A manger is a trough or box of carved stone or wood construction used to hold food for animals. The fact that he was laid in a manger implies that Joseph and Mary resorted to a stable for the night, after being rejected from the at-capacity inn. The conditions must have been unsanitary and unpleasant. It was the very last place you would expect a King to be born.
"Do we have room for Christ in our inn? Do give highest priority to Him and His Kingdom?"
Something else we know about the Nativity is that wise men brought valuable worldly gifts to him. There is a great irony in this, since Jesus had actually come to earth to give THEM gifts; and the gifts He brought were of infinite worth. Unlike the gifts we will exchange Christmas morning, the gifts Christ gives cannot be measured by size, weight, color, cost, or number of batteries required to operate them. What are the gifts that our Savior gives?
Nativity
Monday, December 15, 2008
Nephite Destruction
Sunday, December 7, 2008
This morning, during testimony meeting, a lady mentioned that the Nephites had been "taken out". I wondered why she didn't say "wiped out", "waxed", "iced", or "offed".
Isn't the correct term actually "Destroyed via Genocide"? It was genocide when they were hunted down one by one and killed. Much more accurate than "taken out". However, I applaud her for her testimony. It's not that easy to stand in front of 200 people and bear your soul.
Isaac Newton's Prediction
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sir Isaac Newton was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher and alchemist, regarded by many as the greatest figure in the history of science. He is probably most famous for describing the laws of universal gravity, after seeing an apple fall from a tree.
He's not only famous for his three universal laws of motion that were not to be improved upon for more than two hundred years. He also predicted the end of the world in a 1704 letter that went on show in Jerusalem on Sunday.
In this letter, he claims that the world would end 1,260 years after the foundation of the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe in 800 AD. This is the first time the letter has been put on public show since 1969, said the representatives of the Jerusalem's Hebrew University, where the letter is part of an exhibition entitled "Newton's Secrets."
Newton based its predictions on the Bible, specifically on verses in the Book of Daniel and they are part of an array of papers of the British scientist bequeathed to the institution by a wealthy collector of scientific manuscripts.
Actually Newton was not a religious fanatic. On the contrary, he secured a royal exemption from the ordination in the Church of England that was normally expected of academics of his day so he would not have to follow its teachings.
He seemed to have taken a particular interest in superstitions of his time, which have long since been taken lightly by modern science. Newton's study of the Bible and of the early Church Fathers was among his greatest passions. He devoted more time to the study of the Scriptures, the Fathers, and to Alchemy than to science, and said, "I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by those who were inspired. I study the Bible daily."
He also attempted, apparently unsuccessfully, to find hidden messages within the Bible, and believed that he Bible "is a cryptogram set by the Almighty - a riddle of the Godhead of past and future events divinely fore-ordained. This prophecy is called the Revelation, with respect to the Scripture of Truth, which Daniel was commanded to shut up and seal, till the time of the end. Until that time comes, the Lamb is opening the seals."
Old Farmer's Counsel
Thursday, November 20, 2008
* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
* Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jus' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain 't never gonna happen, anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence,
try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.
The Caterfly
This is the true story of the Caterfly as told to me by a friend. Let's not be afraid of struggling because it is for our good.
"I noticed a cocoon on a tree trunk. I stopped to look at it and noticed that it was moving a little. I figured that the butterfly was struggling to emerge and decided to help it out, so I cut a small incision in the cocoon. I felt sick to my stomach when I realized that I had actually caused irreparable harm to the creature.
Out flopped a Caterfly. It died after a few minutes."
According to entomologists, it is necessary for the caterpillar to struggle in those final stages so that it can complete the process of becoming a butterfly.
What I learned from this story is that we ought not be afraid of the trials of life. If we fight the good fight we will become what the Lord wants us to be and we will realize our full potential.
Rainbows of Pain
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I was always told that the homosexual community was a peaceful bunch, that only loved and tolerated others.
What a difference 6.1 million votes in favor of God's laws makes.
Now, the LGBT (their acronym for Lesbian - Gay - Bisexual - Transgender) are now an angry mob that wants to physically damage people and institutions that expressed their GOD-GIVEN, and COUNTRY-GIVEN rights.
Godless Society?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MORE PROPHECY FULFILLED!
Learn how to respond to our Godless friends and neighbors. Click HERE for lessons on how to confound them and teach them so they can be happy and saved. My personal advice is to set a good example in how we liver our lives, and love these lost children of Heavenly Father.
Ward Map
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Do any of you want to know how to build a ward map for free, using MapWindow?
It is a free GIS mapping software and I can show you how to build your own ward map.
It shows colored lots, depending on "member", "part member", and "non member". It would display the last name of the family and their house number.
It will take a couple of days to build the tutorial, but it's something that you may all want. It's been a great tool in my ward.
LDS Temple Growth
Monday, October 13, 2008
Check out the temple growth over the years. (Click on the image to enlarge) Email me if you want the raw spreadsheet and chart.
Proposition 8: Defend Marriage
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Slippery Treasures
Monday, September 29, 2008
September 29, 2008: Worst loss in history of stock market
Helaman 13:31 And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become aslippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them.
Atheist: Mormons may be right
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Why are the Catholic bishops so concerned about Mormons baptising dead parishioners? The Mormons didn’t invent baptism of the dead. The practice has a significant history within mainstream Christianity. The decision to order its abandonment was taken only after heated debate, and was a close-run thing.
What’s the difference, anyway, between baptising the dead and baptising babies? A tiny infant will have as much understanding as a dead person — none at all — of the complex philosophical belief-system
Click here for more...
Tale of Two Temples?
Old Jerusalem and New Jerusalem (Independence, MO) both have similar LDS buildings, very unique in the Church. We know that there are going to be temples in both places someday. Is it possible that the temples are already built and currently in disguise? The independence visitor center even has a baptismal font already although it doesn't currently operate.
Joel 2:30
Which of these modern events most likely fulfills the prophecy of Joel 2:30, which reads: "And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke."? See what President Hinckley said by clicking here.
What are your thoughts?
