tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51369487030414480952024-03-28T01:00:47.051-07:00Upward ThoughtExplaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desire to hear them. (Mosiah 27:35-36)Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17030385897644413364noreply@blogger.comBlogger310125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-33547622151808262332024-03-28T01:00:00.000-07:002024-03-28T01:00:09.639-07:00They're all in it for the business, but I'm in it for the heartLately, I've been dabbling on Twitter/x (@upward_thought), searching for those searching for greater light and truth. It's been a while since I've had overtly religious conversations with people outside of the LDS sphere. Boy, am I disappointed.<div><br /></div><div>I'd say that more than 75% of people claiming to be Christian know and care less about how Jesus actually is than your average atheist. Instead, they are like pull-string talking dolls with the same 3-4 brainless slogans, depending on their sect. These are not sincere people; these are not people who think and feel according to the light they have. Meanwhile, it's not hard to find someone who, in spite of claiming that they don't believe in God or aren't sure if he exists, actually live life at least quasi-intentionally.</div><div><br /></div><div>The way must be cleared, and it will be, as greater challenges are continuously poured out to reveal the limits of what people mistake for sufficient foundations. Lord, may the dead branches be removed as the living branches begin to grow.</div><div><br /></div><div>Throughout time, there have been a few people who undertook an unconstrained search for truth, trading up for better ideas wherever they could find them: Christ chief among them in every way, including demonstrating what the world does to such people.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm left to think of a song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxfa0VVld7M&ab_channel=gaismasken">by Jorn</a> that is highly unlikely to affect you as it does me:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>They're all in it for the business</div><div>But me I'm in it for the heart</div><div>I’ll never sell my soul to greed</div><div>I'll take the nails and bleed</div><div>Hammered to the cross, yeah</div><div>Led up to the cross</div></div><div><br /></div><div>How I wish there were more people who were in it for the heart, who saw source of truth and a reason to search for more and better, rather than an excuse to close one's mind to what they don't already believe.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-62543481797069574032024-03-25T11:00:00.000-07:002024-03-25T11:00:00.257-07:00A parableI found <a href="https://youtu.be/ZjV6ZrQ1MpU?feature=shared">this parable</a> to have great worth to me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-68537711527052294312024-03-22T05:53:00.000-07:002024-03-22T05:53:10.911-07:00To what benefit is a living servant?<p>There are all sorts of self-imposed constraints on what each person is able to receive from heaven.[1] It is <i>much</i> easier to receive a gospel truth from another living person than from heaven directly (though, in all cases, it must still come through God's voice to you--your conscience--or you won't/shouldn't believe it).[2]</p><p>A living person can act as a living seer stone [3] up to the degree to which they have the spirit of God and are free from constraints, but what you receive directly from heaven will be limited to your understanding, sacrifice, faith, trust in God, and so on.[4]</p><p>If you find someone with greater understanding, sacrifice, faith, trust in God, and so on,[5] you have found a "window of heaven" larger than your own.[6] The spirit will not fight against you to force you to receive revelation beyond your worthiness, but another person can, up to the limits of their love for you.[7]</p><p>[1]</p><p>12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.<br />13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.<br />14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.<br />15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16)</p><p>[2]</p><p>17 Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?<br />18 And if it be by some other way it is not of God.<br />19 And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?<br />20 If it be some other way it is not of God.<br />21 Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth?<br />22 Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.<br />23 And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.<br />24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.<br />25 And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you; (D&C 50)</p><p>[3]</p><p>4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,<br />5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2)</p><p>[4]</p><p>And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. (Alma 12:10)</p><p>2 ...and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.<br />3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God.<br />4 And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years.... (Alma 17)</p><p>For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. (1 Nephi 10:19)</p><p>Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance. (Alma 26:22)</p><p>[5]</p><p>31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.<br />32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men. (Moroni 7)</p><p>[6]</p><p>Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)</p><p>[7]</p><p>Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)</p><p>5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.<br />6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.<br />7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.<br />8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5)</p><p>This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:12)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-35319912472975729132024-03-18T07:38:00.000-07:002024-03-18T07:38:28.669-07:00Female neuroscientist sharing widely unknown facts about menopauseThis doctor is one of shockingly few who studies the brain effects of menopause. According to her, the female hormonal decline begins on average at age 39 and lasts about ten years before menopause completes. Symptoms include significant behavioral and cognitive changes.<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://youtu.be/n_4xNTKqRFI?feature=shared&t=1156">Here's the interview</a>, bookmarked at where it gets interesting.</div><div><br /></div><div>As more men learn these things, there will be many more single women over 30 looking at a lifetime alone.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-41954454068434886552024-03-16T03:05:00.000-07:002024-03-16T03:05:58.236-07:00Does it matter who repented first? Yes, it does.<p>There are oh-so-many vital ideas that oh-so-many people do not get. In general, I will say that the problem of grossly undervaluing the greatest of gifts is endemic among all people, and errors in appraisal of value (how much is possible and where it is found) may well be the single greatest obstacle to eternal life for those alive today, if not throughout all time.</p><p>Specifically to this instance:</p><p>30 For behold, [angels] are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.<br />31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.<br />32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men. (Moroni 7)</p><p>Q: Who are "the residue of men"?<br />A: Anyone who has not yet seen angels.</p><p>Q: How do "the residue of men" have faith in Christ?<br />A: Through the ministry of those who can, who have sufficient faith to repent when they are told to by the angels that visit them.</p><p>Q: How much more faith does it take to receive angels and repent because of their message than it does to respond to the example of a mortal man who already has?<br />A: A lot. Reread Alma 13.</p><p>Q: Is it possible for the world to become so faithless that angels cease ministering to men?<br />A: Yes, when the people are particularly wicked, God ceases to send angels:</p><p>36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?<br />37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain. (Moroni 7)</p><p>Q: What does God do in such a case to continue to provide the lifeline of his light to the world?<br />A: He sends down the spirit of a man righteous enough to repent based solely on the written word preserved to that point, following the pattern and example of Jesus, who did the same.</p><p>1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:<br />2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.<br />3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.<br />4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.<br />5 They hatch cockatrice’ eggs, and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper.<br />6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.<br />7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.<br />8 The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.<br />9 Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.<br />10 We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.<br />11 We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us.<br />12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them;<br />13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.<br />14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.<br />15 Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.<br />16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.<br />17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. (Isaiah 59)</p><p>2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.<br />3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.<br />4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.<br />5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.<br />6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.<br />7 For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.<br />8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.<br />9 Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.