Carborendum

I just wanted to see how this weathered this past week. I think this was a no brainer. Yup they lied. Yup, he pretty much knew what was going to happen. Yup. In the tradition of Wag the Dog Clinton and Never let a good crisis go to waste Obama, he was using it as a distraction. But apparently, he doesn't really care about his poll numbers. He was distracting from the other stuff that happened this past couple of weeks. And even though the media reported on it (for about 1% of their airtime) no one seems to be talking about the other stuff very much. The US, yes, a lot is going on. The war will end soon. Ansd we have much more stuff to come. It's going to be a wild ride. Russia? Interesting comment from Rubio about Putin. BTW, do you love Elon Musk?

Russia denies any invasion is imminent. The Ukrainians don't seem to see any real indication that an attack is imminent. Now the White House is changing their story. What exactly do we know about the situation that isn't from the White House or the media hyping whatever the White House says? It sounds like Biden is failing at pretty much everything and TPTB are trying to fabricate a war where there was none. On the other hand, Church HQ has removed all missionaries from the Ukraine and moved them to Moldova. My son was going to that mission. Instead, he's serving in Layton, Utah. It really is difficult to determine what is actually happening. Something is definitely up. But I doubt we're getting the straight scoop from any of the usual suspects. Who the heck are we supposed to believe? Russians who would deny involvement whether it was true or not? A Ukrainian President who is trying to keep their country calm and travel flowing? A US President with tanking poll numbers willing to do ANYthing to distract the population from his miserable administration? My guess is that there is something else really going on, and each of these guys has to put up some front. Because nothing else is making sense. And the "something else" is going to cause war anyway which is why they're building up and posturing.

I've always accepted callings. I figured that even if I wasn't qualified, the Lord would qualify me. But... Twice, I've quite a calling. Not because I felt inadequate, or that it was a bad fit or anything like that (although I have felt that way with many callings). I quite twice because, as I was performing the calling, I realized the bishop was undermining me. Once that recognized that, I quit.

I can understand this being scary. But here's what I've come to believe about this: We get warning shots from the Lord. 1) I don't know how much food storage was emphasized prior to my birth. But my parents took notice some time in the 70s (the stagflation recession) that the Church seemed to be re-emphasizing it again. I don't know exactly what was said. But it was enough to get my parents going on it. From that point on, it became a part of Church culture. 2) During the Obama Administration we saw "The Great Recession". And the panic button was hit again. 3) I believe this is the third warning shot that the Lord is providing us. I don't know if I've ever seen empty shelves like this in my entire lifetime. I don't believe the actual famine will happen now. I believe we've just been given the third - and possibly last - warning shot. After this recession / inflation season is over, we will have one more chance to stock up and do what the Lord has told us to do for 200 years. The next time the scare happens, it won't be just a warning shot. It will be the real deal. What we see in the worst third world countries will happen in America. Note: 70s Stagflation was an economic condition no economist had ever considered. So, it was unprecedented. The "Great Recession" was also considered unprecedented. The level of empty shelves today?? I've certainly never seen it before in my lifetime. Does anyone know if this is unprecedented? *** Hmmm. Interesting... I really hope I'm wrong, but... If we do a numerical analysis on these events, We're looking at an economic bomb being dropped prior to us coming fully out of this recession. This is purely a numerical pattern based on years between events (which are flexible based on beginning, middle or end of those periods). It has no basis in any economic principles. Put that together with some apocryphal prophecies... I really hope I'm wrong.

