http://www.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2009_09_15_Clark.htm
is a wonderful speech I heard on Sunday, Dec. 27th on byutv.org
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
A GREAT BEESWAX CANDLE COMPANY
After doing some research, I have found a beeswax product company I really like:
Big Dipper Wax Works out of Seatle, Washington. Their website is
bigdipperwaxworks.com I plan to purchase some items from them soon. The muscle balm interests me, as well as the aromatherapy candles whic combine pure beeswax with essential oils.
Here is their story:
Our Story
It was back in the summer of '93 when I was first enlightened with the idea of making candles. My good buddy Hefe and I were hiking along the rugged shoreline of the Olympic Peninsula. On our first evening, as the final rays of sunshine dipped below the horizon, we breathed deep of the fresh ocean air and fixed our gazes upon the emerging stars. After several hours of philosophical banter on the meaning of life, my eyes settled on the most recognizable beacon in the northern sky, "The Big Dipper". Suddenly my future flashed before my eyes. I would use elements of nature, which I so respect, to create a natural source of light. Hand "dipped" beeswax candles. And so "Big Dipper" Wax Works was born. Like drones to their queen, we have served and remain dedicated to our values, and proudly continue to make the best all natural candles available.
http://www.bigdipperwaxworks.com/
Why Burn Beeswax
Photo above is from http://www.bsabcandles.com/index.php/beeswax-candles/beeswax-coral-candle-4inch.html if you are interested in ordering these unique beeswax candles
Why Burn Beeswax
Beeswax candles have been the choice of candle connoisseurs throughout the ages. They are a gift from nature that embodies a simple and healthy state of being.
Beeswax is 100% natural and a renewable resource that actually cleans the air by emitting purifying negative ions.
Most candles are made with paraffin, a petroleum by-product, which is not natural and is unhealthy to burn. To prepare it for candle making, it is chemically bleached and hardened, then artificially scented. Burning paraffin emits harmful, black soot and pollutes the air.
Currently, there are no regulations in the U.S. on disclosing ingredients on candle labels. You may find candles labeled "beeswax" that are made with paraffin, or other candle waxes, and contain as little as 1% beeswax. We are very proud to say that we use 100% beeswax in all of our candles, with the exception of a select few that are a blend of 50% beeswax and 50% soy wax, and are noted as such. The soy wax is added to help with the burn quality of certain candles.
Soy wax is a natural, eco-friendly, and renewable alternative to paraffin wax. Oil is extracted from the soybeans and hydrogenated. This process alters the melting point of the soy oil, making it a solid at room temperature. Our soy wax is made from soybeans grown by farmers in the United States. In contrast to paraffin, soybeans are a renewable resource; while global reserves of oil continue to shrink, the American farming industry can continue to supply the demand for soybeans. Soy wax is a very clean burning wax, with reduced carbon buildup and no pollutants. With the many different types of waxes available, soy wax is an excellent, all-natural option.
Beeswax, the purest of all candle waxes, is a product of the sustainable industry of beekeeping. The simple filtration of beeswax is a natural process that uses no chemicals and very little energy.
Beeswax is naturally aromatic, infused with the sweet, subtle scent of honey. Being nontoxic and nonallergenic, beeswax candles burn clean and soot free. While burning, they release negative ions, just as seashores or rainstorms do. These negative ions improve air quality by eliminating pollutants and allergens from the air that we breathe.
The high melting and burning temperature of beeswax translates into exceptionally long burn times. While burning, their golden flames glow with the same energy and spectrum of light as the sun.
Beeswax candles are the ultimate in beauty and luxury. They are the natural choice for people who care about their health and the health of the environment
http://www.bigdipperwaxworks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&page_id=38
Decisions For Healthy Living, 1
I have been thinking about super healthy living lately. Two things brought that out:
#1. A recent article in a health magazine that was by a woman who cured her breast cancer by radically changing her lifestyle and diet. (I will post part of that article later.)
#2. A phone conversation with my father-in-law who is very healthy and who told me about some of the supplements they take and how they eat. I had been telling him I started using brewer's yeast and lecithin...he and his wife have been using that for decades as well as a myriad of other suplememts and extra healthy foods. The only flesh they eat is wild caught salmon very rarely. They are basically vegetarian...no dairy at all for decades. They are so fit and healthy, being in their 80's and living in the wilderness of Idaho and having their own business, chopping their own wood for warmth (wood burning stove).
So these 2 recent events plus the awareness of awful diseases (My sister recently dying from complications from pancreatic cancer, and my best college girlfriend's husband, who has been diabeteic for a while and now has suffered a severe stroke)and the wondering inside my mind : Could this have all been avoided if a different lifestyle or diet had been followed? Lifestyle involves the concept of stress and how we deal with it, how we exercise, how our attitudes are, where we live (Is it polluted?)
Yes, yes, I know...none of us get out of this life alive, but why not strive for a high quality of living ...!!????? To be healthy is a great goal, I believe! Because with health comes the energy, vitality, stamina and inspiration to do "good works"...which we are taught to do in holy scriptures.
SO...HERE IS DECISION NUMBER 1 for Health Living:
I WILL NOT BURN PARRAFIN CANDLES IN MY HOME. NOR WILL I BURN INCENSE. I WILL USE BEESWAX CANDLES. Following are the reasons...excerpts from websites plus the web address of those sites....
WHY I WON'T USE INCENSE
Some researchers have begun to suspect that incense burning may pose some health concerns. Because incense is a slow burn, many believe that it gives off a lot of chemicals such as carbon monoxide, aldehydes, and respirable particles. They are of considerable concern because these particles are both upper respiratory and pulmonary system irritants. This means that they can inflame mucous membranes, and cause asthmatic attacks in sensitive individuals.
Burning incense can also produce sinaldehyde, many different kinds of aldehydes, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein. Both formaldehyde and acrolein are also mucous membrane irritants and acrolein irritates the eyes.
One study indicated that burning incense in your house at least once a week during pregnancy made it more likely that the baby would develop leukemia once your child is born. http://www.womenshealthcaretopics.com/bn_bodysoul_Incense.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHY I WON'T USE PARAFFIN CANDLES
Illuminating Thoughts – Toxic Candles
I enjoy using candles. Don’t you? Candles are warming, romantic, inspiring. Relaxing, comforting, symbolic. Burning them conjure different emotional responses for everyone who delights in them. Consumer reports indicate that candles are ‘in’ once again. Perhaps a 70’s revival or a nesting desire in increasingly troubled times.
Yet do we ever think about what it really is that we are burning or inhaling?
Paraffin candles are the most commonly burned candles worldwide. And are the most dangerous to our health.
Paraffin is an inexpensive sludge waste product of the petroleum industry that has been bleached then texturised with acrolyn, a known carcinogenic product. Supposedly an inert substance, if you have much faith in government/industry released information. However, once burned it releases toxins that are known carcinogens such as benzene and toluene which are inhaled and linger in the areas they are burned in. Not to mention the soot that leaves its residue on walls, eventually greying fabrics and ceilings. Soot from paraffin candles contains many of the same toxins found in diesel fuel.
Paraffin candles are as dangerous to the lungs as second-hand smoke and even more so if you are in the habit of burning many at the same time. It is also a non-renewable resource. Ever smell one? They stink.
Supposedly, paraffin for candles is ‘food grade’ – clearly a lie. The problem appears when we burn them. It is no longer recommended to be used in contact with food – remember grandmother sealing the jams with a layer of paraffin? Yes, we survived that era but life was simpler and cleaner then. Today we have to deal with cumulative factors detrimental to our health that never existed before.