<br />10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. (Isaiah 50)</p><p>14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.<br />15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.<br />16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.<br />17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.<br />18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.<br />19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:<br />20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.<br />21 Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.<br />22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.<br />23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.<br />24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.<br />25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.<br />26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.<br />27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.<br />28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.<br />29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion. (Isaiah 41)</p><p>Q: How much more faith does it take to "receive angels" by repenting through reading and obeying what is written in the scriptures versus needing to receive a literal visitation from an angel?<br />A: A lot. Q: What is the effect of accomplishing something through greater faith versus lesser faith? A: Whenever a greater price is paid, the justice of God grants greater blessing upon the one who pays it. Because all attributes of God co-occur, the greater the faith exercised, the more likely the one exercising it will transfer the boon he receives to the benefit of those who did not pay the price.<br /></p><p>Q: How many people on this planet would repent without first having a living example?<br />A: I don't know, but because someone has, no one will ever be able to again in this creation. From now until the end, there will be living people who are examples of sinlessness. Some measure of people, and perhaps all but one, need a living example before they will repent. Consider this honest email I received three months ago:<br /><br />"For me the reasons you have shared on the need for full repentance have not been refuted; however, if you didn't put yourself forward as an example of sinlessness I would probably reject them anyway, given that I am unaware of anyone else making a similar credible claim. I am increasingly grateful for your example and your sacrifice. You have convinced me that the love of God exceeds anything I have ever imagined to provide such motivation."</p><p>As servants of the Most High, we do not do what we do for credit, because he doesn't do what he does for credit. He does what he does so that man can have greater joy than he did, and that is the motive of his servants, too. However, since joy comes from value, and value from cost, part of the ministry of joy is helping people understand the price that has been paid for them.</p><p>5 ...the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.<br />6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.<br />7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.<br />8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5)</p><p>40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.<br />41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.<br />42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?<br />43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.<br />44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.<br />45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.<br />46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.<br />47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. (Luke 7)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-65754241710367187662024-03-11T08:02:00.000-07:002024-03-11T08:02:16.238-07:00SSRIs can cause permanent sexual dysfunction<p>Today I learned:<br /></p><p>"SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Re-Uptake Inhibitors) are a common class of antidepressants used to treat depression, anxiety and other mental health problems. Popular SSRIs include Fluoxetine (Prozac), Escitalopram (Lexapro), and Sertraline (Zoloft). Something well established about these drugs is that they have sexual side-effects. In fact, between 40 and 65% of people who take an SSRI are thought to experience some form of sexual dysfunction. What few people know, though, is these side effects can persist even after coming off of the drugs—a condition called Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD).</p><p>This is more than just low libido. It can be a total loss of libido, genital numbness, erectile dysfunction, an inability to orgasm and complete lack of sexual attraction. Emotional blunting is also common, with sufferers describing a numbing of positive emotions, no romantic feelings, and difficulty connecting with others. PSSD can occur immediately—after just a few pills—and persist for years, decades, even permanently. There is no treatment."</p><p>From: <a href="https://www.freyaindia.co.uk/p/are-you-asexual-or-on-antidepressants">https://www.freyaindia.co.uk/p/are-you-asexual-or-on-antidepressants</a></p><p>It's tragic to see so many decisions in our modern world that are not taken seriously even though they can carry lifelong deleterious effects. Not only are people not warned about this category of decisions, those who attempt to warn are actively attacked.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-925397404242016412024-03-09T10:04:00.000-08:002024-03-09T10:04:03.076-08:00Now on Twitter/X<p> @upward_thought</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-7548971834568046862024-03-06T04:15:00.000-08:002024-03-06T04:15:52.152-08:00If you have something to say about someone, first say it to their faceOver the years, I've seen multiple examples of a behavior that is highly detrimental to the one practicing it. Just recently, it's been used at least twice against me, and in hopes of helping bring into the light what these people obviously do not realize is really going on, and in hopes of preserving future friendships, I'm writing this post.<div><br /></div><div>The behavior is making a video where you are arguing against what someone teaches or does indirectly without having first had a conversation with them directly. Interestingly, it's always the case that when someone does this, they seem to be arguing that what the person said or did was wrong. What they are actually attempting to do is soothe the guilt they feel about who and how they themselves are as a result of what was taught or done by the other. The reaction is not about what it seems, and doesn't address the underlying problem. It's an attempt to make a symptom of the problem go away, but it doesn't address the disease itself.</div><div><br /></div><div>The reason people do this sort of behind-the-back pushback instead of contending with the person directly is to avoid the counterarguments they expect to get and which they do not think they can contend with. That is what trust in God requires:</div><div><br /></div><div>Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. (Matthew 18:15)</div><div><br /></div><div>If you don't have sufficient arguments, you are obligated by honesty to accept what you are being told. This is the actual problem: the person does not want to change to align with the particular truth that offended them, and instead of doing so, is choosing to act in ways they hope will make it go away.</div><div><br /></div><div>If we trust God, we trust that whatever is more true than what we currently believe draws us nearer to him and is better than any alternative. We are obligated to accept what has the strongest reasons, even if it makes us feel bad, and maybe especially if it does. Continuing to kick against the truth will always make you feel worse in the long-term, no matter how good you feel in the short term. And it will probably cost you a friend that is measurably more valuable to you than any of your other friends--none of whom loved you enough to learn and tell you the truth. It isn't that the teacher will go away, but in almost every case, you will find that your attempted work around for repentance failed to make you feel better, and you will end up cutting that person out of your life so you don't have to feel guilty about knowing you are wrong. If human casualties were the only downside of this path, it would be bad enough, but it gets worse.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>It's comforting to assume that how we treat human sources of information we don't want to hear differs from how we react to the same from God. It's not different. It's always the same. These temporal reactions are obvious outward hallmarks of the hidden inward motives.</div><div><br /></div><div>A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (Luke 6:45)</div></div><div><br /></div><div>The most valuable friend you can have is the one who can correct you the most. The best friend you can have is God. As long as you respond to correction with offense, you can rest assured that you have distanced yourself from him at least as much as you would any human. You will distance yourself from him every time he tells you how you can be better instead of contending with him face to face and talking through it, as the scriptures indicate we should:</div><div><br /></div><div><div>18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.</div><div>19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:</div><div>20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 1)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>To become a friend of God, you must learn to value truth more than you value your self-identity. The path to God includes seeing your weakness. </div><div><br /></div><div>And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)</div><div><br /></div><div>The path to God includes letting go of who you are in favor of who you can be with and in God.</div><div><br /></div><div>For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Matthew 16:25)</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Whatever God has for us is always better than what he asks us to leave behind. Trust him.