Interesting question. Not the more common questions... What is your favorite book? What is the most important book? Given your conditions of other books already included, what additional book would I add? If I had only ONE choice: https://www.amazon.com/Elbert-Hubbard-Treasury-Inspirations-Provocations/dp/153744025X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1J9VJZMQB2DTV&keywords=elbert+hubbard&qid=1641492463&sprefix=elbert+hubbard%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-3 *************************************************************************************************************************** But if I were put in charge of stocking the entire library, what LISTS of books would I include? Two Required Reading List books for the required "classics" shelf: (Each of these contains many sub-lists, like the complete works of Shakespeare). Great Books of the Western World Harvard Classics Thomas Jefferson Education reading lists (adult, youth, and children) Common Educational books that are NOT common core compliant: English (this should include essay writing with an emphasis on Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Math (Basic stuff with the old-fashioned HOLT Math Curriculum from basic arithmetic to Calculus). Physicsc Chemistry, and Biology (Up through 1st year College Technical Major) I've found that non-technical majors have GE requirements that basically just re-hash what was learned in high school. Economics (specifically anything by Sowell, Friedman, or Hayek) What every XX Grader Should Know series of books. Foreign language: I've found the three-line Berlitz method to be the best for languages with the Roman Alphabet. But the Barron's Diplomatic courses (with Audio) is better for languages with different alphabets). Duo-Lingo & Rosetta Stone are fun for show. But they don't go very far. Self-Help Books The writings of Elbert Hubbard How to Win Friends and Influence People 12 Rules for Life The Seven Principles of Highly Effective People The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work The works of Tom Peters And They Were Not Ashamed Individual books that seem to be about money, but are really about all aspects of your life. The Greatest Salesman in the World Richest Man in Babylon Think and Grow Rich Total Money Makeover Rich Dad, Poor Dad My favorite books of all time (included several of the lists above): The Count of Monte Cristo Jane Eyre Then the "Fun" books should also be there. But that will vary from individual to individual.

I don't blame you for this. I had a very similar philosophy at your age. But as I got to really understand the nature of "knowledge" and "faith", I began realizing that having such rigid ideals was quite limiting. This mentality was actually stifling both my spiritual and intellectual growth. The realization I came to was that "I believe" and "I know" are not the separated conditions that we tend to think they are. It could EASILY be said that we NEVER "know" anything (Enter: The Matrix). If so, why bother ever having such a word? Instead, I see that they are simply two sides of the same coin. If you believe, you also know. I don't see it (as many do) as a graduation from one stage to another. I see them as different aspects of the same concept. And within that concept (a coin) we can increase the value of the denomination. (I use the term "denomination" purposefully). The point most tend to miss is that we never know "EVERYTHING". So, if we come across some factoid that tends to threaten our belief system, we begin to doubt everything. That isn't even how we approach scientific knowledge. Why would be do that with deeply held religious convictions? In the scientific method, we see the Michelson--Morley experiment shook the scientific world. But we still taught the same Newtonian physics in schools, Research continued merrily along without any change. But a branch of scientific research went aside to explain it. Then came the birth of relativistic physics. It didn't really change what we knew before. It just added to it. The Lord teaches us line-by-line and precept-upon-precept. He works that way from dispensation to dispensation. He works that way from generation to generation. He works that way from individual to individual. Just because there is something we don't "know" doesn't mean that we need to throw out what we DO "know".