Then there is the problem with lead in the wicks. Though lead has not been used since the 70’s in most of Central Europe and the USA, cheaper candles from other countries such as Asia or South America can still be seen on the market. Burning only a few with leaded wicks for 3 hours will increase levels 9 to 11 times over acceptable lead levels.
Gel candles though pretty because of the crystal clearness are likewise petroleum based or made from synthetic hydrocarbons. Think of them as petroleum turned into jelly with a few more added toxins thrown in such as butylated hydroxyl toluene. Pretty, but absolutely not a good idea.
Soy candles are relatively new on the selection palate and began appearing early 90’s. Invented in the USA and made from hydrogenated soy, palm and coconut oils, soy candles burn slower and last about 50% longer than paraffin candles. They burn cooler and have very little soot, and drips are easily cleaned up however, the flame is not considered a ‘warm’ flame. Some feel the ‘magic’ is missing with soy candles. By purchasing soy candles, you are supporting the omnipresent American soy industry which farms mostly genetically manipulated soy. Soy candles lay in price between the cheaper paraffin candles and beeswax candles. Soy tapers may bend at warm room temperatures and are often blended with stearin (stearic acid) a substance derived from animal or vegetable sources to harden them.
Beeswax candles. Ahh…my absolute favourite. Warm and sweet smelling, they symbolize for me a connection to the Earth. Beeswax is a by-product of honey and is made from the ‘caps’ of the honeycomb. These are the most expensive candles, but are price effective as they last up to three times longer than paraffin and twice as long as soy candles. Unlike paraffin, they are from a sustainable source – originating from flowers, fuelled by the sun and processed by bees.
They burn cleanly, don’t drip when properly used and give off negative ions that help concentration and clear the air. They are also non-allergenic and can help soothe the symptoms of hay fever, asthma and allergy sufferers. Natural beeswax candles are commonly golden to amber but can also be found almost black. Ivory coloured candles have gone through a special process to lighten them, which unfortunately weakens the natural honey scent. When purchasing, be certain that the label states 100% beeswax – some countries allow as little as 10% beeswax to still be labelled ‘beeswax’. A ‘blended’ beeswax candle most assuredly has paraffin or stearin.
Natural beeswax candles are a healthy, soothing comfort for us too. They feel warm to the touch, and are simply magical!
http://www.epicureantable.com/articles/acandles.htm
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Is This True?
The Best Health Care Myth Debunked by Kate Ryan
I was waiting in a long line in the post office yesterday. One poor clerk was working the desk and was being besieged by patrons with multiple packages, a mass mailing, and a pick-up of a certified letter that didn’t seem to be anywhere. The wait seemed endless. An elderly gentleman in front of me – obviously old enough to be enjoying his Medicare benefits – huffed and said, “And NOW they want to take over our health care!”
I stopped myself before publicly arguing with this old fool, but I wanted to tell him that while he’s enjoying his government-run health insurance, many other people would give their eye teeth to have whatever he had – even if it was inefficient. It’s a damn sight better than nothing. I just figured he was a Republican, and left it at that. And If you only know one thing about politics, know this – if there is one thing that the Republicans are really good at, it is the “sound bite”, the succinct summing-up of any debate in three words or less.
Rationing! Death Panels! Illegal Immigrants! Government Takeover! The lies and disinformation campaign have controlled this debate for almost a month now. Liberals, Progressives, and just plain Democrats that want health care reform have been stunned silent by the sheer numbers of people the other side has gotten to believe this. They’ve even got elderly Americans believing that the Medicare that they love and revere so much, is NOT a government-run healthcare program. I am losing faith in the intelligence of the American voter.
What’s worse than the lies from the other side is the amount of time we are spending to tell the American people what health care reform is NOT, rather than what it is. Is it any wonder that support for an Obama health care plan seems to be dwindling? Nobody knows just what it is. The administration MUST do a better job at letting Americans know what they are buying and what they can expect. Any of these explanations must include the debunking of the more insidious health care myths – the ones that all of us seem to accept without question. First and foremost of these is “The U.S. has the best health care in the world.”
According to every agency that keeps statistics on health care about the only areas where the United States is tops are in financial indicators. We are ranked #1 in how much money per capita we spend on health care (over $7,000 per year in 2008 – twice that of ANY other country), number one in the percentage of personal bankruptcies caused by health costs (50% in 2006), we have more medical equipment per capita than any other industrialized country in the world (MRI machines, CAT scanners, x-ray machines, etc.), and the highest rate of health management support workers (business managers, administrative workers, etc.) to providers (doctors, nurses, and pharmacists).
What we do not have are outcomes. Of 48 surveyed nations, the U.S. ranks 47th in life expectancy in the world (just below Costa Rica), 43rd in infant mortality (lower than Cuba), and 24th in the probability that you will die before the age of 60.
The fact is, our “best” and wonderful system of medical care is only available to those who can afford to pay. From 2000 to 2006, overall inflation has increased 3.5%, middle-class wages have increased 3.8%, and health care premiums have increased 87%. The family share of premiums plus cost sharing have been rising faster than inflation, causing access problems for some. Current estimates are that about 47 million Americans – about 17% of the population – is uninsured. Four out of five of the uninsured are families, and about two-thirds are low-income workers. The most often cited reason for lack of health insurance is cost (over 50%), followed by lack of a job (24%). Less than 10% of the uninsured are those that just don’t purchase it. These chronically uninsured do not count those people that will face insurance gaps – temporary loss of coverage, usually due to unemployment. Looking over the last two years, about 82 million Americans younger than 65 experienced a significant gap in insurance coverage.
This does not include the underinsured population – the Americans with insurance who find that the coverage is not adequate. Several organizations estimate that about 16 million of the insured do not have sufficient coverage to protect them from crushing out-of-pocket expenses. Of all the personal bankruptcies that were filed due to medical expenses, 75% of those were by individuals that had health insurance. Finally, more than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses) in 2005 because they could not afford it.
The most important feature of any health care reform legislation must be to provide universal coverage and health care access to all Americans. Many proposals that the Republicans and “blue-dog” Democrats say that they can affirm are health INSURANCE reforms, not reforms to health care. Eliminating denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions and prohibiting dropping an insured individual from coverage because they are sick are great ideas – but they do not improve access. They are also a red herring. No, they won’t deny you coverage with a pre-existing condition, they’ll just charge you three or more times what anyone else pays. Insurance co-ops again will not improve access because they must compete within an industry model that only makes money by denying coverage. A non-profit entity still has to cover its expenses and insurance reform does nothing to lower cost.
The only thing that is guaranteed to provide universal coverage, adequate access, and lower costs to consumers is a public plan option. Immediately, consumers would see savings over 20% due to less overhead costs. More enrolled would mean lower costs as the risk would be spread through a larger population. It would be Medicare for everyone – but younger working people would pay additional premiums.
It is time that we realize that it isn’t good enough to have the most expensive best health care in the world – that more and more citizens do not have access to.
(sources: World Health Organization, Center for American Progress, U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics
http://kateskitchentable.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/the-best-health-care-myth-debunked/
I was waiting in a long line in the post office yesterday. One poor clerk was working the desk and was being besieged by patrons with multiple packages, a mass mailing, and a pick-up of a certified letter that didn’t seem to be anywhere. The wait seemed endless. An elderly gentleman in front of me – obviously old enough to be enjoying his Medicare benefits – huffed and said, “And NOW they want to take over our health care!”