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-5826295393089862082024-03-02T05:02:00.000-08:002024-03-02T05:02:00.127-08:00An example of a quick question that isn't a quick question: Does "witness" really mean "demonstrate"?<p>I received this email:</p><p>A quick question for you. I believe you have said the Greek word for witness also means to bear testimony, to be a martyr, and to demonstrate. I have been spending a bit of time looking through the Greek on Biblehub and it is clear that testimony and martyr derive from the same word. However, I am not seeing any clear basis for your assertion that it also means to demonstrate. </p><p>One definition for the Greek word is to give evidence and you could presumably give evidence by way of demonstration. However, this doesn't seem to necessarily follow from the idea of giving evidence. I think the conventional interpretation would be that when you give evidence by witnessing of something, you give a report of (i.e., a testimony of) the thing as opposed to demonstrating the thing. </p><p>Granted, if you are testifying (or witnessing) to something about God, your testimony is going to be a lot more powerful if you actually live what you witness. Building on this, you could argue that the way you live is a form of a witness (or demonstration) of what you believe. This makes sense to me and so I can reason my way to the definition of witness as demonstrate. However, I can't find anything that explicitly makes this connection? Do you have any specific sources (other than direct revelation) that I can look to that more directly shows that witness can mean demonstrate? </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Meta response</h3><p>This is a great example of how when we have questions, we cannot tell what the answers require in faith, understanding, or sacrifice. You never know if what you seek requires a minute, a lifetime, or multiple to obtain. This poses tremendous opportunities if we find someone who knows (or can find out), but also great pitfalls if we take lightly the response given.</p><p>In all cases, the real reason we have an unanswered question, unserved need, etc., is <i>always</i> because we lack sufficient heed and diligence to obtain it. When we ask God for anything, we should always prepare our hearts by increasing our appraised value of what we seek. By presuming a question to be quick or a need to be a small favor, etc., we do the opposite and prime ourselves for underappreciating the result.</p><p>Asking, seeking, knocking--all of these things ought to center in our expansion of what we are willing to do, for how long, and how much we value what we are after. Again, this is the reason you don't already have what you are after. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIEXWZsAS0A">This applies to all contexts.</a></p><p>I don't say any of these things by way of criticism, just to teach a more important lesson than the answer to the question, knowing it is something we all grapple with, and almost all do without knowing it.</p><p>On this exact topic, I happen to have a video I recorded some time ago, but had queued to publish at a later date. I've moved up publication, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeMc2orBgaE">you can watch it here.</a></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Response</h3><p>I could only spend two hours putting this together, so apologies for the jaggedness and incompleteness of this response. It would take a whole book to adequately address this question.</p><p>There are no human words that unambiguously map to the gospel. Just as all rules fail to circumscribe all truth, human vocabulary will likewise have gaps where the words fail to accurately describe what is intended.</p><p>For those wanting to find more correct meanings in scripture, the shallow way of doing so is to look up words in the Greek dictionary and apply their meanings. There are tremendous treasures available for those who do this. It takes time, but you will be shocked at how common very simple and significant mistakes are made in all English translations. They all feature unforgivable errors.</p><p>The second level is to recognize words as variables. If you map every verse with a particular word, you can derive definitions from the context of the usage. When you compare this to the Greek dictionary definition, you will find abundant proof for my prior claim: that this is a case of pin-the-word-on-the-meaning, where authors/scribes/etc. had an idea and tried to find the closest word to it. In some cases, it's close enough. In others, it isn't.</p><p>The third level is to merge specific instances of specific words with different instances of different words, and continue the exercise of redefining these instances. This sounds complicated, but it isn't. You could draw a picture of how this works between two words with a simple Venn Diagram, where each area (the left, the middle, the right) gets a different definition. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Martyr</h3><div>As the email stated, I have often said that martyr means many things, and each definition is important and related. These include testify, witness, to die for testimony, and to demonstrate. You will find the first three in the Greek dictionary, but not the last. The last would be in the center of the Venn diagram using the process described above. It is very important to understand the verses that would be more accurately translated with the English word "demonstrate." They are a key to understanding the importance of repentance, how critical following Jesus' example is to salvation, and how essential becoming like Jesus is to ministering in the gospel.</div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Jesus' works bore witness of him</h4><div>Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. (John 10:25)</div><div><br /></div><div>This is an example of a very plain scripture that is made unclear by our tendency to quickly scan over words without stopping to ask what they mean. What is the Father's name? It is how he is. The works that Jesus did in the Father's name are the actions he took that demonstrated how the Father is, or the things he did that the Father would do in his place. Jesus said that these bore witness of him.</div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Can you testify of God without becoming like him?</h4><div><div>The Holy Ghost testifies of God, but is not just a speaker about God. He is the record of heaven. He is engraved with the image of God.</div><div><br /></div><div>For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (1 John 5:7)</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the same witness we are to provide:</div><div><br /></div><div>26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:</div><div>27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15)</div><div>Here, both testify and witness are the same Greek word.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Is it possible to testify of God without being like him? It is not. </div><div><br /></div><div>You <i>can</i> testify that a dog is a dog without becoming a dog. You <i>can’t</i> testify that God is God without becoming like him. It would be as credible as believing a man who said he knew how to get rich, but was poor, or a man dying of cancer who claimed to have the cure.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you truly believed, you would do, and if you don’t do, you don’t truly believe.</div></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">A key definition: to gain approval</h4><div>One of the several meanings of Strong’s Greek 3140 martureó is "to gain approval." </div><div><br /></div><div><div>2 For by it the elders obtained a good report (martureó, Strong’s 3140).</div><div>3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.</div><div>4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.</div><div>5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.</div><div>6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11)</div><div><br /></div><div>What is a good report? It is a testimony from God. Of what? Of similitude with himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>What do we call Abel? A martyr. Why? Because God testified of him. What did he testify? That he was good; That he was like him.</div><div><br /></div><div>God testified that Enoch pleased him. Can you please God except through righteousness?</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>God does not give a good report of those who are not actually good:</div><div><br /></div><div>25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.</div><div>26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.(John 12)</div><div><br /></div><div>It doesn’t matter what you say you believe. It is why you do what you do and what you do that matters.</div></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Greek alternatives</h4><div>A good question to ask is whether there are other words that could have been used rather than testify/witness/etc if "to demonstrate" was intended. I am not a Greek scholar, but from the poking around I've done, I haven't found one. Greek has several verbs that mean "to show," but they are all used scripturally to mean to prove, explain, etc., rather than to provide an example through one's own being.</div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Implications for repentance</h4><div>People today think you can repent by merely asking forgiveness. You can’t. You actually have to change. If you remain the kind of person who would repeat sin, you cannot obtain forgiveness, no matter how often or urgently you ask. </div><div><br /></div><div><div>You can’t be redeemed unless you change your works:</div><div>Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins. (Moroni 6:2)</div><div><br /></div><div>And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest. (Alma 13:13)</div><div><br /></div><div>But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance. (Alma 12:15)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel. (2 Nephi 31:13)</div><div><br /></div><div>Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life— (Mosiah 18:9)</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-56241859939992031202024-02-29T05:50:00.000-08:002024-02-29T05:50:12.263-08:00Response to Denver Snuffer's remarks on priestcraft and money for ministry<p>I recorded <a href="https://youtu.be/LWhBNKOkgw8">a video</a> in response to a YouTube comment some time ago. It was queued up for release in about a month, but I figured I'd release it today instead to try to get the most recent round of comments on money out and done with, so we can all move on to more important things.