My BIL lives in Broomfield. I checked on them to see how they fared. He said that the fires were about 10 miles from his house. For a fire that big, 10 miles is not far. Then they got hit with a blizzard. ************************************************* Back to the topic: How do we know if this is "The End"? The way to really tell if "the end is near" can be summed up in the proper application of one word: Unprecedented. Tragedies and political upheavals happen all the time. But when we see something we've never seen before, we tend to take notice. When we see several unprecedented things in close succession, that is when we might want to push the panic button. I'm fairly isolated. So if I'm aware of it, chances are it is affecting a LOT of people. We're all aware of the pandemic. I don't know if we've ever seen that since the invention of sanitation. A true pandemic. I don't know if we've every had a "true" pandemic before. We've never seen society as a whole (not just isolated incidents) forcing individuals to perform acts that they find morally objectionable from a deeply held moral/religious conviction. We've never had a sitting President removed from office via impeachment. People thought Trump would be first. And although Trump marked the third US Pres to be impeached, "removal" didn't happen. Could it be Biden? It looks like he'll be impeached (at least that is the political projection today). But will there be enough Dems in the Senate to actually drop the axe? We'll see. Anything else that my isolated self has missed that has had a TREMENDOUS affect on the majority of the global population (or even "of the developed world")? Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times in enemy action. Maybe it isn't a Pres being removed from office. It could be anything "unprecedented" that affects virtually the entire nation. If we see three things in a row, that is not necessarily the end. It is enough of a trend for us to wake up and take notice. As we get closer to seven. MAYDAY!!! I don't know if the blaze in Colorado is enough to call "unprecedented". The frequency and size of major wildfires has been gradually increasing for decades. Only political alarmists are calling it unprecedented. I'd look more to the "Death, disease, famine, and war" aspects that tend to cry out "the end." 1. When we think of "death" we tend to think it will be from disease, famine, or war. So, why the separation? I think it is because "death" means a type of death that does not come from these other three. e.g. murder rates are up in all major cities around the US this past year and this year as well. Based on my study of statistics on many social aspects, this one is covered. 2. Disease: duh. Nuff said. 3. Famine: We're on the verge of a world-wide famine due to supply chain issues. I've certainly noticed it when going to the grocery store. Empty shelves all the time. 4. War: We've had a relative peace in this world since the end of WWII. If we see a true third World War, then we have what is called ... what is the word for a four-part "trifecta"? Quadrafecta? That sounds weird. People don't like four-syllable words, much less words with secondary accents. Anyway, it may actually be a good thing that we have a weakling in the White House. Too much show of force from the US may actually be enough for Russia & China (which are both doing a lot of saber-rattling recently) to get over their past differences and form an alliance against the west. Side note: My son was supposed to go to the Ukraine for his mission. He got re-assigned to Layton, UT because of Russia's behavior. On the one hand, if we send military aid to Ukraine, that could be the thing that pushes the situation over the edge. On the other hand, if you've read about the history of the on-again/ off-again military aid to Ukraine... I don't know what to think about that. It's all just a sad situation.

I've experienced some enlightenment these past few months that I'd like to share. The reason you haven't heard much from me in the past several months is that I've been working about 60 to 80 hours per week. Some weeks more than that. It is this level of work that brought me to some enlightenment recently. Many of you know that I've got daddy issues. But I'm finally coming to understand him. And with that understanding comes some forgiveness. Much of what I'm about to say is basically what I'd kind of heard when I was younger. But not being in the situation, I just blew it off as people trying to excuse bad behavior. And maybe that was true to some extent. But the fact is that it isn't about excusing bad behavior, but about finding forgiveness in my own heart. My father had to be heavily focused on customer service. The nature of his business always required that he interact with people almost constantly. And even when he was not interacting with customers, he interacted with each of his employees. He had to keep a smile on his face even when he was being treated horribly and even being taken advantage of. He did this for 50 to 60 hrs/wk as the norm and had even busier weeks as the seasons changed. My business is not nearly as people focused as his business was. But I still have to do my share of people pleasing. One thing I found was that not only did I not have much time for my family, but I also didn't have the energy to "keep up the front." And that was when it hit me. On the one hand, he was constantly stuck in this "keep up appearances" mode because that is what customer service really is. And when he was not quite so busy at work, he had enough energy where he would be able to keep it up at home as well. On the other hand, when he did not have enough energy to keep it up, he was just brutally honest. And it wasn't kindness we saw from him. When I was younger and didn't understand the idea of deception, all I knew was that I "felt weird" around my dad. The thing of it is, I felt it not in his actions, but in his words and gestures. He was almost constantly in customer service mode. And for him, that meant lying to people. He always told people what they wanted to hear just so he would be considered a pleasant person to work with. So, he was so practiced in it that he carried it over to his home life. He could have found real traits to compliment people on. But he decided to compliment us on things that he "thought" we wanted to hear. All that did was make me feel weird whenever he tried to be nice to me. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it came to my dad. So, what was this great revelation I had? All my life, I thought of my dad as a liar. I always hated lies. It hurt me emotionally (even when I didn't understand what I was feeling) when others lied to me. And if I ever lied to others, I felt something that was almost a physical pain. That's why I tend to stay away from lies as much as I can. Although, I'll admit that sometimes, I find subtle deception to be an art that I have fun with. And it is usually in jest or for a topic of iinsignificance. What I have learned is that his "lies" were his way of trying to be better. It's "acting as if". Yes, "acting as if" is a type of lie, even if it is in a pursuit to become that noble state you're pretending to be. And it bugged me. It hurt me (as I've explained). But in understanding his motivation, I'm finding that it is becoming easier to find forgiveness in my heart when I think of him. I now see that he really was simply "doing the best he could with what he had at the time." The saying is that the purpose of the Church is to make bad men good; good men better, and better men best. My dad was a bad man. But he became better, as much as he could. He really tried. And I can see through this new lens and recognize that he did indeed become more than he was. Maybe he became a good man. I'm not in a place where I can judge that. But I now have found some compassion to realize that he was simply doing the best he could with what he had to work with. He tried. And he kept trying as best as he knew how. The other day I was talking to my son about how much I'd seen him grow. He told me the same about me. Then he described some traits that I shared with my father -- some traits which I would certainly do better without. I was initially angry. But when I gave it just a couple of moments' thought, I realized he was absolutely right. My son has a "brutal honesty" about him, which I guess he got from me. Sometimes it is annoying when your kids put a mirror up to your face. But he was right. I was like my dad in so many ways. I finally said,"You know, you're right. All I can say is that I'm doing better than my father did. And I see that you're doing better than I have." He said,"That's the way it's supposed to work, isn't it? What I realized he meant was that as flawed as I am, he was grateful that I had improved myself from the condition my father was, so that he could then improve himself even further than I had. I saw for the first time the "picture of hope" in my son. He was going to be alright. His children were going to be alright. It is unfortunate that I came to this realization this late in life. But I wasn't really ready for it earlier. And it is even more unfortunate that my father has fallen victim to dementia to the point where he doesn't recognize members of his own family anymore. It is unfortunate that he'll never know that I have finally found a way to invite forgiveness to take place in my heart for him. But I'm finally finding some peace inside myself.