I stopped myself before publicly arguing with this old fool, but I wanted to tell him that while he’s enjoying his government-run health insurance, many other people would give their eye teeth to have whatever he had – even if it was inefficient. It’s a damn sight better than nothing. I just figured he was a Republican, and left it at that. And If you only know one thing about politics, know this – if there is one thing that the Republicans are really good at, it is the “sound bite”, the succinct summing-up of any debate in three words or less.
Rationing! Death Panels! Illegal Immigrants! Government Takeover! The lies and disinformation campaign have controlled this debate for almost a month now. Liberals, Progressives, and just plain Democrats that want health care reform have been stunned silent by the sheer numbers of people the other side has gotten to believe this. They’ve even got elderly Americans believing that the Medicare that they love and revere so much, is NOT a government-run healthcare program. I am losing faith in the intelligence of the American voter.
What’s worse than the lies from the other side is the amount of time we are spending to tell the American people what health care reform is NOT, rather than what it is. Is it any wonder that support for an Obama health care plan seems to be dwindling? Nobody knows just what it is. The administration MUST do a better job at letting Americans know what they are buying and what they can expect. Any of these explanations must include the debunking of the more insidious health care myths – the ones that all of us seem to accept without question. First and foremost of these is “The U.S. has the best health care in the world.”
According to every agency that keeps statistics on health care about the only areas where the United States is tops are in financial indicators. We are ranked #1 in how much money per capita we spend on health care (over $7,000 per year in 2008 – twice that of ANY other country), number one in the percentage of personal bankruptcies caused by health costs (50% in 2006), we have more medical equipment per capita than any other industrialized country in the world (MRI machines, CAT scanners, x-ray machines, etc.), and the highest rate of health management support workers (business managers, administrative workers, etc.) to providers (doctors, nurses, and pharmacists).
What we do not have are outcomes. Of 48 surveyed nations, the U.S. ranks 47th in life expectancy in the world (just below Costa Rica), 43rd in infant mortality (lower than Cuba), and 24th in the probability that you will die before the age of 60.
The fact is, our “best” and wonderful system of medical care is only available to those who can afford to pay. From 2000 to 2006, overall inflation has increased 3.5%, middle-class wages have increased 3.8%, and health care premiums have increased 87%. The family share of premiums plus cost sharing have been rising faster than inflation, causing access problems for some. Current estimates are that about 47 million Americans – about 17% of the population – is uninsured. Four out of five of the uninsured are families, and about two-thirds are low-income workers. The most often cited reason for lack of health insurance is cost (over 50%), followed by lack of a job (24%). Less than 10% of the uninsured are those that just don’t purchase it. These chronically uninsured do not count those people that will face insurance gaps – temporary loss of coverage, usually due to unemployment. Looking over the last two years, about 82 million Americans younger than 65 experienced a significant gap in insurance coverage.
This does not include the underinsured population – the Americans with insurance who find that the coverage is not adequate. Several organizations estimate that about 16 million of the insured do not have sufficient coverage to protect them from crushing out-of-pocket expenses. Of all the personal bankruptcies that were filed due to medical expenses, 75% of those were by individuals that had health insurance. Finally, more than 40 million adults stated that they needed but did not receive one or more of these health services (medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses) in 2005 because they could not afford it.
The most important feature of any health care reform legislation must be to provide universal coverage and health care access to all Americans. Many proposals that the Republicans and “blue-dog” Democrats say that they can affirm are health INSURANCE reforms, not reforms to health care. Eliminating denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions and prohibiting dropping an insured individual from coverage because they are sick are great ideas – but they do not improve access. They are also a red herring. No, they won’t deny you coverage with a pre-existing condition, they’ll just charge you three or more times what anyone else pays. Insurance co-ops again will not improve access because they must compete within an industry model that only makes money by denying coverage. A non-profit entity still has to cover its expenses and insurance reform does nothing to lower cost.
The only thing that is guaranteed to provide universal coverage, adequate access, and lower costs to consumers is a public plan option. Immediately, consumers would see savings over 20% due to less overhead costs. More enrolled would mean lower costs as the risk would be spread through a larger population. It would be Medicare for everyone – but younger working people would pay additional premiums.
It is time that we realize that it isn’t good enough to have the most expensive best health care in the world – that more and more citizens do not have access to.
(sources: World Health Organization, Center for American Progress, U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics
http://kateskitchentable.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/the-best-health-care-myth-debunked/
What Obama Meant To Say.....
Here's what Obama meant to say -
according to Rush Limbaugh
http://voices.kansascity.com/node/5818
Submitted by twas_was on September 11, 2009 - 7:52am.
We spend too much on health care but we need to spend more. We need to add more people to the system by force if necessary. We need to expand health care as a matter of law, no exceptions. We need to compel insurance companies to provide more benefits to anybody and everybody who seeks them," but we spend too much on health care! One of the reasons is, it works. We all know that it's like buying a lawyer. The more money you spend on a lawyer, the better lawyering you get.
"By cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare -- which of course is a government-run entitlement program -- we'll be able to fund expanded health care without waste, fraud, and abuse. And of course we support Medicare. It's the Republicans who hate Medicare. We're only cutting over $500 billion from the already bankrupt program because there are other people, apart from our seniors, who need health care, too. Everyone has to sacrifice, particularly mom and dad, granddad, grandmom. But they won't mind. That doesn't mean, of course, we're going to ration care. We would never do that. We love our seniors.
"These are scare tactics by the special interests who always oppose reform. No, we're going to cut Medicare because we support Medicare, and we're going to cut benefits to seniors because we love our seniors. And what's all this talk about the government taking over health care? More fearmongering by the special interests! No, what's going to happen is that we will oversee the insurance companies to make sure they don't cheat and rip you off. That's right. The same politicians and bureaucracy that stole trillions from the Social Security trust fund to pay for ever more spending -- and the same politicians and bureaucracy that stole trillions of dollars from the Medicare trust fund -- will use their carefully honed skills and experience to ensure that the private insurance companies treat you fairly.
"And what we will do is tell these companies who must be covered -- which is anyone who asks to be covered-- we're going to tell 'em what they have to charge and we're going to tell 'em that they have to cover preexisting conditions. We're going to tell 'em what they can't charge. We're going to tell 'em what benefits they have to offer -- and if they fail to do exactly what we say, we're going to have to close 'em down to protect you. That doesn't mean, of course, that you have to change your insurance company. We would never tell you to drop your insurance if you like it! No. What we're going to do is put your insurer out of business. See the difference? And as you know, we are here to change Washington. We want to use free market language to massively grow government.
"We want to increase competition by destroying it. We want to grow jobs by killing employment. Our stimulus recovery is going just as planned. Real unemployment is now at 16.8% and rising. This is how we save the economy from the brink: By killing jobs, killing home ownership, and killing private property; by creating trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars in new debt. This is how we will create a stable dollar, a prosperous economy. This is how we will grow businesses, increase home ownership and so forth. And if we don't it's Bush's fault anyway because I inherited all this! So don't you understand?
I'm in the process of destroying your country. I don't like it at all. I don't like this Constitution. It wasn't written for me. I never had a chance to vote for it. I've been saddled with it and my people, saddled with it and my party's been saddled with it and we hate this Constitution!
"This Constitution doesn't tell us what we can do to you. All this Constitution tells us is what we can't do to you, and we want the Constitution to tell us what we can do. Not only to you but for you. I don't like this at all. And I haven't liked it and my college professors haven't liked it and my parents didn't like it and none of my friends liked it. Bill Ayers didn't like the Constitution. Jeremiah Wright doesn't like the Constitution.
