NeuroTypical

Hi OldOkie! Some of the kindest folk I've met are either current or former Lutherans. What on earth is there for an electrical engineer to do in Oklahoma? Welcome.

If you get tired of partisan bickering, but understand there's a big problem and enjoy a beefy analysis, this article is a good read: Stratfor Global Intelligence - The Crisis of the Middle Class and American Power

Yes. I was paid on the 6th, and my taxes went up by around $100/month. Expiring Bush tax cuts, and also the expiring Pres. Obama Social Security cut.

Small point - just about every single school shooting ever, has happened in a school where guns were already totally banned from school grounds entirely. The concept of a "gun free zone" or area where guns are banned, is a lie that creates only a false sense of security. With only a very few exceptions, every single mass-shooting in the U.S. since 1950 has taken place in a gun free zone. (Mass shooting defined as 4 or more people getting shot, and 'gun free zone' defined as any building or area with a posted sign or a written policy or a law banning guns.) I'm not sure how workable it is, but yes indeed, that would be a great thing. They could bring their own guns, their own training, volunteer their time - it's just that there would have to be enough of them.Something to keep in mind - Conceal carry has been legal in Utah schools for quite a number of years now: Utah Department of Public Safety BCI - Concealed Firearm Permit Frequently Asked Questions I don't know how many school educators or staff have been carrying all these years. Probably not very many - I'd guess the ones who do, don't tell anyone out of fear that it would cost them their jobs.

An excellent article to read while I'm taking a good hard look at myself in the mirror.

Traveller, Anddenex, great posts. Many similar weighty thoughts have run through my mind over the last several years. I decided early on that I'd rather give up my wallet than draw. I'm almost about half-convinced that I'd take a halfway-serious beating rather than draw. But a main reason I carry, is my wife and I helped put a guy behind bars for 5-life, and he may come for payback some day, and I can only assume he'd intend more than a serious beating for me and my family. (That, and I live out in the middle of nowhere and need something to scare away bears and coyotes.) I've read many accounts from people in life-threatening situations, and they tend to be wide and diverse. There are accounts of the spirit directing actions. There are accounts of confident action, no time to think, and regret. Lots of accounts of long bouts of sleepless nights, years of lawsuits and second guessing, lots of wondering if they did the right thing. It's not a matter to be taken lightly. But then again, we have over 20 years of good data and studies of permit holders. I assume there are frivolous or immature carriers, yet a permit holder is less-likely to be involved in violent crime, unjust use of force, or gun accidents, than their non-carrying peer demographic.

I hadn't thought of that - good point.

I heard some city was offering to do one, and I heard something about a $50 gift card in exchange. I have no problem with some government entity offering to buy guns from people who want to get rid of them. I don't really think it will do anything to lower cases of violent crime though. If someone figures out they shouldn't own a firearm, it might prevent some accident or theft or something.

Well, I would tend to agree of course, especially concerning a decision like getting a firearm. But I'm wondering why you'd assume the sudden rush is emotionally driven. Watching that Facebook thread, I don't detect any fear, or much emotion besides maybe a little excitement. I remember when I got my permit all those years ago, it was a rather weighty decision - is somberness an emotion?There have been umpteen media accounts of shootings. Carrying firearms is being debated nationally. Maybe some folks have been thinking about it for a while, or are seriously examining the option and deciding to pursue it...

I've had several opportunities to have clarifying discussions with my kids in the last 3 testimony meetings. We had one of our youth commit suicide, and for the last three months, the dad has gotten up to air his family's dirty laundry, call out members who have offended him, and give us lessons about what the scriptures have to say about things. We've covenanted to bear one another's burdens that they might be light. This poor guy certainly has burdens. I get the impression that we are helping bear them by patiently enduring his 'testimonies' and just quietly helping our children understand the truth.

It's my job to talk about it with my kids when they hear it. And to discuss things with my wife. Stewardship is pretty clear there.

I keep hearing on the news how permit applications are skyrocketing, and just encountered it with folks I know. A random sister in my ward wondered on Facebook if anyone was interested in taking a CCW class with her. She said if she could get 4-5 other people they could do their own class, and it would be fun with friends. In under two hours, it looks like she's found over a dozen different ladies in and out of the ward taking her up on the offer. Good for them. I don't know if this is a mother of children thing, a mormon thing, a "we live an hour away from Arvada" thing, or a combination of all three. Is anyone else out there noticing friends/family/neighbors/ward members getting permits or otherwise getting more serious about self-defense?