There is actually some truth to what you say. But not in the way you think. Definition of Sociality: The "links" which we call "relationshops" between people. People we know here, we will also know there. Those we love here, we will love there. And, yes, if you were the kind of person who always fell into cliques and shunned everyone who disagreed with you here,... well, you get the picture. But to obtain the glory spoken of in the unbolded portion of your quote, we must learn to love everyone, not as "somebody that we used to know" but as brothers and sisters. If we don't know how to treat each other as brothers and sisters here, we will not consider each other as brother and sister there. And if we can't consider each other to be brothers and sisters, we won't have that promise of Eternal Glory.

I never thought you did. Apparently, this is a false belief since WAYYY too many people older and having higher IQs buy into it hook line and sinker. I agree. This assumes, of course, that whenever a child is exposed to something toxic, that they will let their parents know about it. With ideologies, that is not always the case. I've said many times that "There is no silver bullet." This is a metaphor to say that there is no "one-pronged attack" that will solve society's ills nor guarantee raising our children to the Lord. So, with that background, I agree. Yes, and they spent an awful lot of time each day with their mothers. What if they spent 8 hours a day with someone other than their mothers? Do you think their mothers would have had much influence over them? This is really the main point I've been making. It's fine to expose our children to other ideas -- especially dangerous ones that they need to be inoculated against. But for them to spend MORE time with people just pouring these ideas into their heads and not have equal (if not more) time correcting such ideas (or at least providing the child sufficient freedom to explore answers themselves) then they are going to go down the path of least resistance. I'm hearing you. Yes, part of my point is that this is out there so much that we don't need to willingly, knowingly expose them to it. It will happen on its own. And we need to have enough discussion in the home on such topics so that they know what to look out for, so they know to avoid it when they come across it. For ideologies, rather than "avoid" it when they come across it, they need to be taught enough correct principles to offset it. But I see no reason to purposefuly, knowingly expose them to something that is both ubiquitous and toxic. Yes. Parents. Not public school teachers.

I read it and accepted it. That latest post wasn't what I was talking about. Gator, I love you as a brother and a child of God. I know you tend to think things through after a lot of research. These qualities make me want to admire you. But you have mocked, insulted and belittled without ever apologizing. Instead, you blame me for not having a sense of humor. You can give your blanket apology of "if I've ever... I apologize." That's nice and all. But it indicates that you don't even acknowledge that you actually did anything wrong even when I've pointed out the precise thing that bothered me. And, no, I'm not playing the victim. As I said, it's a free country. You can say what you want. Something you ignored.

Yup.

