on the rim

Last Tuesday meeting with our group leadership at church, I was informed that I would have the opportunity to teach this Sunday.  I do enjoy teaching, though I feel that I am woefully inadequate to do so, especially in this group which has some 9 or 10 former Bishops in it.  I have mentioned this before, I think, I usually do okay, and hopefully it will go well this time.  The subject of discussion will be the talk given by Elder Brent H. Nielson, of the Seventy (a group of leaders that serve in assignments from the Prophet, and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.) as did the Seventy in the time of Christ. Of course, this is complicated enough on its own, as most of the men in our group know Elder Nielson personally, as he grew up around here, having served in several leadership positions.  I remember the talk, given in the Sunday morning session, titled "Waiting for the Prodigal".  Here is a link to the talk w...

I often wonder about the future, and try very hard to grasp eternity.  I speak often that eternity, or infinity for the more secular types, is very hard for mortals to grasp.  I mean, we deal constantly with the finite.  Day, night.  Birth, death. Beginning, end.  We are granted agency in this life by our Father in Heaven. to learn, to grow, to make mistakes, to gain faith, then knowledge.  We can repent. We can come to our Father in prayer, and through the Atonement of his Son, we can overcome the natural man, and ultimately return to live with Him for eternity.  This agency was granted to all who have been, or will be, born on this earth.  That includes his Son, Jesus Christ.  Christ was not born with knowledge of his Deity,  he learned it over time, as the scriptures tell us "from grace to grace". Our Father in Heaven knows us completely.  He knows us so well, that while we are free to choose our path, (based on choices made pr...

At the close of the Fourth of July, I am reflecting on what this holiday has become, and what has happened in this world. Today, on the website Vox, it was opined that perhaps the American Revolution had been a mistake.  The writer offers many for instances, and overall makes this point.  Let me offer another opinion. The colonies were settled by those seeking religious independence.  The pilgrims sought freedom from the Church of England.  They did not have the political influence of the Puritans, who ultimately also sought freedom from the oppressive church.  Maryland was settled as a refuge for Catholics, who were also persecuted by the church.  Others were settled, of course as financial investments by those seeking the raw materials that the land offered.  When the Constitution was drawn up, and approved, those writers insisted that when the Bill of Rights was added (not to "add" rights, but to enumerate them.  Governments can only take a...