pushka

JBS, are you deliberately avoiding my questions regarding how children who's families were too poor to send them to school would spend their time? How would these children benefit from the kind of school system you're suggesting would be better for the USA? What happened to these kinds of children in the period you are suggesting the USA return to in its provision of education? I think it's irrelevant, in today's society, whether or not free, public education (via taxes) was a Marxist concept...I still think it is a good concept, don't get too wound up about Marxist theories that it screws up your whole view of how the world should operate now..

LOL Willow, yours is a perfect example of the Chinese Whispers kind of talk that goes on in any close knit community, LDS or Non-LDS. Rev. I hope that you will find your future time at the church less fraught, and that the members of your ward will realise the good in you instead of listening to gossip. Perhaps a quiet word with someone could help suggest a relevant talk in the chapel, so that people are reminded of the dangers of gossipping?

'This stinging reproach touched them to the quick and kindled them into a rage, gnashing with their teeth at the holy martyr and expressing all the symptoms of unbridled passion. The saint, not heeding what was done below, had his eyes and heart fixed on higher objects, and being full of the Holy Ghost and looking up steadfastly to the heavens, saw them opened, and beheld his divine Saviour standing at the right hand of his Father appearing by that posture ready to protect, receive, and crown his servant. With this vision the saint was inexpressibly ravished, his soul was inspired with new courage, and a longing to arrive at that bliss a glimpse of which was shown him. His heart overflowed with joy and in an ecstasy, not being able to forbear expressing his happiness in the very midst of his enemies, he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God." The Jews became more hardened and enraged by hearing the saint's declaration of this vision; and calling him a blasphemer, resolved upon his death without any further process. In the fury of their blind zeal they stayed not for a judicial sentence nor for the warrant of the Roman governor, without which no one could at that time be legally put to death amongst them. But stopping their ears against his supposed blasphemies, they with great clamour rushed upon him, furiously hauled him out of the city, and with a tempest of stones satiated their rage against him.' The above is an account of St.Stephen's vision and his subsequent stoning..I must admit to not having studied the lives/deaths of the Saints for many years, so I was surprised when his vision was mentioned in this thread. It does seem to state that God the Father and Jesus were sitting/standing as 2 individuals in the vision.. St. Stephen

LOL Iggy!! That's a brilliant story!! :)

Aww Iggy, you know I'm noticing a lot of similarities between you and I! :) That idea of a dry run is excellent, I'm having a lesson Tuesday night, so will suggest it to the Elders then..There was supposed to be a baptism last weekend, but it didn't take place. I'm curious as to how deep the water is, and the depth of the pool itself. Whenever I've taken my kids (years ago) to the swimming baths, and had to go in with them, I was really afraid walking barefoot on the tiles around the pool, or of coming down the steps of the pool into the water without holding onto something..or someone..I really am afraid as soon as I smell the Chlorine at swimming baths..the pool doesn't have chlorine in it, does it?

Okay, I need to read more about the evolution of Education in the USA, however I still have this nagging feeling about those children who were not fortunate enough to be educated in the USA, what happened to those children? Do you think they benefitted from the school system you're suggesting, by not being able to be educated? Please tell me what happened to most of those children, how long they lived, how they occupied themselves at school age and beyond.

MMMM..yes please Siouxz..I love buttered sweetcorn! :)

That sounds like a very interesting method of voting, Anthony..it's a pity our Parliament hasn't taken up the idea...I suppose it wouldn't suit them, lol! :)

They say history is written by the victorious..so it's never really unbiased..I suppose when I read any book that is historically based, fiction or non-fiction, I just expect the real events that happened to be accurately portrayed, so as not to mislead the reader who thru reading that fictional work, in the case of TW&TG, may be inspired to read more about the non-fictional history by reading TW&TG. Trust me, I do love Historical Fiction...I read plenty of British works by Catherine Cookson and Josephine Cox...I don't pretend to believe that the fictional characters really took part in many of the events portrayed in the books, but as long as the main events are portrayed accurately, I can enjoy reading the fictional accounts.

LOL Siouxz!! Sometimes navigating this new site makes you feel as if you're in the Twilight Zone!! Somebody please laugh at my corny joke!!!

Oh Iggy! Thanks so much for your entertaining post! It sounds hilarious! LOL :) Thanks for the tips regarding floating feet and hair (my hair's quite short now so that shouldn't be a problem)..the Relief Society President advised me to bend at the knees and to tuck the dress between my legs so that it didn't float either, or else I'd have to go thru it all again...wow! My parents and family are Roman Catholic too, so I love your joke regarding the Father, Son and Holy Ghost! I will make sure to ask for that blessing for comfort...it's hard to describe how frightened I am, but how much I'm trying to be brave..today I saw a girl at church with a floorlength white skirt, and a coat over her chest and shoulders..I thought she was wearing one of the Baptism dresses, and asked if she was being baptised today..I was so embarrassed when I was told that she just had a long, white skirt on and had been baptised years ago aged 8...I was hoping to watch her baptism to give me a reminder of what it's like..I did see a baptism take place about 30 years ago, and I can still picture the dunking bit now.. I spoke to the RS President about what I was gonna wear for the baptism, she didn't suggest a unisex jumpsuit, unfortunately, (I always wear trousers) and she's having to order a large sized dress to accommodate my ample bussoms!! LOL...what a picture that should be!! Thanks for all your best wishes, and for making me have a humourous thought/picture to take with me on the day! :)

