Great News!

[mikbone]

Figured we needed a positive thread.  
 

My son freakin loves his mission.  When he got called to Farmington NM I sighed. 

I hate NM.  Got like 3 speeding tickets going thru a 30 mile stretch (NE corner of the state) back and forth from Texas and BYU during undergrad.  Total speed trap 65 MPH on Texas side and 55 in MN - and no one lives along the road, its totally abandoned other than dirt, weeds, scrub trees and cops dispensing citations!

Anyway, he has been in the Zuni Pueblo for 3-4 months and absolutely loves it.  Lots of service (mostly chopping firewood).  Confiscating alcohol from the members and the occasional dime bad of cocaine.  Had to explain that we don’t take possession of illegal substances.  And teaching the gospel.  

His letters are great.  And his attitude is spot on.  The ward Sunday attendance has gone from < 10 to over 40.

Once again the Lord knows best.

Edited January 23, 2024 by mikbone

[NeuroTypical]

I've heard stories my whole life of folks who went and served in areas full of crime or addiction or poverty or some type of horrible lack.  The folks telling the stories seem to have something in common: They never knew how much love they could have for folks who live so differently.

Cool beans @mikbone!

Edited January 23, 2024 by NeuroTypical

[Ironhold]

48 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

I've heard stories my whole life of folks who went and served in areas full of crime or addiction or poverty or some type of horrible lack.  The folks telling the stories seem to have something in common: They never knew how much love they could have for folks who live so differently.

Cool beans @mikbone!

In general, the more narrow someone's existence is, the harder it can be for them to imagine any other way of life. 

For example, a few years ago there was a to-do on Twitter because someone with a degree of prominence claimed that they could never see themselves living anywhere other than their major coastal city... because they legitimately believed that bodegas only existed inside of that city. They legitimately refused to believe it when people said that bodegas and larger convenience stores existed across much of the United States, and that if this was their only objection to traveling then it wasn't much of an objection. 

Technology, travel, and population patterns are, metaphorically speaking, shrinking the world in the sense that people have more opportunities to interact with others outside of their own group. This is something we all need to take advantage of as we prepare the Earth for the Second Coming. 

[LDSGator]

17 minutes ago, Ironhold said:

In general, the more narrow someone's existence is, the harder it can be for them to imagine any other way of life

I totally agree. Pauline Kael, the film critic for The New Yorker, once said, “I don’t know how Nixon won. I don’t know a single person who voted for him.” She wasn’t kidding. 
 

Nixon carried 49 states. 

[LDSGator]

I shouldn’t talk. I never met an LDS person until I joined the church! 

[Ironhold]

2 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

I totally agree. Pauline Kael, the film critic for The New Yorker, once said, “I don’t know how Nixon won. I don’t know a single person who voted for him.” She wasn’t kidding. 
 

Nixon carried 49 states. 

As I've mentioned before, I have a number of health issues that prevent me from traveling long distances even when the option arises. But I still take full advantage of what is at my disposal to learn of the world around me and try new things. 

For example, my local Wal-Mart has a display of $1 "trial"-size bottles of various sauces and seasoning blends. That's a cheap way to make my meals a little different while exploring a touch. 

Folks, we live in a day where most of us have a digital device that fits in our pockets but can literally help us tune in radio stations or see images from all across the world. There's very little excuse for us to not spend some time expanding our reach a little. 

[mikbone]

Yall are welcome to post great news too!

[LDSGator]

Just now, mikbone said:

Yall are welcome to post great news too!

We meet our exchange student in about two hours. He is the fourth one we have hosted, for two weeks, from China. It’s an amazing experience! 

[mikbone]

I overpaid taxes.

Refund coming!

[zil2]

19 minutes ago, mikbone said:

Yall are welcome to post great news too!

The ink I reviewed today (Aurora Black) is black, so I don't have to color-correct the images, just fix the white balance and I'm done (much faster)!  Hooray!   (Sometimes color correction is a bear!)

[Traveler]

20 hours ago, mikbone said:

Yall are welcome to post great news too!

I am studying the Book of Mormon based on a particular Egyptian concept.  There is an Egyptian g-d called Khepri that is represented by a dung beetle.  Generally, this is a representation of the rising or morning sun.  Also, creation or the renewal of life (including resurrection).   In the most general sense Kheper could stand for divinely inspired change or happening.  Perhaps the most accurate translation into English would be, “And it came to pass”.

As I map out all the phrases, “And it came to pass”, I am linking it to the change that occurred and the results or consequences.  This gives significant insight to how G-d influences those that keep His commandments as well as those that spurn Him and His commandments.  Perhaps this is just a little thing to consider but it brings a strong witness (evidence) of the divinity of the Book of Mormon to me – especially considering that none of this was known when Joseph Smith brought froth this much needed scripture for the latter-days.  This offen bit of criticism of the Book of Mormon has, over time, become a strong witness (evidence) of its authenticity.

 

The Traveler

[mikbone]

29 minutes ago, Traveler said:

And it came to pass

There must be a single character to represent Khepri.

I always mused that since the phrase was used so many times in the BoM that there must be a single character in reformed Egyptian that corresponds with the phrase “And it came to pass”.

[Traveler]

On 1/24/2024 at 10:54 AM, mikbone said:

There must be a single character to represent Khepri.

I always mused that since the phrase was used so many times in the BoM that there must be a single character in reformed Egyptian that corresponds with the phrase “And it came to pass”.

The symbol is the dung beetle or scarab.  Very important in Egypt

 

The Traveler

[JohnsonJones]

On 1/23/2024 at 12:15 PM, mikbone said:

Figured we needed a positive thread.  
 

My son freakin loves his mission.  When he got called to Farmington NM I sighed. 

I hate NM.  Got like 3 speeding tickets going thru a 30 mile stretch (NE corner of the state) back and forth from Texas and BYU during undergrad.  Total speed trap 65 MPH on Texas side and 55 in MN - and no one lives along the road, its totally abandoned other than dirt, weeds, scrub trees and cops dispensing citations!

Anyway, he has been in the Zuni Pueblo for 3-4 months and absolutely loves it.  Lots of service (mostly chopping firewood).  Confiscating alcohol from the members and the occasional dime bad of cocaine.  Had to explain that we don’t take possession of illegal substances.  And teaching the gospel.  

His letters are great.  And his attitude is spot on.  The ward Sunday attendance has gone from < 10 to over 40.

Once again the Lord knows best.

I don't think I can have any empathy for you getting speeding tickets in this case.  If you can't slow down by 10 miles between Texas and Minnesota...well....

🤓

 

PS:  Can't understand why you'd make such a wide detour going from Texas to Utah, but I suppose that explains why you wanted to speed.  Even going 120 MPH would make it a longer trip than going direct.

PPS:  Yes...if one cannot tell by now, this is a humor post.

Edited January 31, 2024 by JohnsonJones

[LDSGator]

Our exchange student landed safely in China. We heard from him via WeChat. 

Edited February 9, 2024 by LDSGator