I think that is an individual choice based on individual conditions. To say a blanket statement is not really taking into account a LOT of variables. I think you may have confused your concept of what I've stated with what I actually stated in the past. I said that I have a medical condition that makes it unfavorable for ME to take many vaccines. If other people want to get a vaccine, that's fine by me. But because you don't agree with my medical exemption, you think I'm anti-vax, and proceed to shame and ridicule me. It's a free country. You can do that.

Depends on the vaccine. If they came out with an AIDS vaccine tomorrow, I'd be kinda skeptical.

Who said I was anti-vaxx? I was just sharing an article that had some interesting information on the topic.

What a piece of work is man.

https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2021/07/49-people-who-were-fully-vaccinated-have-died-of-covid-in-nj-heres-what-we-know.html

As I said, most scholarships are transferrable... unless... you're really saying...

When values are mixed up like this, it is no wonder why there are so many efforts to say, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. All's well in Babylon."

Whenever something unexpected happens, too often people cry out "why?" or "that's not fair!" What I'm sitting here wondering is "What are her alternatives?" The university already suggested she attend another Church School. She said it was her "dream school". I have no idea why BYU-H would be more preferable than BYU-P as far as academics except for particular fields of study -- even then it's almost a wash. When dealing with a private university, as Vort says, they have a right to require this. And she has the right to go to another school if she disagrees with the policy. So, why doesn't she? Why hasn't she looked into the other schools? I read that her scholarships are now "gone". I've never heard of that. Most scholarships are transferable. So, why is that even a factor? How on earth did she even get $200k in scholarships for a school whose tuition is only 1/20th that? Is she planning on attending while living in a 4 star hotel? What's the deal? Why is THAT particular school so important that she's raising this stink? Has anyone even bothered to ask these questions? I haven't read it in my limited exposure to this story. I'd bet Provo would bend over backwards to help her get in to Provo just because of the situation she's in. But she's stuck in this victim mindset so far that she's not even trying to figure this out.

I don't see how this is any different than when we were required to get various immunizations as a child to attend public school. Note the bold. It seems that BYU-H doesn't accept the exemption. But as others said, Hawaii is Hawaii.

The day ain't over yet But seriously, folks... I don't believe it's ending in three hours either. But your Vox link doesn't really mean much. Most of those measures aren't as important as you seem to think. The fact that fertility is decreasing is considered a positive? Why? Literacy increasing? Measured how? I'll grant that more people can read. But read well? And what do they read? How many people in first world countries have even opened a classic, much less read it? Senior law students don't even read the Federalist Papers. I could go on. But I'll sum up with: Yes, some things are getting better. Some are not. But the biggest point here is that in both your previous post as this one that I quoted is that you're not taking into account the eternal scheme. How many people are coming to know Christ? How many people are changing their lives because of that fact? How are interpersonal relationships getting better because of how we treat each other? How is the strength of the family in this era? How many people spend their lives in service to others rather than for their own gain? I honestly don't know the answers to these questions. And further I don't know how anyone would be able to gather such statistics. What kind of questions would you even ask? How could we even verify the answers? Maybe strength of the family is something that could at least be close to verifiable. Without really having such data, it sure seems like more and more people are going away from God+family, and more towards their own gain at the cost of others. Think about the pride-prosperity cycle. Did all those Vox numbers really help the Nephites spirituality? No, it hurt it. And I find it interesting what side of that you seem to have come down on. I'm not saying that the world will end in the next year or five years. But to say that the REALLY IMPORTANT things are getting better in this world??? You're entitled to your opinion. But... well... I'm not seeing it.

In some ways I agree, others I don't. But I can't seem to reconcile this attitude with your earlier statement that "we'll be fine for at least another 500 years."

The Church and Political Activism. Politics is downstream of culture. The Church's culture is made up of families. We do the most good in society when we spend our time and energy on raising our children to know the word of God, and have faith in and a testimony of The Atonement of Christ. The Book of Mormon as the word of God. The spiritual hospital that is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Sunday School presidency recently went around to families in our ward and asked the following questions: Is your family actually reading the Come Follow Me manual and doing the extra little things that it instructs us to do? Is your family reading and studying the D&C and answering the questions that the manual asks? Is your family reading the Book of Mormon daily? The results were astoundingly awful. Very few even opened CFM. Very few read the assignment. Almost no one was reading the BoM daily (or even close to daily). A reasonable number were reading the scriptures "sometimes" outside of Church. Do we really hope to change the world through political activism if we continue to "treated lightly the things which we have received"?