</p><p>I received an email today (Feb 28, 2024) from a friend who asked me what I thought about a post Denver Snuffer had written recently about ministers receiving donations. Since I don’t keep tabs on what Denver’s up to, I didn’t know about it, so I went to read it.</p><p><a href="https://denversnuffer.com/2024/02/monsters/">The first post I read</a> was dated February 25th, and I highly recommend everyone read it. He makes some wonderful points that are much needed. It is always best to first give offenders the opportunity to answer your criticisms. You never know if there is a simple misunderstanding, or whether there is an opportunity for you to learn something beyond what you know. That being said, I do have disagreements with Denver about what the Lord’s equality looks like. In a nutshell, my perspective is that God’s equality is equality of consequences—equal access to the law and what it brings. I’m not sure how that might align or deviate from Denver’s perspective.</p><p><a href="https://denversnuffer.com/2024/02/not-automatic/">The second post</a> looks to be the one referred to by my friend. Here, too, I think Denver makes several excellent points. There are a few points on which I would like to address, though.</p><p>Denver wrote:</p><p><begin quote></p><p>This is why the instructions we have in the Book of Mormon tell us that serving as a priest holds no glory, receives no compensation, but imposes only a burden: “And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands for their support. And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather themselves together to teach the people, and to worship the Lord their God, and also as often as it was in their power to assemble themselves together. And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support, but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God.” NC Mosiah 9:10. I’ve heard of at least two fellows who mistakenly believe that God has called them to spend their time studying the scriptures, and ought to be supported by the labors of others. That is contrary to the duty imposed on them by scripture, and also weakens their faith and prevents them from becoming strong in the spirit and being able to teach with power and authority from God.</p><p>The professional class of priests leading congregations throughout the Christian world, and including the various Mormon hierarchies are devoid of power to teach from God because they have handicapped themselves by their chosen profession. “He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world, but they seek not the welfare of Zion. Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing.” NC 2 Ne. 11:17.</p><p>Fools trifle with the souls of men: “None but fools will trifle with the souls of men.” T&C 138:18.</p><p>There are many people who willingly follow, uphold and adore false pretenders who have accomplished nothing other than pretensions of greatness. And their supporters think I am a charlatan and liar. I at least have the honor of laboring to support myself and my family. And I’ve never claimed a role other than a servant who tries in my own weakness to follow the Lord. I do not want your support or adoration. Nor do I ask for you to support me. If I do not persuade you of the truth, then go in peace. But if you are one of those who believes you are entitled to be employed for your preaching, you are really in the employ of Satan, and I would advise you to get out of his employ.”</p><p><end quote></p><p>I don’t think any of Denver’s post was meant to address me specifically, as he didn't contacted me, which (given the first post) I would expect if he were talking specifically about me. Maybe that's because I certainly have accomplished things other than “pretensions of greatness” and I do not believe that Denver is a “charlatan and liar.” I am glad to see other warriors in this fight, and I continue to wish him all success in persuading people to believe in and follow Jesus.</p><p>Nevertheless, for the sake of the truth, I will comment on the quoted portion of his post.</p><p>First, I wholeheartedly agree with Denver that those who accept money for their ministry lose a dimension of power. I know from experience that there is a certain strength to being able to say that you do what you do voluntarily. I wrestled with God over this point for years until he destroyed the last of my counterarguments in ways that were beyond my ability to sacrifice to overcome. It’s certainly something that should be retained where possible.</p><p>I want to point to several overgeneralization here that are, frankly, incorrect. He is correct in saying that serving as a priest holds no glory, and imposes only a burden, but he is incorrect to say that receiving no compensation is a definitional part of being a priest. Jesus was compensated, as was Melchizedek, Elijah, Elisha, and many others—to include every single priest under the law of Moses in the Bible. Though a full treatment of this issue would require a lot of text, given the thickness of our false traditions on the topic, the example of the Lord—the great High Priest—and one regarded as the greatest priest should be sufficient evidence that priesthood is not equal to “accepting money.”</p><p>How, then, could the passages Denver quotes (and a few others that could be included) so clearly support the idea that priests should never be paid?</p><p>They are circumstantial. Whether in Alma’s case or King Benjamin’s, the details of how often they ministered, what value they provided, and what it cost them matter.</p><p>Consider that the priests from the passage quoted from Mosiah 18 (Mosiah 9 in their scripture version) only labored one day a week, and that the time was equally sacrificed by the people and the priests per the instruction of Alma Sr., the high priest. How would this differ if the priests were laboring more than one day per week? We don't have to wonder. Alma Jr., high priest in his time, went on a full-time mission with several others some years later. We read:</p><p>37 And after that they did separate themselves one from another, taking no thought for themselves what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on.<br />38 And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith. (Alma 31)</p><p>Do you think Alma and his companions stopped ministering to labor with their own hands? It's kind of hard to do that when you are "taking no thought" for what "they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on." While it is possible that God sent angelic door dashers with food, water, and clothing, what is much more likely is that they were dependent upon those they ministered to for their support, as we know Alma was when he stayed with Amulek.</p><p>There are countless examples of God’s servants laboring full-time, in some cases surpassing even the 40 hours per week that is customary in our culture for earning one’s daily bread. For example, Ether took no time to labor with his hands, and the people in his day were more blessed than they would have been otherwise because of it:</p><p>2 And Ether was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him.<br />3 For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled— (Ether 12)</p><p>Again, while the details of the truth exceed what can be packed into a short blog post, suffice it to say that to get closer to the truth, we need to exercise a little more sophistication than simple binary thinking.</p><p>Beyond arguments about time, for at least some people, there comes a point where continuing to do what they do voluntarily requires them to withhold the word of God as given to them. In our modern world, which is not ruled by a righteous king like Benjamin, or even anything like the righteous representative republic that followed, a person can only say so much while retaining access to certain lines of employment in our woke world. </p><p>In Denver’s case, through the timing and details of his situation, he has been able to continue ministry without jeopardizing his ability to support himself and his family. And it doesn’t matter what I think about it, but I do agree with him that there is honor in that. In his case there are enough people where he is that aren’t adequately offended by his message to prevent him from earning an income in the field he spent his life preparing for. But as the last days roll on, there will be situations where this is not possible. If Denver stopped getting cases and had to cash out his retirement and was still left without sufficient for his needs as a result of his testimony of Christ, it would be the duty of those who had benefited from it to support him up to the value of what they received, in their own estimation (that is, voluntarily), according to their ability, even if he never said another word or did anything for them again. This is taught plainly in the scriptures, for example in 1 Timothy 5, and is the same reason for which we care for widows. If Denver had enough to say and do that he could provide greater value to the world in ministering full time than he could being an attorney, Just as Christ, Ether, Joseph Smith (see below), and others, he would be required to do so in order to be acting "for the benefit of Zion,"[1] and would become reliant upon those who found value in what he provided, up to the value they appraised in it and according to their ability to give. I am quite glad Denver hasn't been required to rely on donations, because judging by how little the temple group affiliated with him has raised in nearly ten years (~<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/ywt9d6-the-temple-fund-project">$270k</a>), it doesn't seem like those he serves would prevent him from ending up in a homeless shelter. I don't say that to be snarky against Denver--quite the contrary--to point out the terribly stingy attitude among many who claim to value what he teaches. It's astonishing that people coming out of a church where they were willing to give 10% of their income to questionable ends would give so little to a temple they say is so critical to their eternal state, especially given the heritage of the failure of Nauvoo for quite similar circumstances. Kudos to those who have lived up to their professed beliefs by donating. For the rest, it seems odd to claim that the LDS church was condemned for failing to prioritize the construction of a temple while making a remarkably lesser sacrifice to the same end. Maybe I'm missing something.