My gang at ACORN doesn't like the Constitution, and I'm gonna fix it -- and I'm doing it right in front of your eyes while I'm telling you the opposite of what I'm doing. I'm destroying your economy. I am foreclosing on your house. I have taken over two of the three big automobile companies. I'm going to make sure you can't eventually drive the car you want. And I'm doing all this to restore the economy so that we never have a down cycle like this. I'm doing all this to save the planet from climate change.
"I'm doing all it is so that you will have good jobs and good health care. You won't have any money unless you turn to me for it. It's essential that despite talking like a capitalist that we leave no industry free to actually make profits, because profits are the tool of the special interests -- who, after all, don't care about you as much as we do in this administration. We know what you need better than you do. We know how to manage your affairs and your finances better than you do. This is why we've nationalized the banks, the mortgage industry, the student loan industry, and soon the energy companies and the health care industry. We, after all, aren't driven by the profit motive. We're driven by the public interest, and we know what's in the public interest better than you do.
"That's why it's time to stop all this talk, stop all this bickering, stop the games and just shut up when I'm speaking and instituting my hope-and-change agenda. My agenda is your agenda whether you know it or not whether you accept it or not -- and it's going to be forced down your throat whether you want it or not. Now, I've tried very hard to work with Republicans. My door is always open to them. But they refuse to accept my agenda. They seek to sabotage real reform and real change and hope. They keep talking about empowering individuals to make their own health care decisions. The Republicans keep talking about cutting taxes for middle-class families so they can buy their own insurance.
"The Republicans keep talking about expanding health savings accounts much like IRAs and 401(k)s so that families can save some of their own money tax-free to prepare for catastrophic illnesses and increasing competition by enabling insurance companies to compete for business across state lines. Do you believe that idiocy from the Republicans? Do you believe that stuff? Individuals can't be trusted to do the right thing. We all know that. People are foolish. The only thing they should be free to do is make enough money so that we can confiscate 50, 60, 70% of it via taxes. In fact this whole nation filled with the notion of individual rights and limited government is nothing more than a racist invention of white slaveholders.
"And let me repeat this again: The whole notion of individual rights and limited government is nothing more than a racist invention of white slaveholders known as the Founding Fathers. We know that our Founding Fathers were racists. We never agreed to their Constitution. Did you vote for it? No. It was imposed on us from one generation to the next. So forget about it or else our agenda of redistribution of wealth and big centralized government will be obstructed by something as inconsequential as the highest law in the land which we don't respect; which we didn't vote for; which we think is a sham; which we think is racist, sexist, bigoted, and homophobic. The first thing I could do if I had a chance is rip the Constitution to shreds. Now, I know we're not to the point where I can do that yet in front of you.
"So I'm going to do it while you can't see me doing it all the while telling you, 'I support what you support." Now, we need to nationalize the health care system as fast as possible, and the reason is that we have so much more hope and change to get to in our agenda before the next election. We need to get back to cap and trade so we can manage virtually every business and household in the country, so we can begin the long neglected effort to limit and then shrink how much wealth is produced in this nation. We are 5% of the world's population; we use 25% of the world's resources. We are stealing from the poor of the world, and we have done this since our interception. We are immoral and unjust and we are imperialists. As global citizens, we must change our ways.
"We must do our fair share to participate in the world's poverty. We are too rich, and I'm in the process of making sure that will not be said about this country in the future. The standard of living, when I get through here, will plummet dramatically. That's only fair! We need to pay a penalty for usurping so much of the world's resources. Poverty exists in the rest of the world because of us and our Constitution -- which I didn't vote for and I didn't get a chance to vote for, and if I have my say about it, I'm going to rip it to shreds before I leave this White House. We must make ourselves poorer! We must learn to suffer through the misery that other societies impose on themselves. We're going to call this 'going green' so that you think that we're 'saving the planet,' but what we're actually doing is making you poorer.
"We are going to rob you of your wealth and the opportunity to earn wealth, because when we say 'going green' it conjures images of polar bears and flowing creeks and fields and flowers. It's time to return to simpler times anyway, agrarian times. The Industrial Revolution wasn't all that great anyway. There was more racism and slavery in the Industrial Revolution and more pollution and disgusting destruction of the planet. This is just part of our progressive agenda, an agenda for the modern era. It's time we moved forward into the past. It is time to make tomorrow our yesterdays. It is time to surrender yourself to the greater good. You must make sacrifices! We are, after all, a community of one -- and I am The One who will lead you to the Promised Land."
Rush Limbaugh 9/10/09
according to Rush Limbaugh
http://voices.kansascity.com/node/5818
Submitted by twas_was on September 11, 2009 - 7:52am.
We spend too much on health care but we need to spend more. We need to add more people to the system by force if necessary. We need to expand health care as a matter of law, no exceptions. We need to compel insurance companies to provide more benefits to anybody and everybody who seeks them," but we spend too much on health care! One of the reasons is, it works. We all know that it's like buying a lawyer. The more money you spend on a lawyer, the better lawyering you get.
"By cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare -- which of course is a government-run entitlement program -- we'll be able to fund expanded health care without waste, fraud, and abuse. And of course we support Medicare. It's the Republicans who hate Medicare. We're only cutting over $500 billion from the already bankrupt program because there are other people, apart from our seniors, who need health care, too. Everyone has to sacrifice, particularly mom and dad, granddad, grandmom. But they won't mind. That doesn't mean, of course, we're going to ration care. We would never do that. We love our seniors.
"These are scare tactics by the special interests who always oppose reform. No, we're going to cut Medicare because we support Medicare, and we're going to cut benefits to seniors because we love our seniors. And what's all this talk about the government taking over health care? More fearmongering by the special interests! No, what's going to happen is that we will oversee the insurance companies to make sure they don't cheat and rip you off. That's right. The same politicians and bureaucracy that stole trillions from the Social Security trust fund to pay for ever more spending -- and the same politicians and bureaucracy that stole trillions of dollars from the Medicare trust fund -- will use their carefully honed skills and experience to ensure that the private insurance companies treat you fairly.
"And what we will do is tell these companies who must be covered -- which is anyone who asks to be covered-- we're going to tell 'em what they have to charge and we're going to tell 'em that they have to cover preexisting conditions. We're going to tell 'em what they can't charge. We're going to tell 'em what benefits they have to offer -- and if they fail to do exactly what we say, we're going to have to close 'em down to protect you. That doesn't mean, of course, that you have to change your insurance company. We would never tell you to drop your insurance if you like it! No. What we're going to do is put your insurer out of business. See the difference? And as you know, we are here to change Washington. We want to use free market language to massively grow government.
"We want to increase competition by destroying it. We want to grow jobs by killing employment. Our stimulus recovery is going just as planned. Real unemployment is now at 16.8% and rising. This is how we save the economy from the brink: By killing jobs, killing home ownership, and killing private property; by creating trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars in new debt. This is how we will create a stable dollar, a prosperous economy. This is how we will grow businesses, increase home ownership and so forth. And if we don't it's Bush's fault anyway because I inherited all this! So don't you understand?
I'm in the process of destroying your country. I don't like it at all. I don't like this Constitution. It wasn't written for me. I never had a chance to vote for it. I've been saddled with it and my people, saddled with it and my party's been saddled with it and we hate this Constitution!
"This Constitution doesn't tell us what we can do to you. All this Constitution tells us is what we can't do to you, and we want the Constitution to tell us what we can do. Not only to you but for you. I don't like this at all. And I haven't liked it and my college professors haven't liked it and my parents didn't like it and none of my friends liked it. Bill Ayers didn't like the Constitution. Jeremiah Wright doesn't like the Constitution.
