Traveler

I think this is a formality of the ancient era. In Japan no one wears their outside shoes in any place of importance – ie a home or place of work. In our home we do not wear shoes. I have found that people with pets in their home seldom if ever consider this behavior for themselves – I believe this is mostly for their convenience. On occasions I have needed to remind some guests that certain language is not appropriate or appreciated in our home. I have never had a guest leave because our standards are too strict. I have some children that have strayed from our religious and other culture but they understand that when they come to visit our home, certain things do not have place in our home. But we never complain about what is happening or in their home when we visit. I assume the L-rd has similar feelings about places in which he resides. And yet he is also willing to allow his children to govern their places or residence as they would. The Traveler

Oh, the things I could tell you. My father was an artist, and calligraphy was an art form he loved. I was the only one of his children that did not develop any usable talent. Early in my professional career I was assigned a secretary to proofread and correct all my communications. Currently I can read about half of my professional and private journals pre Word and Word Perfect. In the future, AI will decipher any seemingly outdated digital or even analog script. But this was not the point I intended to make. What I had in mind is that when making a record, be mindful of what you say to who will be reading it. Some topics are more impactful than others. For example, I have discovered that my grandchildren are very interested in some of my dating methods – like I use to make sure I had a Hershey chocolate kiss with me (especially on first dates) so when I took the lady home and walked her to her door, I would say, “I would like to give you a kiss goodnight.” I would then hand her the chocolate kiss and say, “Good night” and immediately leave. I loved to do this because in my day – kissing on a first date in my youthful Utah community absolutely was forbidden. It was my way to stand out and be remembered. With my computer and subfolders, I can put this story in a different folder from my spiritual experiences. I have a separate subfolder for my scientific achievements and theories. I have found that only about ½ of 1% of the people I meet are interested in scientific observations. Not much more than that are interested in my spiritual observations. The Traveler

I want to thank you for what you have chosen to do and that you are among the best at it. My time in the military convinced me to be thankful for those that are more able than myself at such things. Your spiritual gift to accomplish such things is truly rare. THANKS! The Traveler

For those that are more accustomed to and find spellcheck and other assistance helpful – keeping notes on your computer under a specialized folder and sub folders (which are easily backup on a thumb drive and/or the cloud) it can be better preserved in case of fire or other catastrophic events. For someone like me that has great problems with the English language and even though I have a strong dislike for those profiting from Microsoft Word – there are benefits. I am also convinced that anything written and saved should be edited with the concept that it will be available to your posterity and others. The Traveler

I will say a few things about Isaiah. The first relates to Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,”. The next thing I will say about Isaiah is that it is written in an ancient Hebrew poetic literary form. Nephi tells us in the Book of Mormon that if we understand this ancient format, it is easy to understand Isaiah. If we do not understand this format, we will miss important elements of Isaiah. The history of mankind from Adam to the end of man will occur with repeating cycles of restoration and apostasy. This is the primary focus of Isaiah. The best resource I have encountered to help understand Isaiah is the book written by Avraham Gileadi titled "The Literary Message of Isaiah”. Avraham was a Rabbi that devoted his life to studying Isaiah and was converted by reading the Book of Mormon and how it quotes Isaiah. Avraham believes that the Isaiah is a stunning example of Hebrew poetic literary form around the chiasmic format. Not just in what is physically written but as the Isaiah scroll found among the Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrates – is literally two scrolls stitched together one being a mirror image or chiasm of the other. This amounting to a chiasm within a chiasm. In other words, verse 8 that you first reference has connection to Isaiah 55:3-5. The Traveler

It does – but it is just intellectual humor. The Traveler

I have a brother that is a certified genius. The type that you can give a date, and he can tell you the weather and the events of that day. He is adamant that the perfect grade is an A- or 3.7. He is also adamant that being a valedictorian (first in one’s class) is not an achievement but that such things are indications of a life out of balance. My impression of Travis Hunter is that he is gifted, intelligent, athletic and well balanced. Well balanced being the most important. The Traveler

I have thought over your post about justice that was askew from my thinking. I have long associated justice as an enviable consequence rather than punishments or maledictions for bad behavior and blessings or benedictions for good behavior. My thinking was along the lines that justice is an independent principle that G-d could utilize but not control. After deeper considerations on this subject, I have determined that my thinking was incomplete and easily leads to misunderstandings. The problem that I had to resolve is a determination of what is justice and how is justice defined. There is a relationship between the words justice and judgement. There is possibly a relationship between justice and consequence but the two are not the same. I will now put forward that there is also a relationship between G-d and justice. That justice cannot exist unless there is a G-d. In essence that in order for someone to not believe in G-d it is inevitable that they cannot believe in Justice. The foremost example of this is Satan and his disbelief or rejection of G-d forces a belief of or in injustice. But there us much more to justice. In order for there to be justice there has to be law. It is through the law that G-d is able to bring justice. Associated with law is the ordinance of the law and the covenant of the law. This is where justice and mercy are joined – because G-d, out of his mercy provides the law. Then it is by obedience to the law and the covenant of law that one enters into and accepts that brings blessings or benefits. Transgression of the law carries a punishment which is a loss of blessings. We are to understand that without obedience to Celestial Law one cannot have or receive of the Celestial blessings or glory. The other things that we need to understand is that there is no kingdom, place or space in which there is no Law. This means that even in Satan’s kingdom that is called “Outer Darkness” there are laws that define that kingdom that are provided through the mercy of G-d. If there was no G-d there would be no kingdom, no place or any space. Scripture tells us that the judgments of G-d are just and true. I believe this would indicate that when be stand before G-d for judgment that truth will be established according to the law we have made covenant to live and be judged by. This truth will be known by all the are sealed by the law to the glory of the covenant we make. This is why be become one with G-d and Christ and the Saints through the Celestial law, ordinances and covenants. It is Celestial law that is the glory of G-d and all those that are obedient to Celestial law. It is Celestial law that defines mercy – not just to those that abide by Celestial law but those that are obedient to whatever law they receive because of Celestial mercy. The Traveler