</p><p>In my case, I naively trusted that the university that employed me would honor their published policy that professors had full freedom of speech in their off-campus activities until I was warned of what would happen before it did. My choice was to continue to preach the truth and lose my career, or to stop and enjoy the benefits I had just finished earning through so many years of sacrifice. To stay would have been easily justifiable: I had a whole year off coming my way, plus I had so thoroughly established my skills and setup that I could continue to exceed the standards upon me with just 10-20 hours per week, with three months off every summer, leaving plenty of time for ministry, albeit in less public ways, or at least to spend that time I had earned with my family, who was also party to the many years of sacrifice to get there. You can probably guess what I chose. </p><p>What are the keys to identifying priestcraft? Here are two:</p><p>1. Does it seek to make the person more popular and richer than they would otherwise be? Or does it seek to get people to align their lives with the example of the Lord, which will always make a person less popular and almost always less rich than they would otherwise be. The more you say and do what Jesus would say and do, the more strongly you will be persecuted. You will be resisted, rejected, and fought against by people, not followed, and you will likely be prevented from earning what you would if you were to pursue your professional career by the stream of material you have produced or the chain of the many easily locatable nasty things people have said about you in the press and even on special websites made to smear you.</p><p>2. Does the compensation meet or exceed the price paid and value given by the servant? For example, both Jesus and Melchizedek never received any money from anyone that ever compensated them beyond the price they had paid nor the value of what they gave. You can more fully study the exchange of value between Jesus and his supporters and Melchizedek and Abraham to learn more about this. </p><p>From these points, I hope it is clear that most ministers in Christian churches today should be doing what they do without being paid for it. It would grant them more power to say what they ought to be saying instead of curtailing what they would otherwise say for fear of losing their jobs or tax exempt status (they should have gone with a foundation instead of a church), most of them earn much more as preachers than they would in the private sector, and they really don't contribute anything of value beyond what anyone else could provide in their place.</p><p>[1] “For the benefit of Zion” does not mean “without receiving anything in return.” It means that the benefit of the people exceeds what it would otherwise be. Most people are in a situation where the greatest value they can contribute to God’s kingdom is through earning money for their full-time labor, and using that money in ways that advance his kingdom. Some people have contributions to make that far exceed the value of the money they would receive for temporal labors, such as Joseph Smith (see D&C 24:7-9) and other specific individuals (see D&C 30:11 and elsewhere), who were commanded to dedicate their time exclusively to ministry and to be supported by the people they served.</p><p>While it was not the case for Joseph and perhaps others, most of us in this position will find that the money we receive for ministry will be considerably less than what we would earn if what we said or did in our ministry rendered that impossible. I am up to about $0.65 per hour for what I have already produced in ten years of volunteering an on average full-time effort to ministry without receiving any money. In spite of the very generous donations of a few people, I think I will be safe for some time from ever being recompensed for that time and the over $400,000 I have lost to date from the loss of my tenured professorship because of this ministry, even under the assumption that the writings, videos, truths, and miracles that the Lord has and will provide from me are as worthless as some believe. But if anyone wants to come forward and weaken my position by donating, I won’t stop you. I’ll even send you a receipt! <a href="http://www.upwardthought.org/donate">www.upwardthought.org/donate</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-59807981230275699132024-02-28T03:01:00.000-08:002024-02-28T03:01:34.299-08:00Email exchange from "Weak Men Make Monstrous Women" video<p>This is an email exchange from "Weak Men Make Monstrous Women."</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The email</h3><p>Hey Rob,</p><p>That's a great video. Thanks for the very helpful info. I will be sharing this with my sons, with my wife listening. I can tell you spent a lot of time preparing your thoughts and the slides.</p><p>Where do you get this information from? Is it personal experience or revelation or both? It's incredibly valuable.</p><p>I can see things I will stop doing NOW. I have vented to my wife for a long time about issues at work. NO MORE! I couldn't see the effects. I'm just letting off steam, I'm not asking her to fix anything. Now, I know It makes me look weak and gives her future ammo. She is not my emotional strength, she is not my support, I am her rock, not the other way around. She's not my best friend. I'm her husband. She's not my mommy. </p><p>[I had a conversation with her about expectations in our marriage.]</p><p>She has already made some changes. [She continues to make comments pushing back, but at least we are having a conversation about these things now.]</p><p>I'm hopeful. I think this is good progress. What do you think?</p><p>Thanks again Rob.</p><p>What great tips on having a more abundant life.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The response</h3><p>I’m glad you find it helpful.</p><p>This is the generic pattern:<br />- Situation exists because of weaknesses and evil in people. <br />- God places me in situations where he can reveal to me the light required to conquer the darkness. This usually requires me to suffer for time and intensity, seeking him for the solution, as well as looking for, filtering, testing, and integrating anything already available here. <br />- I process the solution into a form where others can use it. <br />- I organize it into content in chunks that are accessible to those who need it. </p><p>Many of the topics I need to speak on result in a radically changed life for the small fraction of those who need it who listen. But it comes at a great cost in further decreasing my access to and increasing persecution from many others. </p><p>As far as your particular situation goes, one thing I’ve learned is that the defiant nature of a wild horse is like cancer, you are never truly free. The push back that comes as you make changes can be signals to ease up the pace, but it can also just be “aftershocks” that will continue for the rest of your life. You’ll learn to identify these as personality flaws of your wife, not as signals of your inadequacy. When you make that shift, it’s easier to deal with them rationally without emotional baggage. </p><p>Of course, all repeated vestiges of defiance continually curtail emotional intimacy. You cannot be open with a woman who will unpredictably emotionally abuse you. You have to act in a high level of self awareness and withholding, as you would in front of a cop where anything you say can be used against you, and they might be there to help or they might be there as your enemy, and it can switch arbitrarily. </p><p>This sad reality and the number of modern women who are like this is one reason why it makes a needful to spend so much time talking about spouse selection. Most men with wives like this would say they would prefer to be single. All men would prefer a decent woman if they knew what it was like. Women who would never treat their husbands this way need to know how valuable they are. </p><p>And all of this exacerbates the problem of finding each other for high quality singles. </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-60974836003397725652024-02-26T06:15:00.000-08:002024-02-26T06:15:21.174-08:00Little changes for you can pay huge dividends with others<p>A while back, I was wondering what more I could do to help my kids develop into their potential as adults. I was looking for another way I could share with them more of what God has taught me about the gospel and the scriptures, and I thought a good way of doing that would be to show them how asking questions was the next layer on the foundation of scripture reading and familiarity. I thought about what extra skills could be learned through this, from research to note-taking to essay writing.</p><p>I decided I would experiment with having them spend their Sunday mornings between daily chores and lunch finding the answer to a question they cared about, then writing up an essay explaining the question and answer as they would to a stranger. I figured that spending a few hours each week thinking and writing, let alone about the most important things, would yield immense dividends for their lives.