My gang at ACORN doesn't like the Constitution, and I'm gonna fix it -- and I'm doing it right in front of your eyes while I'm telling you the opposite of what I'm doing. I'm destroying your economy. I am foreclosing on your house. I have taken over two of the three big automobile companies. I'm going to make sure you can't eventually drive the car you want. And I'm doing all this to restore the economy so that we never have a down cycle like this. I'm doing all this to save the planet from climate change.
"I'm doing all it is so that you will have good jobs and good health care. You won't have any money unless you turn to me for it. It's essential that despite talking like a capitalist that we leave no industry free to actually make profits, because profits are the tool of the special interests -- who, after all, don't care about you as much as we do in this administration. We know what you need better than you do. We know how to manage your affairs and your finances better than you do. This is why we've nationalized the banks, the mortgage industry, the student loan industry, and soon the energy companies and the health care industry. We, after all, aren't driven by the profit motive. We're driven by the public interest, and we know what's in the public interest better than you do.
"That's why it's time to stop all this talk, stop all this bickering, stop the games and just shut up when I'm speaking and instituting my hope-and-change agenda. My agenda is your agenda whether you know it or not whether you accept it or not -- and it's going to be forced down your throat whether you want it or not. Now, I've tried very hard to work with Republicans. My door is always open to them. But they refuse to accept my agenda. They seek to sabotage real reform and real change and hope. They keep talking about empowering individuals to make their own health care decisions. The Republicans keep talking about cutting taxes for middle-class families so they can buy their own insurance.
"The Republicans keep talking about expanding health savings accounts much like IRAs and 401(k)s so that families can save some of their own money tax-free to prepare for catastrophic illnesses and increasing competition by enabling insurance companies to compete for business across state lines. Do you believe that idiocy from the Republicans? Do you believe that stuff? Individuals can't be trusted to do the right thing. We all know that. People are foolish. The only thing they should be free to do is make enough money so that we can confiscate 50, 60, 70% of it via taxes. In fact this whole nation filled with the notion of individual rights and limited government is nothing more than a racist invention of white slaveholders.
"And let me repeat this again: The whole notion of individual rights and limited government is nothing more than a racist invention of white slaveholders known as the Founding Fathers. We know that our Founding Fathers were racists. We never agreed to their Constitution. Did you vote for it? No. It was imposed on us from one generation to the next. So forget about it or else our agenda of redistribution of wealth and big centralized government will be obstructed by something as inconsequential as the highest law in the land which we don't respect; which we didn't vote for; which we think is a sham; which we think is racist, sexist, bigoted, and homophobic. The first thing I could do if I had a chance is rip the Constitution to shreds. Now, I know we're not to the point where I can do that yet in front of you.
"So I'm going to do it while you can't see me doing it all the while telling you, 'I support what you support." Now, we need to nationalize the health care system as fast as possible, and the reason is that we have so much more hope and change to get to in our agenda before the next election. We need to get back to cap and trade so we can manage virtually every business and household in the country, so we can begin the long neglected effort to limit and then shrink how much wealth is produced in this nation. We are 5% of the world's population; we use 25% of the world's resources. We are stealing from the poor of the world, and we have done this since our interception. We are immoral and unjust and we are imperialists. As global citizens, we must change our ways.
"We must do our fair share to participate in the world's poverty. We are too rich, and I'm in the process of making sure that will not be said about this country in the future. The standard of living, when I get through here, will plummet dramatically. That's only fair! We need to pay a penalty for usurping so much of the world's resources. Poverty exists in the rest of the world because of us and our Constitution -- which I didn't vote for and I didn't get a chance to vote for, and if I have my say about it, I'm going to rip it to shreds before I leave this White House. We must make ourselves poorer! We must learn to suffer through the misery that other societies impose on themselves. We're going to call this 'going green' so that you think that we're 'saving the planet,' but what we're actually doing is making you poorer.
"We are going to rob you of your wealth and the opportunity to earn wealth, because when we say 'going green' it conjures images of polar bears and flowing creeks and fields and flowers. It's time to return to simpler times anyway, agrarian times. The Industrial Revolution wasn't all that great anyway. There was more racism and slavery in the Industrial Revolution and more pollution and disgusting destruction of the planet. This is just part of our progressive agenda, an agenda for the modern era. It's time we moved forward into the past. It is time to make tomorrow our yesterdays. It is time to surrender yourself to the greater good. You must make sacrifices! We are, after all, a community of one -- and I am The One who will lead you to the Promised Land."
Rush Limbaugh 9/10/09
Obama's Plans
Just 2 articles and a web address to keep for reading about this whole thing going on now...
I follow Thomas Sowell's commentaries..they make a lot of sense. I trust him for themost part so far.
Listening to a Liar
Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
The most important thing about what anyone says are not the words themselves but the credibility of the person who says them.
The words of convicted swindler Bernie Madoff were apparently quite convincing to many people who were regarded as knowledgeable and sophisticated. If you go by words, you can be led into anything.
No doubt millions of people will be listening to the words of President Barack Obama Wednesday night when he makes a televised address to a joint session of Congress on his medical care plans. But, if they think that the words he says are what matters, they can be led into something much worse than being swindled out of their money.
One plain fact should outweigh all the words of Barack Obama and all the impressive trappings of the setting in which he says them: He tried to rush Congress into passing a massive government takeover of the nation's medical care before the August recess-- for a program that would not take effect until 2013!
Whatever President Obama is, he is not stupid. If the urgency to pass the medical care legislation was to deal with a problem immediately, then why postpone the date when the legislation goes into effect for years-- more specifically, until the year after the next Presidential election?
If this is such an urgently needed program, why wait for years to put it into effect? And if the public is going to benefit from this, why not let them experience those benefits before the next Presidential election?
If it is not urgent that the legislation goes into effect immediately, then why don't we have time to go through the normal process of holding Congressional hearings on the pros and cons, accompanied by public discussions of its innumerable provisions? What sense does it make to "hurry up and wait" on something that is literally a matter of life and death?
If we do not believe that the President is stupid, then what do we believe? The only reasonable alternative seems to be that he wanted to get this massive government takeover of medical care passed into law before the public understood what was in it.
Moreover, he wanted to get re-elected in 2012 before the public experienced what its actual consequences would be.
Unfortunately, this way of doing things is all too typical of the way this administration has acted on a wide range of issues.
Consider the "stimulus" legislation. Here the administration was successful in rushing a massive spending bill through Congress in just two days-- after which it sat on the President's desk for three days, while he was away on vacation. But, like the medical care legislation, the "stimulus" legislation takes effect slowly.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will be September 2010 before even three-quarters of the money will be spent. Some economists expect that it will not all be spent by the end of 2010.
What was the rush to pass it, then? It was not to get that money out into the economy as fast as possible. It was to get that money-- and the power that goes with it-- into the hands of the government. Power is what politics is all about.
The worst thing that could happen, from the standpoint of those seeking more government power over the economy, would be for the economy to begin recovering on its own while months were being spent debating the need for a "stimulus" bill. As the President's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said, you can't let a crisis "go to waste" when "it's an opportunity to do things you could not do before."
There are lots of people in the Obama administration who want to do things that have not been done before-- and to do them before the public realizes what is happening.
The proliferation of White House "czars" in charge of everything from financial issues to media issues is more of the same circumvention of the public and of the Constitution. Czars don't have to be confirmed by the Senate, the way Cabinet members must be, even though czars may wield more power, so you may never know what these people are like, until it is too late.
