LugiaLvl138

I am most certainly not planning to leave Utah anytime soon. But if I had to go to Missouri, well at least I can still have arch plates, assuming cars are still a thing and I didn't have to walk or push a handcart there. The Gateway Arch in St Louis is a special place to me and, unlike Utah's Delicate Arch, the public is allowed to go atop it. I am also aware that currently, the command for all the saints to gather to a physical Zion such as Utah or Missouri is not in effect. Only sending certain people, like say certain priesthood leaders and their immediate family to do specific things makes sense and avoids most of said logistical problems.

As the drought in many Western states intensifies, and as places like Seattle and Portland see triple digit temperatures, my eyes have been turning towards Jackson County Missouri. Specifically the prophecy about the Church moving there in the last days. I have always wondered about the sheer logistical challenge of moving several million people to one place. As crazy as Utah's house prices have gotten in the last year, that would be nothing compared to what would be happening if several million people suddenly tried to move to or even near Jackson County. Additionally I wonder if they all specifically have to move to Jackson County, or if it could be nearby, given that the Wasatch Front in Utah is made up of 4 main counties plus about 6 or 7 smaller secondary counties. Or perhaps I am simply overreacting and Utah's weather cycle will end up flipping around. While I wasn't alive in 1983 when State Street in Salt Lake became a river, I do remember ten years ago as a missionary serving in Midway, spending most of my service time making sandbags to help against potential flooding nearby.

When I was 15, in a Teachers Quorum lesson about the power of the Melchezidek Priesthood, I was told that among plenty of other things, I would have access to something called Command over the Elements. I immediately pictured the Periodic Table, and then quickly realized that if I heard right, the Melchezidek Priesthood would allow me to turn a bar of Lead into Gold. I imagined the looks on the faces of alchemists who have attempted that for centuries as I did so in front of them. Any why stop at Lead I thought. Water is simply Hydrogen and Oxygen mixed together, so I could turn bottles of water into bottles of Gold then too. I raised my hand and said out loud "Could I use the Priesthood to turn a bar of Lead into a bar of Gold?" The teacher told me that first it would have to he God's will for the Lead to turn to Gold and that second I would need a righteous reason for doing so. I knew I just wanted to make myself rich and see the look on people's faces so that put me in my place, and I have never actually attempted to use the Melchezidek Priesthood to practice Alchemy. The phrase Command over the Elements, still puzzles me though. Outside that lesson I don't think I've ever heard that phrase used again. Some have told me that Elements refers to Earth, Water, Air, Fire. Which would signify that Melchezidek Priesthood holders have access to all 4 of Earthbending, Airbending, Waterbending, and Firebending then. I do hear the phrase The Faith to move Mountains from time to time, which taken literally would mean Earthbending.

My gambling versus investing bit was twofold. Yes I was pointing out that there is risk in investing too. I am also claiming that Card Counting is much more like investing than gambling. This is backed up by Colin Jones, owner and founder of Blackjack Apprenticeship.

I would actually be afraid if an announcement was made in General Conference about the Lord being OK with Card Counting, because Nevada Casinos would then likely view LDS players with increased suspicion. I like the fact that someone put the words cheating and stealing in quotes, because Card Counting is 100% legal as long as it is done without mechanical or electronic assistance. The casino as a private business can however tell me to stop playing Blackjack, or request that I leave. Actual cheating such as marking cards would give me a one way ticket to Elko or Clark County Jail, plus a felony charge.

I'm not attacking my Bishop. I've never had a Bishop that got charged with affinity fraud or the like. However, there are people that use their calling to build trust to commit affinity fraud. In the press just recently, was a Bishop charged with Child Pornography. It's a very sad situation for that Ward, and for those that knew him, but I'm not going to attack my Bishop over it.

On the subject of gambling versus investing, I would like to share my experience as an LDS Card Counter. I play Blackjack in Nevada casinos in a way that gives me about a 1% edge over the house. This is proven by math. But to get there, I had to memorize a set of playing decisions called basic strategy, count the cards as they are dealt, figure out the true count by estimating how many cards remain to be dealt, size my bets accordingly, and memorize when to break from basic strategy according to the true count. Due to my Autism, I can do all of the above in a busy casino, and I can do it while chatting with the dealer or other players to appear less obvious. Like a less powerful but still effective Rainman. I have already been told in no uncertain terms that I am not allowed to play Blackjack at 2 of the 3 casinos in Mesquite Nevada, which pretty much proves that I am a winning player. I also think that being LDS gives me another advantage since avoiding alcohol and drugs is second nature to me. Both of those things are associated with casinos, and both of them would throw off my mental game. Why then, does the Church oppose what I do? I do this on certain weekends in addition to my weekday job. On my weekend in Mesquite, I visited the YSA Branch. I told everyone what I was doing in town. One of the Bishopric Wives told me "Oh, you don't want to gamble dear." A couple of the other guys in the Branch however, were pretty impressed. Also, I have a running joke about how "You can trust the Bishop's investing company right?" Referring to the fact that affinity fraud is rampant in Utah and that sadly, anyone scammed by it would have been better off going to Vegas and putting it all on red in Roulette. Or even better, used it as a Card Counting bankroll.