</p><p>The initial work for us as parents was not negligible. Their questions were awful, so I had to spend time helping them learn how to formulate better questions. They needed to be watched like hawks to keep them on task, as they had no experience spending a few hours in unbroken research. There was plenty of pushback from them, and plenty of wincing from us as we had to read plenty of terrible essays. But, we kept at it, giving feedback and keeping them on task. The showcase is every Sunday right after dinner. It provides a great window for comments, questions, and follow-up discussion from all members of the family.</p><p>As time went on, the results became better and our inputs reduced. After several months, we adjusted to having just one of them "do questions" each Sunday, and the others could read and study whatever they wanted when it wasn't their turn. We knew they could use the skills they had developed with the more rigid approach while experimenting with greater flexibility. We also started keeping a list of questions that have already been asked so we don't have to sit through repeats. At some point, I realized we were wasting another opportunity and switched from me reading the essays aloud on Sundays to the writer reading them, so now they get practice on public speaking as well, and our energy commitment as parents is further reduced.</p><p>Our youngest still needs oversight, but the parental input has dropped to almost nothing. Here's a sampling of the fruits, which is my 10 year old's essay from yesterday. This is 100% kid produced, with no proofing or help from me or my wife. You can probably imagine the places I might give feedback, but I was pretty happy with this output from a 10 year old.</p><p>I strongly encourage you to regularly ask yourself, "what more can I do to help my kids develop into their potential?"</p><p>===============</p><p><i>Why was Jesus known as the lamb?</i></p><p>In the Bible, Jesus called himself and was called the ‘lamb’ multiple times. In John, John called out to Jesus as he walked past: And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ (John 1:36) Why was he called this, and what symbolic reference does it have? We all know Jesus was sent from heaven for a test. He passed the test, which was commit no sins during his life, and commit the ultimate sacrifice; Taking responsibility for the worlds sins. Jesus allowed them to kill him, and. He will come to this earth one more time at the end of the world, where he will judge the people on this planet. (See Revelation) Anyway, why was he called the ‘Lamb of God’? In John 1:29, John said: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John knew Jesus would sacrifice himself, and that was why he said it. Later, whenever Jesus went to Jeruselum, he was in danger of being killed. He went there anyway, for he knew when it was his time he would be killed. And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, ‘The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again.’ And they were exceeding sorry. (Matthew 17:22-23) When he died, he was placed in a tomb. However, he was ressurected and the only sign of his death were holes in his hands from the nails they hammered into him. </p><p>In those days, Lambs were used as sacrifices for the peoples sins. They’d chop their heads off, and that would atone for them as the lamb would die instead of them. Jesus was the lamb for the world, and he would die for them all. </p><p>In conclusion, Jesus was a lamb. He was innocent and loyal. He would die for everyone else, while they killed him. He never did a thing wrong in his life, yet they hated him for him being better than them.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-56230626651241204122024-02-19T17:00:00.000-08:002024-02-19T17:00:00.126-08:00Little lies make people dismiss your point<p>A while back, I saw <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B-1KZx2oek&ab_channel=RichRoll">this video recommended</a>, and gave it a peek. The speaker's thesis is that alcohol offers absolutely zero advantages. </p><p>All-or-nothing perspectives are common on this and many other topics. It's much harder to deal with sophisticated pros and cons. It's easier to tell an alcoholic to never set foot in a bar again than it is to teach them how to properly evaluate the cost and benefit of each opportunity to drink. Imagine how simple it would be to program a robot to do the first versus the second.</p><p>And yet, how successful are the all-or-nothing lessons? </p><p>Here's the problem with oversimplifying sophisticated problems into simple problems: you have to lie to do it. And when anyone figures out that you are, they aren't going to bother to listen carefully to everything else you say in order to extract out what value might be therein. And that's a shame, because you might have some really good points. </p><p>I scanned the comments out of curiosity for how it was received. It seems like a substantial number of people were calling out the thesis as an obvious lie. Of <i>course</i> there are benefits to drinking alcohol. No one would do it otherwise. The problem is that the costs frequently outweigh those benefits, but you aren't going to help people understand that by making a lie your central argument.</p><p>Oversimplification frequently does more harm than good.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-65607659931130123772024-02-16T10:37:00.000-08:002024-02-16T10:37:00.141-08:00Radical lady claims the more relationships you are in, the less happy you will be when you marry<div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCK-BwMqqc0&ab_channel=SuzanneVenker">She says</a> that women compare their current person to all the best qualities of the prior people she dated, and the more boyfriends a lady has before marriage, the less happy she will be and more likely she will divorce her husband.</div><div><br /></div>...And she is right!<div><br /></div><div><u>Prior relationships are not experience. They are baggage.</u></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-71975650323315681392024-02-13T10:10:00.000-08:002024-02-13T10:10:00.251-08:00A woman making insane claims about a woman's duty in marriage<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8fyRqoIMkk&ab_channel=TheHappyWifeSchool">Here is a crazy woman</a> arguing several insane points:</p><p>1) A wife has a duty to initiate sex with her husband.</p><p>2) A wife who withholds sex from her husband is emotionally abusing him.</p><p>3) A wife who withholds sex from her husband is breaking her marriage promises.</p><p>...and I happen to agree with her.</p><p>I also believe you can swap husband and wife in each point above and it holds true the other way.</p><p>We need to start seeing the withholding of sex within marriage in the same light as other forms of sexual infidelity (e.g. pornography, affairs with others), because <u>they are all forms of adultery.</u></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-42054877540151089642024-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:002024-02-12T10:17:30.093-08:00Care for the poor: But aren't we all beggars? Unfortunately not.<p>A viewer of this video made this comment:</p><p>"A question please. Overall, I’m largely aligned with this approach and ultimately, do see what many provide as ‘charity’ as the wrong kind of benefit. However, i get a different mental picture of some types of interactions with those in need versus what I have reading the scriptures about the poor. One such passage is in Mos 4:16-27 where it speaks of beggars and givers, and even tying it to retaining a remission of sins. I’ve struggled with this balance of giving when I know the person asking knowing put themselves there(but many don’t). Would it be wrong to state we owe the poor and needy much more than we think? I imagine we give far less than the savior would in our shoes in general. But to your point, you actually do more damage than good in some circumstances. I’m left with the vague conclusion …it depends:)"</p><p>Anytime we are vague about God's will, it's a good time to ask him some questions. He doesn't want us to be confused. You can't have faith if you are confused.</p><p>What is a beggar? Is any asker a beggar? How can you differentiate between wants and needs?</p><p>Beggars are not choosers. They unconditionally surrender. That's how you can tell. Give a beggar an opportunity, and they will take it. They do not put constraints on the aid they receive, because they really need it. In America, there are few beggars. Instead, there are a lot of demanders. I once gave my lunch to a demander in Baltimore city who had a sign asking for help. He threw it at me, cussed me out, and chased me away. I once opened my home to a recently released convict who had no other place to go, giving him my own bed to sleep in, feeding him, and clothing him. The only condition: apply for a few jobs each day and don't watch porn on my computer. He agreed to the conditions, then broke them both repeatedly.</p><p>One reason we are confused about this because we live in affluent countries. Go to Zimbabwe and offer day old bread to anyone. They will gratefully take it. If immigration laws were not so ridiculous, you'd have millions of people gladly coming to America to be indentured servants, gladly working in jobs considering too demeaning for the fake poor that fill our preconceived notions of the condition. </p><p>The question of what makes a beggar has more implications than the poor. King Benjamin asks, "aren't we all beggars?" Well, no we are not. Most Christians are not beggars, they are demanders. Those who have not ceased sinning are not beggars before God. They throw his gift back at him and crucify him anew, often daily. Anyone who continues to sin has not unconditionally surrendered to God. They still have all kinds of conditions, all kinds of constraints, all sorts of things they love more than God.</p><p>And so we take our insufficient repentance before God and use it to muck up our giving to the poor, concluding that we can't possibly obey God in helping the poor because there is not enough money to give everyone all they ask for. True. <u>But there is more than enough money to satisfy all the needs of those who unconditionally surrender to those they ask for it</u>, and our own unconditional surrender to God is what is required to obtain his forgiveness.