What Barack Obama says Wednesday night is not nearly as important as what he has been doing-- and how he has been doing it.
Copyright © 2009 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved
http://townhall.com/Common/PrintPage.aspx?g=f22f19d3-b93f-4dc7-9f34-b61b09a9ab39&t=c
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Thomas Sowell: Obama's health care promises are shameless fraud
06:24 PM CDT on Friday, September 11, 2009
"Hubris-laden charlatans" was the way a recent e-mail from a reader characterized the Obama administration. That phrase seems especially appropriate for the Charlatan-in-Chief, Barack Obama, whose speech to a joint session of Congress was both a masterpiece of rhetoric and a shameless fraud.
To tell us, with a straight face, that he can insure millions more people without adding to the already skyrocketing deficit, is world-class chutzpa and an insult to anyone's intelligence. To do so after an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office has already showed this to be impossible reveals the depths of moral bankruptcy behind the glittering words.
Even those who can believe that Obama can conjure up the money through eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse" should ask themselves where he is going to conjure up the additional doctors, nurses and hospitals needed to take care of millions more patients.
If he can't pull off that miracle, then government-run medical care in the United States can be expected to produce what government-run medical care in Canada, Britain and other countries has produced – delays of weeks or months to get many treatments, not to mention arbitrary rationing decisions by bureaucrats.
One of the secrets of being a glib talker is not getting hung up over whether what you are saying is true, and instead giving your full attention to what is required by the audience and the circumstances of the moment, without letting facts get in your way and cramp your style. Obama has mastered that art.
Con men understand that their job is not to use facts to convince skeptics but to use words to help the gullible to believe what they want to believe. No message has been more welcomed by the gullible, in countries around the world, than the promise of something for nothing. That is the core of Barack Obama's medical care plan.
Obama tells us that he will impose various mandates on insurance companies but will not interfere with our free choice between being insured by these companies or by the government. But if he can drive up the cost of private insurance with mandates and subsidize government insurance with the taxpayers' money, how long do you think it will be before we have the "single payer" system he has advocated in the past?
Mandates by politicians are what have driven up the cost of insurance already. Politicians love to play Santa Claus and leave it to others to raise prices to cover the inevitable costs.
Politicians have driven privately owned municipal transit systems out of business in many cities, by simply imposing costs and restricting the fare increases needed to cover those costs. The federal government can drive out private insurance the same way that local politicians have driven out private municipal transit and replaced it with government-run transit systems.
Barack Obama's insistence that various dangerous policies are not in the legislation he proposes sounds good but means nothing. Unbridled power is a blank check, no matter what its rationale may be.
Hoover Institution Fellow Thomas Sowell, who may be contacted through www.tsowell.com
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See this site also...very good...
http://voices.kansascity.com/node/5818
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Bednar's Talk Will Be A Classic
I heard about this talk last Sunday...Bishop Horvath use much of the material in this talk when he spoke in sacrament meeting...It was great! I want to have a T-shirt that says..."High on Reality"...or one that says "Keeping It Real". This is such an important concept: to be aware of Reality!
Here is the talk in its entirety:
Things as They Really Are
Elder David A. Bednar
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
CES Fireside for Young Adults • May 3, 2009 • Brigham Young University–Idaho
http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,538-1-4830-1,00.html
Elder David A. BednarBrothers and sisters, I love you and am grateful to be with you. I extend a special welcome to those of you in your final year of seminary who are attending a CES broadcast for the first time. As you continue your education, I encourage you to take full advantage of the opportunities you will have to learn and grow spiritually by enrolling in and actively participating in institute classes. You also will be able to attend future CES firesides, which will strengthen and bless you.
As I have looked forward to and prepared for this opportunity to learn with you, I have come to better understand the strong feelings of Jacob, the brother of Nephi. He said, “I this day am weighed down with much … desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls” (Jacob 2:3). The message I want to share with you today has over time distilled upon my soul “as the dews from heaven” (D&C 121:45). I invite your earnest attention to a serious subject that has both immediate and eternal implications. I pray for the Holy Ghost to be with and teach each of us during our time together.
I long have been impressed with the simple and clear definition of truth set forth in the Book of Mormon: “The Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls” (Jacob 4:13; see also D&C 93:24).
Tonight we will focus upon the first major element of truth identified in this verse: “things as they really are.” We first will review several key elements of our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness as the doctrinal foundation for knowing and understanding things as they really are. We then will consider methods of attack used by the adversary to distract us from or inhibit our capacity to discern things as they really are. And finally, we will discuss the responsibilities that rest upon you as the rising generation. You will need to be obedient, to honor sacred covenants, and to discern things consistently as they really are in today’s world that grows ever more confused and wicked.
Our Divine Destiny
In “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles declare that as spirit sons and daughters of God we “accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize [our] divine destiny as heirs of eternal life” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102; or Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49). Please note the primary importance of obtaining a physical body in the process of progressing toward our divine destiny.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught with clarity the importance of our physical bodies:
“We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he asked to go into the herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a swine’s body to having none. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.”1
Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our premortal estate. President Boyd K. Packer has taught, “Our spirit and our body are combined in such a way that our body becomes an instrument of our mind and the foundation of our character.”2 Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. In the classroom of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as the scriptures describe, “according to the flesh” (see 1 Nephi 19:6; Alma 7:12–13).
Apostles and prophets consistently have taught the mortal and eternal importance of our bodies. Paul declared:
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Corinthians 3:16–17).
And in this dispensation the Lord revealed that “the spirit and the body are the soul of man” (D&C 88:15). A truth that really is and always will be is that the body and the spirit constitute our reality and identity. When body and spirit are inseparably connected, we can receive a fulness of joy; when they are separated, we cannot receive a fulness of joy (see D&C 93:33–34).
The Father’s plan is designed to provide direction for His children, to help them become happy, and to bring them safely home to Him with resurrected, exalted bodies. Lucifer labors to make the sons and daughters of God confused and unhappy and to hinder their eternal progression. The overarching intent of the father of lies is that all of us would become “miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27), and he works to distort the elements of the Father’s plan he hates the most.
Satan does not have a body, and his eternal progress has been halted. Just as water flowing in a riverbed is stopped by a dam, so the adversary’s eternal progress is thwarted because he does not have a physical body. Because of his rebellion, Lucifer has denied himself all of the mortal blessings and experiences made possible through a tabernacle of flesh and bones. He cannot learn the lessons that only an embodied spirit can learn. He cannot marry or enjoy the blessings of procreation and family life. He cannot abide the reality of a literal and universal resurrection of all mankind. One of the potent scriptural meanings of the word damned is illustrated in his inability to continue developing and becoming like our Heavenly Father.
Because a physical body is so central to the Father’s plan of happiness and our spiritual development, we should not be surprised that Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly. One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, invites and entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have and cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to physical and spiritual destruction.
The Adversary’s Attacks
The adversary attempts to influence us both to misuse our physical bodies and to minimize the importance of our bodies. These two methods of attack are important for us to recognize and to repel.
When any of Heavenly Father’s children misuse their physical tabernacles by violating the law of chastity, by using drugs and addictive substances, by disfiguring or defacing themselves, or by worshipping the false idol of body image, whether their own or that of others, Satan is delighted. To those of us who know and understand the plan of salvation, any defiling of the body is rebellion (see Mosiah 2:36–37; D&C 64:34–35) and a denial of our true identity as sons and daughters of God.