Whether the primary children can sing in sacrament meeting or not isn't a 'teaching'. It's a policy, a practice, a preference. Put into place by humans doing their best - not breathed into scripture by the mouthpiece of God. This is an important distinction, because if you don't understand it, well, your testimony might be based on the words and actions of men instead of the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ. And men are error-prone, fallen, agenda-driven, and sometimes goofy. Professor Daniel Peterson tells a story about how he was once asked to participate in revising the Gospel Principles manual, and decided to play a practical joke:

The Gwen I know drops like a rock at naptime and snores more like a Mack truck. Must be something about the name.

Wait - didn't you just say he had apologized to the people he was teaching? Did he not say why he was apologizing?I assume you're asking for something like a statement from the podium in sacrament meeting or something? "Dear brothers and sisters, the stake presidency needs to come clean about something. We've been handling children's musical numbers wrong for years, and it wasn't until a good stalwart member showed us the error of our ways that we realized. Sister kevieb, thank you for pointing this out." Something like that? Wait - I'm confused. How a stake handles a children's choir has damaged your testimony of the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ?What am I missing here?

Go back next week and let them know that I'll also rub my daughters' backs in sacrament meeting. That'll get 'em going.

A few things in no real order: * You can't control or fix your parents. You can't always make people do or see things. * You can't control your brother. You might be able to influence him. Love him, and stay as close to him as you can. * You can educate yourself. Warning Signs of Youth Violence * Not every kid addicted to drugs with enabling parents in denial ends up being horribly violent. In fact, hardly any of them do. There are countless people like your brother out there who never end up killing anyone or themselves. That doesn't mean you should turn a blind eye or refuse to take action, but it might help you reduce your anxiety a little. * Professional responders tell me something about suicidal folk: They don't bother getting excited until they hear "time & method". In other words, they'll sit there bored and listen to your brother drop vague melodramatic hints about doing himself in all day. All week. Because at the end of the month, the person will still be alive and well and making vague hints. But if he ever says something like "I'm going to shoot myself with my dad's gun after dinner tonight", then they'll act.

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSgCD3R6ZCIz5iIlcuNnLNqpZiPPSeuphTp3X8cRy_j4_bq3NIPTwilight is almost my favorite My Little Pony character too.

Every new-year's day, I get half a dozen or more happy birthday wishes from all over the world. Because whenever some website asks for my birthday, I just tell them Jan 1, because it's none of their dang business. It's a good practice - I don't recognize a copule of the sources - someone sold my info. I guess LDS.net never asked me - because Pam never wishes me a happy birthday on either my fake or my real day. :)

HB-dTY, HB-dTY. HB-dDMNG, HB-dTY.

I've thought of sin as anything that moves us further away from God. I figure God sent us here to sin, since they tell me we're all sinners, and He's in charge. I figure He wants us to choose not to sin, because in doing so, we move closer to what will bring us eternal life, which is in our best interests.

Hi Max, and welcome!

Ditto - go with what your wife feels here. My wife was on permanent bed rest for the last several months of her 2nd pregnancy. In a monumental outpouring of charitable service, almost two dozen different mommies signed up to watch our 3 yr old during various days, so dad could go to work and mom could sit there in an empty house and stare at the wall and go crazy. 9 years later, we're still humbled and awed at the meaningful service given by so many mommies. But if we had an option like yours, I think we would have jumped at it. Assuming family dynamics will help your wife instead of be a source of frustration to her. If she's on good terms with her parent's family, if they'll help her rest - go for it.

I'll admit to a certain apathy when it comes to married people with no kids. Go do whatever dumb things you want to do to yourselves or each other - stay married or get divorced - I don't really care. But once you've brought an innocent child into the mix, then no, a change in faith isn't a good enough reason to get divorced. After kids come, you do what's best for them, even if that means a lifetime full of bemoaning your sad life married to someone who changed their mind about God. Actually, it means learning how to live a good life without wasting it bemoaning your sad life.

If you're worried by, anxious around, or downright afraid of, guns, then I guess it makes sense that you'd also be worried by, anxious around, or downright afraid of women who have them. I'm not one of those people. In fact, I taught my daughters to shoot as soon as they could safely operate their little pink .22 single-shot I got them.