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-30960368402827732872024-02-12T04:50:00.000-08:002024-02-12T04:50:54.835-08:00Sometimes joy makes you cry<p>A viewer made the following comment to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd3InpbywtI">this video</a>:</p><p>"I can relate to the deep emotions that can open up through nature.</p><p>Recently, I had a mini insomnia episode (due to life circumstances) and decided to go walking right before the sun came up. As the sun started to rise, I could see Venus piercing through the darkness. I was overcome and started crying.</p><p>I tried to share it with two people who are dear to me with some relevant scriptures about the bright and morning star. The pictures from my phone couldn't do the scene justice."</p><p>I wrote this reply, then moved it here to increase visibility:</p><p>A long time friend of mine once told me that he hated when men cried in YouTube videos because he felt that they would only do so for effect and not sincerity, or because they were weak. Knowing he's seen a few of my videos, I said "shots fired!" But knowing him well, I said "you know that time I asked you if you had ever felt bliss--overwhelming joy, and you said you hadn't?" He said yes. I am not sure exactly what I said next, but hopefully it was close to this: "what if sincere emotions exist in a spectrum that exceeds your experience? What if those who have them are your willing guides into a fuller range of life?"</p><p>Jesus said he came to bear witness of the truth. That doesn't just mean what we say--though we ought to say a lot more of what we think and feel. To bear witness in Greek is the same as to demonstrate. He didn't just come to teach the truth, but to live it on plain display to those he knew were going to kill him for doing so. And then, when he showed them the truth, they responded by pretending like it was still a mystery!</p><p>36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.<br />37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.<br />38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. (John 18)</p><p>His servants do as he would do in their place, and to the extent they have become like him, they have similar experiences as Jesus had when people react to them as they would to the Lord.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-58867328525220180722024-02-10T03:53:00.000-08:002024-02-10T03:53:36.298-08:00Comment: People hold onto inconsistent ideas and it is a waste of time to point that out<h3 style="text-align: left;">Comment</h3><p>People will hold onto internally inconsistent ideas - ideas that contradict each other - rather than putting forth the effort to reconcile the contradictions.</p><p>If you point out the contradictions, it is almost certainly a waste of time.</p><p>I know I have some of those contradictions myself. I have actively been working to resolve them, and over the years have been able to resolve many - or rather I have allowed the spirit to resolve them.</p><p>The majority of people will completely reject the spirit if the truth is too uncomfortable or if it would shake their paradigm too much.</p><p>People's paradigms need to be radically shaken, in general. And I don't see it happening until - just like a dog getting housebroken - their noses are forcefully pushed in their "accidents" while they get rebuked by the Lord.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Reply</h3><p>I agree with your assessment of the majority of people. However, it is so important to try anyway, even though it is almost certainly a waste of time. </p><p>An unfortunate part of human nature / modern culture is the tendency to avoid things with a low probability of success. We should be calculating what we do based on the probability of success times the value of success. </p><p>If you look around, you'll find that much of the lameness in work, relationships, and spirituality stem from people being unwilling to act according to expected benefit, instead opting out of things because success in each of those domains is highly unlikely. Try anyway. And not a little. </p><p>I wrote "Through Faith" to address that, although I have yet to meet anyone who lives up to what is written there, and few who seem to have even taken it seriously.</p><p>There is much more to come to help, and so many things rely on people learning this skill.</p><p>One crucial point to understand is that there will not be many opportunities where you get your nose rubbed in it and then have the chance to make a change. The latter-day nose-rubbing is almost always terminal. People REALLY don't get that.</p><p>Case in point: I am building a presentation on the coming Chinese invasion. After making the case for why it will happen and why it will be successful, I plan on making a section on what we should do about it. Very few people are going to like what I have to say there. Folks would expect me to say, "move to a low density rural area," and I will, but I am also going to explain how it's already too late for almost all people to do this. The prices are too high, and they are not likely to come down. In fact, they will probably double again in the near term, and they are already out of reach for most people to even qualify for the loan, let alone in a way where they preserve their % paid off on their house in the move (which is the criteria most seem to have). </p><p>As time goes on, the stack of "it's too late" is going to increase. It's already growing far faster than people realize.</p><p>Where you live, what you do for work, who you are married to, whether you have kids/how many/how they turn out--there are many things that are or will be on this list.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-47602872407957815052024-02-10T03:37:00.000-08:002024-02-10T03:37:53.386-08:00A key to understanding scriptures about the End Times<p>The key to the chapters you don't understand is the chapters you think you do. Become a better person and the meaning of mysteries will more easily yield to your efforts to unlock them.</p><p>A key: any remaining facets of a mystery you are trying to investigate are strong evidence that the part you think you have figured out is wrong.</p><p>God solves the whole puzzle, and the more of the puzzle that remains, its geometrically more likely that you are further off than you think.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBGMzGf9Wqo">This video</a> had some related points.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-19399572533587430432024-02-09T01:22:00.000-08:002024-02-09T01:22:58.464-08:00Q: When will the new site be up?<p>I received an email from a donor asking when the new site will be up. Here's my response:</p><p>Thank you for your support.</p><p>We are rolling out features as we get them finished. We have a lot of ideas of how to make it better than what YouTube and a blog offer.</p><p>Two of my sons are doing most of the development, volunteering an hour per weekday and more time on weekends. My primary concern is writing books, but I try to circle back weekly on the site progress, in addition to handling anything that no one else can do. Last I heard, the finishing touches are being made on the combined search (books + blog + videos), which will show you the matching text results (including transcripts of videos). But we are due for a check in. So any day now you should see a beta version of that, and if not, in another week or two.</p><p>I have to check with the team, but I think the next highest priority is getting the first version of the integrated video comments and forum up. That will probably take a few more weeks, as it's got a lot of integration details.</p><p>One of those details is a login functionality. While the intent is to continue to make all content free, we would like to facilitate communication between users, things like video watch lists, prevent abuse, etc. One idea we've tossed around was allowing people to watch videos, read the blogs, and download the books without logging in, but require a login to make comments. Once logged in, I was thinking of having an option for a user to anonymize a specific comment if they wanted to share something that might be helpful to someone, but incriminating to self or others. Those are just some ideas.</p><p>Given the tendency of people to say things they would not say to someone's face when masked by anonymity, as well as how this places an obstacle to real relationships, I would personally very much like to see people register with their own names and real photos as their avatar. We have not thought of a way to do this in a way that we find acceptable, so we're still thinking about that.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-15771662102242875862024-02-08T11:22:00.000-08:002024-02-08T11:22:12.187-08:00An important message from Mark DriscollI came across a sermon by a preacher I'm not familiar with that I quite enjoyed. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/H8v3SOGnecQ?si=zDwnuE0YKYHAcMlr&t=1059">I've got it linked here from the point where I think it gets interesting</a>. I highly recommend that all Christian men listen to it. I have a lot of points to share that overlap with this theme, but there are more important things in my queue. Suffice it to say that there are so many married Christian men whose ignorance or abdication of their role has enabled their wives to become quite monstrous and do terrible things. It's a huge problem.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-11038895737242318202024-02-04T09:03:00.000-08:002024-02-04T09:03:27.859-08:00A series of videos for women by Jane Farrer<p>Someone recently wrote me saying that they find the materials by others that I pass along helpful, encouraging me to continue to do so.</p><p>This morning, I stumbled upon a series of videos from Jane Farrer directed toward wives. I think the material is quite good, and I recommend watching and sharing it with others.