Now brothers and sisters, I cannot tell you all the ways whereby you may misuse your bodies, “for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them” (Mosiah 4:29). You know what is right and what is wrong, and you have the individual responsibility to learn for yourself “by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118) the things you should and should not do and the doctrinal reasons why you should and should not do those things. I testify that as you desire to so learn, as you “watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives” (Mosiah 4:30), you will be spiritually enlightened and protected. And according to your faithfulness and diligence, you will have the power to discern the deception and repel the attacks of the adversary as he tempts you to misuse your physical body.
Satan also strives to entice the sons and daughters of God to minimize the importance of their physical bodies. This particular type of attack is most subtle and diabolical. I want to provide several examples of how the adversary can pacify and lull us away into a sense of carnal security (see 2 Nephi 28:21) and encourage us to put at risk the earthly learning experiences that caused us to shout for joy (see Job 38:7) in the premortal existence.
For example, all of us can find enjoyment in a wide range of wholesome, entertaining, and engaging activities. But we diminish the importance of our bodies and jeopardize our physical well-being by going to unusual and dangerous extremes searching for an ever greater and more exhilarating adrenaline “rush.” We may rationalize that surely nothing is wrong with such seemingly innocent exploits and adventures. However, putting at risk the very instrument God has given us to receive the learning experiences of mortality—merely to pursue a thrill or some supposed fun, to bolster ego, or to gain acceptance—truly minimizes the importance of our physical bodies.
Sadly, some young men and women in the Church today ignore “things as they really are” and neglect eternal relationships for digital distractions, diversions, and detours that have no lasting value. My heart aches when a young couple—sealed together in the house of the Lord for time and for all eternity by the power of the holy priesthood—experiences marital difficulties because of the addicting effect of excessive video gaming or online socializing. A young man or woman may waste countless hours, postpone or forfeit vocational or academic achievement, and ultimately sacrifice cherished human relationships because of mind- and spirit-numbing video and online games. As the Lord declared, “Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment … : Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known” (D&C 60:13).
You may now be asking yourself, “But Brother Bednar, you began today by talking about the importance of a physical body in our eternal progression. Are you suggesting that video gaming and various types of computer-mediated communication can play a role in minimizing the importance of our physical bodies?” That is precisely what I am declaring. Let me explain.
We live at a time when technology can be used to replicate reality, to augment reality, and to create virtual reality. For example, a medical doctor can use software simulation to gain valuable experience performing a complicated surgical operation without ever putting a human patient at risk. A pilot in a flight simulator repeatedly can practice emergency landing procedures that could save many lives. And architects and engineers can use innovative technologies to model sophisticated design and construction methods that decrease the loss of human life and damage to buildings caused by earthquakes and other natural disasters.
In each of these examples, a high degree of fidelity in the simulation or model contributes to the effectiveness of the experience. The term fidelity denotes the similarity between reality and a representation of reality. Such a simulation can be constructive if the fidelity is high and the purposes are good—for example, providing experience that saves lives or improves the quality of life.
The image shown below is a computer-generated rendering of a sealing room in the Newport Beach California Temple.
Rendering
This and similar images are used as part of the planning and design process for each new temple that is constructed. The rendering portrays fabrics, furnishings, fixtures, lighting, scale, and proportion to show how each component will look and feel when finished. In essence, the entire temple and all of its elements are designed in detail before construction ever begins.
This picture is an actual photograph of the sealing room in the Newport Beach California Temple.
Photo
Please notice the fidelity between the representation of reality in the rendering (first image) and the reality of the completed room in this photograph.
This next image is a computer-generated rendering of a lobby area in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.
Rendering
The following photo shows the actual lobby in the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.
Photo
In each of these examples, high fidelity is employed to accomplish a most important purpose—the design and construction of a sacred and beautiful temple. However, a simulation or model can lead to spiritual impairment and danger if the fidelity is high and the purposes are bad—such as experimenting with actions contrary to God’s commandments or enticing us to think or do things we would not otherwise think or do “because it is only a game.”
Today I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I raise are not new; they apply equally to other types of media, such as television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these challenges are more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes.
If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, ear buds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience.
Listen carefully to the following quote describing an intense romantic relationship a woman had with a cyberspace boyfriend. And note how the medium of communication minimized the importance of the physical body. “And so PFSlider [the man’s screen name] became my everyday life. All the tangible stuff fell away. My body did not exist. I had no skin, no hair, no bones. All desire had converted itself into a cerebral current that reached nothing but my frontal lobe. There was no outdoors, no social life, no weather. There was only the computer screen and the phone, my chair, and maybe a glass of water.”3
In contrast, we need to heed the admonition of Paul: “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour” (1 Thessalonians 4:4).
Consider again the example I mentioned earlier of a young couple recently married in the house of the Lord. An immature or misguided spouse may devote an inordinate amount of time to playing video games, chatting online, or in other ways allowing the digital to dominate things as they really are. Initially the investment of time may seem relatively harmless, rationalized as a few minutes of needed relief from the demands of a hectic daily schedule. But important opportunities are missed for developing and improving interpersonal skills, for laughing and crying together, and for creating a rich and enduring bond of emotional intimacy. Progressively, seemingly innocent entertainment can become a form of pernicious enslavement.
To feel the warmth of a tender hug from an eternal companion or to see the sincerity in the eyes of another person as testimony is shared—all of these things experienced as they really are through the instrument of our physical body—could be sacrificed for a high fidelity fantasy that has no lasting value. If you and I are not vigilant, we can become “past feeling” (1 Nephi 17:45), as did Laman and Lemuel long ago.
Let me provide another example of disconnecting gradually and physically from things as they really are. Today a person can enter into a virtual world, such as Second Life, and assume a new identity. An individual can create an avatar, or a cyberspace persona, that conforms to his or her own appearance and behavior. Or a person can concoct a counterfeit identity that does not correlate in any way to things as they really are. However closely the assumed new identity approximates the individual, such behavior is the essence of things as they really are not. Earlier I defined the fidelity of a simulation or model. I now emphasize the importance of personal fidelity—the correspondence between an actual person and an assumed, cyberspace identity. Please note the lack of personal fidelity in the following episode as reported in the Wall Street Journal:
Ric Hoogestraat is “a burly [53-year-old] man with a long gray ponytail, thick sideburns and a salt-and-pepper handlebar mustache. … [Ric spends] six hours a night and often 14 hours at a stretch on weekends as Dutch Hoorenbeek, his six-foot-nine, muscular … cyber-self. The character looks like a younger, physically enhanced version of [Ric].”
“[He] sits at his computer with the blinds drawn. … While his wife, Sue, watches television in the living room, Mr. Hoogestraat chats online with what appears on the screen to be a tall, slim redhead.
“He’s never met the woman outside of the computer world of Second Life, a well-chronicled digital fantasyland. … He’s never so much as spoken to her on the telephone. But their relationship has taken on curiously real dimensions. They own two dogs, pay a mortgage together and spend hours [in their cyberspace world] shopping at the mall and taking long motorcycle rides. … Their bond is so strong that three months ago, Mr. Hoogestraat asked Janet Spielman, the 38-year-old Canadian woman who controls the redhead, to become his virtual wife.