Seagulls are the Utah state bird because they saved the LDS pioneers from the crickets. I sure there is some symbolism in the crickets for everyone to see. 😎 The Traveler

I listened carefully to the announcement made by the White House today about the US trade deal with the UK – with the UK ambassador to the US present. Hopefully @HaggisShuu can give us some across the pond point of view. The new deal sounded terrific and an opening for prosperity for behalf of both countries. I believe that such trade deals make better allies and promote peace. The old “global” initiative looked very scare to me and a quick and easy means for a single entity to make a global power grab. This new kind of trade agreement allows so many countries to participate in trade with lessor fears of threating interests. It will be interesting to me to see how those involved in secret combinations respond. The Traveler

I heard that after all the fanfare that the new Pope call a special meeting with the cardinals and high-ranking bishops within the Vatican. He announced that he had some good news and some bad news. First the good news he said, “A few moments ago I received a phone call from Jesus Christ.” Everyone was shocked. After that news how could there be any bad news? Now the bad news said the Pope, “He was calling from Salt Lake City, Utah”. The Traveler

Salt Lake area along with most of Utah is high altitude desert which makes this a unique place. There are similarities to Israel and the Holy Land – except Utah is roughly 1,525 meters elevated. Bear Lake topography is much like the Sea of Galilee. Utah has incredible mountains which lends to skiing, mountain biking, four wheeling, white water rafting, hiking and many other outdoor activities. My brother has a land yacht, but that is an extreme sport activity. There are some profound paved cycling routes following rivers and other unique routes. The desert mountains are far more scenic than Disneyland, much less expensive (like free) and void of annoying crowds (with the exceptions of Zions and Arches National Parks). As a member of the LDS faith, you may want to visit and do temple work in one of the Pioneer era temples. I regret that you will not have an opportunity to attend a live session (they are a thing of the past). I also regret that none of the old meeting houses of my ancestors have been preserved. You ought to visit Brigham Young University – If you come in August, you can attend education week. This is basically 2 weeks of experts (mostly professors) presenting lessons in LDS history, theology and other subjects of interest to LDS. If you visit Utah, the only unique food is fry sauce that you can get with your patio fries and hamburgers (or fish and chips). Visiting temple square is also a must. If someone is into tourist traps and standing for hours in lines – Utah really sucks. The Traveler

The application of my particular profession has taken me many places far from my home. Two things have always been of upmost importance in my travels. First to seek out and spend time with the Saints that are building Zion in those far-off places. Second (most important) is to find my way back home. My username is a reflection of both my physical and spiritual life. Growing up in Provo Utah in the back yard of Brigham Young University (BYU) I was shielded a great deal from things non-LDS throughout the rest of the world. Many professors and their families were a part of my daily experiences. Hugh Nibley was one of the more influential individuals I grew up knowing. Even in my youth I was fascinated with Brother Nibley’s concept of Abraham as a stranger in a strange land. I have identified myself in the mortal experience as the stranger in a strange land. I have never felt to belong to this earth but rather to some other place that is greatly different. I am the traveler far from my home. My only purpose here is to seek out Saints building Zion and to find a way back to where I belong. My profile picture is a device that combines a sextant, star chart, sundial and compass – It is my private symbolic Liahona. This forum is a safe harbor for me. The Traveler

You have a lot incommon with my wife. The Traveler

I grew up in an amazingly productive family. On occasions I am recognized as ambitious and productive but in my family, I am the least of such things. I am not attached to things or very many people. I am not convinced that attachments, especially to things, requires a lot of wasted energy. As much as I do not like to be told what to do – I dislike telling others what they have to do. My parents had the attitude that there were two kinds of people. Minimum and maximum producer. Growing up and even as an adult my parents often would ask me if I was going about as a maximum or minimum producer. I developed that attitude of only being a maximum producer when I thought it to be important, interesting or worthwhile. My wife says I take too long when cleaning the chapel. If something is worth doing it is worth doing right. My wife’s answer is that I should put as much effort into people. I think people can choose for themselves. I think it is a mistake to care more for people than they are willing to care for themselves. Sometimes when someone I care about seems to be unwilling to take care of themselves – I will ask if I can help them with it. I seldom get a positive response. But there are times that someone will be grateful for a helping hand – usually this is when they are so frustrated that they are somewhat giving up. My wife is much better at reading people. She has that knack. She is also able to motivate me and is able to get things going without offending others. I do not know what I would do without her. One thing that always bothers me about the same persons taking responsibility. Basically I believe Christ is always going beyond the necessary to take care of things. The only complaint I find coming from Christ is about those that complain about others. Perhaps this is a oxymoron but I think there is a point about being a maximum producer and not taking credit for what others are doing. The Traveler