@Traveler Please understand that I have a lot of respect for you. But you often misread things so badly that I wonder if we're in the same conversation. I'm doing the following because I know you're being sincere. And I have enough respect for you that I'm willing to go through the extra effort to clarify my position to you. I wouldn't be willing to go through this effort if it were anyone else. That may be what you're attempting to do. But it is actually about insight into the strawman you've constructed. Consider the following conversation as a parallel. Traveler: I enjoy biking. It's my preferred method of exercise to preserve good health. But even I don't think we should be biking 8 hours a day. Carb: Why don't you like exercise? Haven't you been taught that exercise is important for you cardiovascular system? T: Yes, I'm aware. And I do it regularly. But there's a limit to the quantity that one should be doing. And there is a question of the appropriate time and place. C: I still don't get why you don't like exercising, and biking in particular. I'd do it all the time, if I had the time for it. T: Doing it too much will do more harm than good. You need to ration it out to get the "proper" exercise. C: I am still concerned about why you don't exercise at all. T: I said I exercise. I exercise more than most. And I believe my life and quality of life has been extended because of it. But you still shouldn't be exercising THAT much. C: I'm sorry that you feel that way. One day I hope you'll understand that you can have a more healthy life if you'd just exercise. Take a moment to consider this and the parallels with the conversation we've been having. Now: I'll repeat my position. 1) It is absolutely imperative that a child's up-bringing and education include exposure to new ideas -- especially ideas they may disagree with. Understood? Got it? it is IMPERATIVE that this happen. 2) It is also imperative that education include the understanding of the difference between facts and opinions; the concept of "ideologies" and "propaganda" vs. "established truth." 3) There should be no punishment or bonus to agree or disagree with ideologies. 4) It is imperative that such discussions should NOT be about finding the truth of those positions. It should be about how well we communicate our positions, and how well we can support, defend, or refute a position. 4) Teachers should be allowed enough academic freedom to speak ideologies (WITHIN THEIR DISCIPLINE) as long as there is no academic consequence when students disagree. 5) Teachers should be very careful in the format of how ideologies (especially controversial ones) are discussed in class. 6) Some ideologies are "toxic" which should be strictly avoided. See below. There are two points I'd like to make regarding these 6 points. 1) Teachers have our children 8 hours or more per day. Parents are lucky if they get that much (aside from sleeping hours). If teachers are constantly teaching them ideas that parents consider wrong, what chance do parents have of correcting any ideologies that they find incorrect? I'm only asking for equal time. If the only exposure students get is maybe an hour or two, and all the rest is plain old 2+2=4, then ok. Parents should be able to work with this. But if they are getting inundated with it all day long, there's no hope of parents really raising their kids. The school is doing the raising. 2) We need to be aware of "Toxic" ideologies. And I would welcome discussion of such only in a VERY controlled environment where people have metaphorical hazmat suits to handle it. We use the word "Toxic" too often and it has lost meaning. So, I need to define it clearly. Toxic ideology: An ideology which poisons creativity, individual thinking, enthusiasm, self-esteem, optimism, autonomy, creativity, and clear communication/expression. And I believe that CRT fits that bill. It tells whites that all of society's ills are on their heads. It tells minority races that "the man" is keeping them down. And there is no hope to get out of their bad situation. It tells everyone that it is based on race - something they have no control over and cannot change -- no hope. Thus, I don't see a positive use for this ideology even if it were true. Feminism also has some parallels in this vein. Too often, these ideas are not taught as an ideology to be discussed, but they are taught as a matter of fact that the students need to accept or they will face academic and social consequences. ONCE AGAIN: I have NO problem with having open discussion of ideas. I have a problem with the format and the quantity. And it will be a rare teacher and a rare classroom where toxic ideas are discussed in an open format with NO prejudice or NO academic / social consequences for disagreeing. Yes, it happens. Of course it does. But it is RARE.