“The woman he’s legally wed to is not amused. ‘It’s really devastating,’ says Sue Hoogestraat, … who has been married to Mr. Hoogestraat for seven months.”4
Brothers and sisters, please understand. I am not suggesting all technology is inherently bad; it is not. Nor am I saying we should not use its many capabilities in appropriate ways to learn, to communicate, to lift and brighten lives, and to build and strengthen the Church; of course we should. But I am raising a warning voice that we should not squander and damage authentic relationships by obsessing over contrived ones. “Nearly 40% of men and 53% of women who play online games said their virtual friends were equal to or better than their real-life friends, according to a survey of 30,000 gamers conducted by … a recent Ph.D. graduate from Stanford University. More than a quarter of gamers [who responded indicated that] the emotional highlight of the past week occurred in a computer world.”5
How important, how enduring, and how timely is the Lord’s definition of truth— “things as they really are.” The prophet Alma asked, “O then, is not this real?” (Alma 32:35). He was speaking of light and good so discernible they can be tasted. Indeed, “they who dwell in [the Father’s] presence … see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace” (D&C 76:94).
My beloved brothers and sisters, beware! To the extent personal fidelity decreases in computer-mediated communications and the purposes of such communications are distorted, perverted, and wicked, the potential for spiritual disaster is dangerously high. I implore you to turn away immediately and permanently from such places and activities (see 2 Timothy 3:5).
Now I would like to address an additional characteristic of the adversary’s attacks. Satan often offers an alluring illusion of anonymity. Lucifer always has sought to accomplish his work in secret (see Moses 5:30). Remember, however, that apostasy is not anonymous simply because it occurs in a blog or through a fabricated identity in a chat room or virtual world. Immoral thoughts, words, and deeds always are immoral, even in cyberspace. Deceitful acts supposedly veiled in secrecy, such as illegally downloading music from the Internet or copying CDs or DVDs for distribution to friends and families, are nonetheless deceitful. We are all accountable to God, and ultimately we will be judged of Him according to our deeds and the desires of our hearts (see Alma 41:3). “For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
The Lord knows who we really are, what we really think, what we really do, and who we really are becoming. He has warned us that “the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed” (D&C 1:3).
I have raised a voice of warning about only a few of the spiritual hazards in our technologically oriented and rapidly changing world. Let me say again: neither technology nor rapid change in or of itself is good or evil; the real challenge is to understand both within the context of the eternal plan of happiness. Lucifer will encourage you to misuse and to minimize the importance of your physical body. He will attempt to substitute the monotony of virtual repetition for the infinite variety of God’s creations and convince us we are merely mortal things to be acted upon instead of eternal souls blessed with moral agency to act for ourselves. Deviously, he entices embodied spirits to forfeit the blessings and learning experiences “according to the flesh” that are made possible through the Father’s plan of happiness and the Atonement of His Only Begotten Son.
For your happiness and protection, I invite you to study more diligently the doctrine of the plan of salvation—and to prayerfully ponder the truths we have reviewed. I offer two questions for consideration in your personal pondering and prayerful studying:
1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?
2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?
You will receive answers, inspiration, and instruction from the Holy Ghost suited to your individual circumstances and needs. I repeat and affirm the teaching of the Prophet Joseph: “All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him.”6
These eternal truths about the importance of our physical bodies will fortify you against the deception and the attacks of the adversary. One of my deepest desires for you is an ever-increasing testimony of and appreciation for the Resurrection—even your own resurrection with a celestial, exalted body “because of your faith in [the Lord Jesus Christ] according to the promise” (Moroni 7:41).
The Rising Generation
I would like to speak specifically to you as you really are. You really are the rising generation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In October of 1997, Elder Neal A. Maxwell visited the campus of Brigham Young University–Idaho to speak in a devotional. During the day he was on the campus, we talked together about a variety of gospel topics in general and about the youth of the Church in particular. I remember Elder Maxwell making a statement that greatly impressed me. He said, “The youth of this generation have a greater capacity for obedience than any previous generation.”
He then indicated that his statement was based upon a truth taught by President George Q. Cannon: “God has reserved spirits for this dispensation who have the courage and determination to face the world, and all the powers of the evil one, visible and invisible, to proclaim the Gospel, and maintain the truth, and establish and build up the Zion of our God, fearless of all consequences. He has sent these spirits in this generation to lay the foundation of Zion never more to be overthrown, and to raise up a seed that will be righteous, and that will honor God, and honor him supremely, and be obedient to him under all circumstances.”7
Parents and Church leaders frequently emphasize that the young men and women of this generation have been reserved for this season in the history of the world and are some of the most valiant of Heavenly Father’s children. Indeed, such statements are true. But I often have wondered if young people hear this description so often that it becomes overused and trite—and that its importance and deep implications may be overlooked. We know that “unto whom much is given much is required” (D&C 82:3). And the teachings of President Cannon and Elder Maxwell help us to understand more fully what is required of us today. You and I are to be valiant and “obedient to him under all circumstances.” Thus, obedience is the principal weapon upon which the rising generation must rely in the latter-day battle between good and evil.
We rejoice that the Lord through His authorized servants has “raised the bar” for the young men and women of today. Given what we know about who we are and why we are here upon the earth, such inspired direction is welcomed and appreciated. And we should recognize that Lucifer incessantly strives to “lower the bar” by coaxing us to misuse and minimize the importance of our physical bodies.
The Savior has warned us repeatedly to beware of deception by the adversary:
“Jesus answered, and said unto them: Take heed that no man deceive you; …
“For in those days there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch, that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant. …
“And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived” (Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:5, 22, 37).
Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception—and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons. Moroni declared:
“Hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.
“Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:27–28).
As we heed that inspired counsel, we can and will be blessed to recognize and repel the attacks of the adversary—today and in the days that lie ahead. We can and will fulfill our foreordained responsibilities and contribute to the work of the Lord in all the world.
I testify that God lives and is our Heavenly Father. He is the Author of the plan of salvation. Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer, whose body was bruised, broken, and torn for us as He offered the atoning sacrifice. He is resurrected; He lives; and He stands at the head of His Church in these latter days. To be “encircled about eternally in the arms of his love” (2 Nephi 1:15) will be a real and not a virtual experience.
I testify we can and will be blessed with the courage and determination to face the world and all the powers of the evil one. Righteousness will prevail. No unhallowed hand can stop this work from progressing. I bear witness and testify of these things as they really are and as they really will be in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
1. Quoted by William Clayton, reporting an undated discourse given by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois; in L. John Nuttall, “Extracts from William Clayton’s Private Book,” 7–8, Journals of L. John Nuttall, 1857–1904, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; copy in Church History Library; spelling and capitalization standardized; see also Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 211, 214.
2. Boyd K. Packer, The Instrument of Your Mind and the Foundation of Your Character (Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Feb. 2, 2003), 2.
3. Meghan Daum, “Virtual Love,” The New Yorker, Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, 1997, 82; or Meghan Daum, My Misspent Youth (2001), 19.
4. Alexandra Alter, “Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?” Wall Street Journal, Aug. 10, 2007, W8, W1.
5. Alexandra Alter, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 10, 2007, W8.
6. Quoted by William Clayton; in L. John Nuttall, “Extracts from William Clayton’s Private Book,” 8.
7. George Q. Cannon, in Journal of Discourses, 11:230.
© 2009 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. English approval: 10/08. Translation approval: 10/08. Translation of Things as They Really Are. Language. PD50013503 xxx
Friday, March 27, 2009
Fox 2
The following 2 videos are from my camera..from Nov. 2008..when Fox was talking about Amy's labor experience...giving birth to CoCo.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
I love this bedroom....
..because of the warm color of the wood. I bet is smells so good in this room..like pine. This cabin you can rent at Harvest Farm Campground in Harmony, Minnesota. You can go canoeing there, too. I have just put this on my list of places to go someday! go to wecamp.com for more info.
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