Oh my gosh!!! I'm blushing!! Thank you Iggy, for starting this thread, and thank you all for the congratulations... This cat doesn't like water at all, in fact, she has a phobia of it...so I'm dreading the actual event! My family are coming to watch, my sister and her husband and possibly one or two of their sons, my daughter Becki, and her boyfriend, possibly my son Daniel, and possibly my mum!! I've given them all permission to have a quiet chuckle at me as I go under, and to take photos on their mobile phones...pictures to follow if they get round to taking them...oh, and I've invited some friends from the Ward, and WillowTheWisp from this 'ere site!! :)

You'll be able to visit DisneyLand/World on your P days?

You willing to provide references for your Russian studies Fiannan? Elphie, I agree with your sentiments entirely!:)

John Doe, thanks very much for enlightening USN and JBS as to my nationality, and therefore lack of an in-depth knowledge of American History of Education. I'm glad that you pointed out the difficulty with a voucher system for schools. I'm sure that the difficulties in that situation would be mirrored here in the UK. USN, our schools already compete for students, due to League Tables that each school appears on, where the performance of the teachers is noted, and schools congratulated or chastised on their results. Unfortunately, a symptom of the existence of these tables is that teachers, and staff in hospitals (as they are similarly Tabled) is that the increase in administrative paper work decreases the ability of the staff to fully care for their pupils and patients..too much 'red tape'. JBS, I wonder what you would like the children who couldn't afford to be educated to spend their time doing instead of attending school? Are you hoping for a return to the days of the Agricultural Revolution where children not attending schools could just work the farms for their parents?

Btw, if anyone wants to know what the 2 B words are, just send me a PM! LOL :)

When my son was aged 2 1/2 and we were walking thru a shopping centre one day, him in his buggy, he started to repeat 'B.....d' over and over again!! I think he'd picked it up from watching Eastenders, or from his dad, as it was a word I never used. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine, in a drop in centre group, was asked to stop saying 'B....r' which is a popular, almost acceptable swear word in the UK. She stopped, then a couple of weeks later while waiting for a mini bus to take us home from a day trip, on seeing the mini bus arriving (late), she started saying 'F... me, he's here!! Oh F.....g Hell, he's here at last!'...she had to be reminded about the non-swearing rule, but we all could hardly stifle our smiles and giggles!! Poor woman! :)

You're right Traveler...in the UK, if you put anything except the letter X beside the name of the candidate you're voting for, then it is classed as a spoiled paper, and disqualified.. It's a shame that some of the smaller 'fringe' parties do not stand candidates in certain areas because it is pretty obvious that they will not win the count...at least if they did stand, the people who wanted to vote for them could do so, and just the sight of their results in the press could encourage more people to vote for them in the future instead of just voting for the 2 major parties (perhaps 3 in the UK) who are most likely to poll the most votes.

Rebky, did you overlook this post from Moksha? ' Quote: Originally Posted by Canuck Mormon We probably wouldn't be considered a peculiar people then. We might even be more accepted . I have wondered if the main collective benefit was that of peculiarity. The individual benefits are obvious for not smoking and drinking alcohol to excess. If more peculiarity is ever needed, the Ministry of Silly Walks is but a footstep away: 'The Silly Walk is a classic sketch from the British TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus...Moksha was using that film clip as an illustration of 'peculiar' people!! It really is funny, please watch it and let me know what you think!

Hmmm, I'm in the UK and unless the GP feels it's okay (as in the birth pill), we are generally only allowed a 1 month's supply of prescription meds...this would prove difficult should an emergency occur...try ringing those receptionists to ask for extra meds and you're in for a fight! lol :)

Hi Mike! Welcome to the site, hope you stick around :)

Hi Jiggly!!! I hope you join in the games on this site too! (Me and Rebky seem to end up playing the Song Game together all the time!!) :)

Elphie, thanks for your post. It seems strange to me that somebody would write a fictional version of the church history, using actual facts but altering the truth of them...I suppose this is sort of what happened with the TV show Little House On The Prairie...the shows were only very loosely based upon the true history of the Ingalls family, only major depictions such as Mary going blind were correct, and I must admit that knowing that fact makes me question all of the episodes as to the reality of the events portrayed...I can't say that I like this method of writing very much (even though the stories are very entertaining, as I gather TW&TG probably is too). A similar potrayal of the events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic was depicted in the now famous movie starring Kate Winslett and Leonardo De Caprio...Unfortunately, I sat thru the full 3 hours or so of that movie and was completely disappointed by the way that Kate's character was depicted as if she was some kind of super hero.. Perhaps I'm just being a killjoy, but if someone is portraying actual events, I think it is only fair that they give the true depiction of them. See, you're not the only wet rag around here! LOL :)

I agree Moksha!!! I love penguins and polar bears!! Leave them alone Stud!

I'm amazed at the comments that public school should be abolished, whether the posters meant just in the US or in the UK too! Private, voluntary attendance at school would throw the general population back a couple of centuries...perhaps the wealthy are not concerned whether those less wealthy can afford private (voluntary funded) schooling for their children...