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5AGQlII22w&list=PLkFtKHedZ0r9mpZwEaN6SjQY2fSNfdt9G&ab_channel=crytogod">I made a playlist of the four parts.</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-14553040530179254432024-01-30T03:31:00.000-08:002024-01-30T03:31:00.147-08:00Q: I want to help, but have no money<p> When Moses was building the tabernacle, he asked for free will offerings from the treasures the people received on exit from Egypt in order to provide the raw materials. There were many things that needed to be done that exceeded his specific skills: weaving the cloth, preparing the skins, building the structure, fashioning the metal, etc. In all these things, God provided people who were better at them than Moses so that he could focus his limited time on what only he could do.</p><p>In the labor God has tasked me to perform, we have reached a place where he has made a place for free will offerings to provide the raw materials. But the use of those materials for the task at hand looks very different than it did for Moses. What is before me presently is the work to obtain and prepare books that contain content necessary to help you derive what is intended from being born in the last days. This is a burden that one person must carry, for reasons that these books will eventually describe. </p><p>There are those whose hearts are full of desire to help, even though their wallets are empty. Some have written to me apologizing for their lack of means. My dear friends, have you not read what King Benjamin taught:</p><p>And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give. (Mosiah 4:24)</p><p>Over the years, I’ve had a few offerings from people with specific talents asking if there is something they can do. This is something we need to peel apart and address on several layers to paint the full picture, even if specific details will not apply to every single person.</p><p>First, I am obligated to bring up the principle of obedience vs. sacrifice, using the scriptural phrase that comes from the Old Testament where Saul refused to do what the Lord commanded him through Samuel, and offered unrequested sacrifices instead. In this case, what is going to make this possible or not possible is money, not your talents. It may be humiliating to realize that skills that you value highly can only plug into this work at present through being converted to what others will pay you for them, but that is only part of the eye of the needle that you are going to have to go through in approaching God in our day, and it’s something all disciples must get used to. There will be future times when the Lord has a place for many more talents, just as Moses had need of the artisans. However, at present, we are in a time when a widow’s mite is more valuable to God’s work than anything else, including what you might see as a valuable talent, because money is presently the only way you can convert that to the work he has given me to do, and that work is vitally important to your ability to prepare for and participate in what is coming.</p><p>There will be more opportunities for non-monetary assistance when it comes to living and sharing the ideas that the Lord has made available. Many of those opportunities already exist for the vast quantity of material I have already published, as well as everything published by others before me, and this raises another point that must be addressed.</p><p>I have repeatedly asked all of you to do what you can to share what God has taught you with others. I will be providing you well over 1,000 pages of content that increases your ability to do that well. Some have made YouTube channels and shared what God has taught them. You are making a difference. There are many other things that are helpful, such as sharing brief snippets of your own words or the words of others on social media, sharing links to the work of others, writing your own synopsis of content and sharing that, writing book reviews, etc. The impact of these things to others far outweighs the cost to you. Even little efforts make a huge difference.</p><p>For those who have done this, I commend you. But very few have done what they already can.</p><p>For those who have not, I warn you with all solemnity that the only thing preserving the already anemic connection you have to God is his abundant mercy. God is always merciful, but his mercy is not the indefinite suspension of justice. His mercy delays his justice, but it cannot stop it, and even now—though you may not realize it—you are spared only because of the intercession of others on your behalf. The efficacy of this intervention is diminishing and will come to an end.</p><p>Where much has been given, much is expected. It is the duty of all who have been warned to warn their neighbor. Those who have these things and bury the treasure they’ve been given instead of sharing it will incur the just punishment of God.</p><p>For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation. (D&C 82:3)</p><p>Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. (D&C 88:81)</p><p>Behold, they have been sent to preach my gospel among the congregations of the wicked; wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, thus: Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known. (D&C 60:13)</p><p>Those who are not doing what is presently asked of them will not receive greater things when they are offered. God does not bless those with more who have not yet lived up to what has already been given. The technology and discretionary time of today makes it possible for people to recite ideas with power beyond what they live. But no amount of familiarity with an idea—not matter how true—can connect you to the living God without you actually changing how you think, feel, and act to align with what those ideas help you to see he would do in your place.</p><p>If you have not lived what God has taught you and shared it with your family, friends, and those God has placed in your life, the only reason you have access to more is that God has not yet terminated the modern information streams that allow you to piggyback on the faith of others beyond your own merit. As I have told you before, those channels will not last forever. When they are removed, you will be left in a vacuum bereft of the light you foolishly assumed was your own, and fully exposed to consequences that are beyond your ability to contend with.</p><p>And this provides us the opportunity to make the final point today, which is that under no circumstances will your donations to me make up for sin against God. That is not the way repentance works. While prioritizing your means with what you value most is part of doing what God would in your place, it cannot make up for willfully rebelling against him in other ways.</p><p>To all who have or will assist, in whatever way and to whatever ends you feel best, I sincerely thank you. I hope that it magnifies the value you find in what it enables through this opportunity God has given you to participate in what would otherwise be beyond your reach.</p><p><a href="https://upwardthought.org/donate">Donations can be made here.</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-37106968156641561942024-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:002024-01-25T01:00:00.129-08:00Donations now live on the new site<p>As some of you may know, a new website has been underway for some time.</p><p>While the primary initial purpose of the site is to have a location where people can make donations, we are working very hard on several other features, which we'll be rolling out as we complete them. I'd like to have a single place where books, blogs, and videos are available, and we are designing some search and forum capabilities that I think you all will find useful. These are volunteer efforts, so I appreciate your patience.</p><p>The <a href="https://upwardthought.org/donate">donations page is now live</a>, so those who have expressed interest in supporting the work we are doing now have a way to contribute.</p><p>The donations go to the Upward Thought Foundation. If you are wondering about tax deductibility of your donation, we applied for 501c3 status last year and are still waiting on the IRS to process our paperwork. I'll make an announcement once that is resolved.</p><p>Thank you for your support.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5136948703041448095.post-74543752065245750862024-01-24T08:21:00.000-08:002024-01-24T08:21:00.153-08:00Different geographical places present different conditions<p>A poster with the handle "Engineer Oldenborger" wrote the following comment on a news article about freezing electric vehicles:</p><p>"I find it interesting that we have gotten to a point where we expect to be able to operate in the same exact manner over a large range of environmental conditions. </p><p>People live in Las Vegas, operate basically the same as those in buffalo, or Miami. Which is all due to abundant, cheap, reliable energy.</p><p>Basically the same lives lived in those different locations. If we lose reliable energy, none of those places will function the same."</p><p>Exactly.</p><p>I have told you before, and I say again, that you are going to see many populous places rendered unliveable as cheap energy becomes harder to come by. The cause and effect will occur for a multitude of reasons.</p><p>For example, imagine what home prices will do in hot places when air conditioning becomes scarce, unaffordable, or otherwise curtailed? </p><p>What will happen in cold places when those places do not allow wood heat, or wood is not cheap and abundant, and gas, electricity, or heating oil become scarce, unaffordable, or otherwise curtailed?</p><p>Long-term consequences can seem obvious yet not be acted upon until it is too late.<br /></p><p>Of the choice between a hot place and a cold place, a cold place is preferred for various reasons, so long as there is cheap and abundant firewood and few enough people that inversion is not a problem.</p><p>There are ways of heating very cold places with wood. There is no way to cool a place without abundant, cheap electricity unless you build in very expensive and unconventional ways.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com