraway Peru. For a long time, they saved their money for the bus fares. Finally they boarded the bus to Bogotá, but when they arrived there, they learned that all seats on the bus to Lima, Peru, were taken. They could go home without being married or be married out of the temple. Fortunately, there was one other alternative. They could ride on the bus to Lima if they were willing to sit on the floor of the bus for the entire five-day and five-night ride. They chose to do this. She said it was difficult, even though some riders sometimes let them sit in their seats so they could stretch out on the floor.
    What impressed me in her talk was this sister’s statement that she was grateful she and her husband had been able to go to the temple in this way, because it changed the way they felt about the gospel and the way they felt about marriage in the temple. The Lord had rewarded them with the growth that comes from sacrifice. She also observed that their five-day trip to the temple accomplished a great deal more in building their spirituality than many visits to the temple that were sacrifice-free.


    In the years since I heard that testimony, I have wondered how different that young couple’s life would have been if they had made another choice --forgoing the sacrifice necessary to be married in the temple."

  11. 22 hours ago, unixknight said:

    I do believe that much of this stuff is well intentioned, but what people don't understand is that they're forging the very same weapons that will be used against them in the future, and don't realize it.  

     

     

    This is true on many levels: 

     

    1 Nephi 14:3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.

     

  12. 7 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

    I see your point about whether the immediate freedom of three million slaves was worth roughly half a million Northern lives.  

     

    This is the reasoning I give when I have heard discussions about how several Democrats running for president in 2020 are advocating for slavery reparations. The fact is, "America" already paid them with blood. If any group owes reparations for slavery, it is the Democrat party. 

  13. 2 hours ago, MarginOfError said:

     

    The common thread, though, is that independent government agencies that are able to operate without becoming political footballs tend to do some really good things.  Once they get put into political theater, everything comes off the rails.

     

     

    In other words, their foul ups and corruption come to light? 😏

     

     

    😜