Response to the Supreme Court Decision on the family

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                             The Family

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                            A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Criminal or Patriot?

Is it a crime to expose criminal behavior?

Is it a crime to expose criminal behavior when it is perpetrated by a government?

Mr. Snowden, a former contractor for NSA evesdropping exposed what I consider to be criminal behavior.  So my question is if Mr. Snowden is a criminal, then why are not all witness against criminals also criminals?

In my estimation Mr. Snowden should be be given the American Citizen's Medal of Honor for exposing criminal activities perpetrated by the United States Government.  He won't get any medals from our government, so it is time we, the people, establish medals to be given patriots that are working to be sure our government works within the rule of law and not against the American people.

I didn't agree with George Bush's establishment of Homeland Security, and I don't agree with the current level of interference in American citizen's lives by the current Supreme Ayatollah in chief who disguises it by funneling it through the Department of Homeland Security.

I haven't been very impressed with the current crop of legislators either.  I say throw the bums out.  When you can't tell the difference between the so-called Republicans and the so-called Democrats, we become led by a one party system.  The Republicans are happy to be the party of also-rans and are not willing to lead.  There are a couple of glimmers of light, but we still haven't seen total effort to quell the blood letting, book burning, history rewriting, and total control of the people.

Republican Orin Hatch voted "FOR" the so-called "Immigration" bill using flawed logic.  I am sure he never even read what he voted for.  Using 1200 pages to say that we'll not do anything except give illegal immigrants more money is just stupid.  We are not so uninformed that we cannot see that these current legislators are only there to receive graft.  So many go in as paupers and come out as millionaires it makes me wonder where the money comes from.  Where is the Inspector General for the Senate, or for the House of Representatives, for that matter so that the inappropriate and illegal behavior can be brought to light.  Oh...I forgot....those who bring government illegal behavior are criminals.  Silly of me not to remember.  

I read yesterday that Mark Levin and Sarah Palin are considering starting a "Liberty Party".  Michael Savage attempted a similar project a few years ago and couldn't get it going.  However, I would throw my energy in a Liberty Party if it was truly conservative and willing to lead instead of being happy to be in attendance while someone else leads.
 

Mr. Obama's Covert War on Israel.

I wonder if anyone else has noticed the direction Mr. Obama is taking the world.  I have been watching the little nuances that come out of this administration and I have made my own determination as to what I think is going on.

When the so-called Arab Spring began, I said that the US should not get involved.  Let them fight their own battles.  The middle east had been fairly balanced and the Presidents/Dictators had been keeping radicals in check.  Then came the Libya rebellion and Mr. Obama just couldn't keep from supporting our enemies against the Libyan government.  He armed the Al-Qaeda-connected rebels and gave them military support in the guise of NATO.  We had no business getting involved and I said so at the time. The US gave massive amounts of armaments to the rebels.  Mrs. Clinton was intimately involved in the process as was Ambassador Stevens.  Somewhere along the line Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama neglected to remember that Al-Qaeda is sworn to kill Americans and Israelis, and destroy America and Israel.  So we wound up supplying our sworn enemies thinking they would change their minds about us.  Dumb, eh?  So we wound up losing an ambassador over it along with other valuable assets.

But then came Egypt.  I said, "Stay out of it."  Did we?  Nope.  We helped the rebels, the "Muslim Brotherhood".  Who are they?  They are a terrorist organization connected with GUESS WHO? Yup, Al-Qaeda.  We just inked a deal to supply these enemies with F-16 fighters and other armaments.  I wonder who they'll use them against.  Betting it will be their sworn enemies, Israel and the US. Doesn't take rocket science to figure this out.

Now we're going to involve ourselves in Syria. Who will we help?  You guessed it again.  We will arm elements of Al-Qaeda.  And should they win the struggle, I'd guess we'll again be forced to face our own armaments.

Let's see.  To the south of Israel is Egypt.  To the north is Lebanon (weak enough to be incapable of stopping Syria) and then Syria.  I wonder when the Al-Qaeda connection will rebel in Jordan so that Israel will be completely surrounded with terrorist nut-cases.  And then we can safely predict that Armageddon will consume the world.

Those of us who are paying attention are seeing the signs of the beginning of the end.

Hello, Big Brother!

In all this time, I've never welcomed the NSA as a regular reader of my blog.  However, now I can see that I just haven't been paying attention.  After all, as soon as I press the "Publish" button I have two hits.  This doesn't just happen occasionally, but each and every time.  If I had been half-way aware I would have known this would only happen if someone actually had a direct pipeline because who else would get my posts immediately?

So I say, "Welcome, Big Brother".  I hope you find something interesting in my writings.  Most of what I say is what I sense and condense from what I learn elsewhere.  It is also what I've deduced from public Government sources.  Here's a couple of things to think about:

1.  If this NSA domestic spying stuff is supposedly keeping us safe, why did it not let us know ahead of time about Benghazi?  And why did we not know about the Boston Marathon Bombing ahead of time?  And what about the Newtown, CT massacre?  I could name a few more.  Why is it that the only things the government can name is something that cannot be verified.  They could say anything and expect us to believe it.

2.  If this domestic spying stuff is so great, why did they not know about Mr. Snowden before he escaped to Hong Kong?

3.  If this NSA spying stuff is so wonderful, why is the civil war in Syria going the way it is.  And what about Egypt?

I believe they are doing what they are doing so that they can nail down political enemies by researching through their files, phone calls, etc.  Just as they did against Mr. Romney.  I have no doubt that the NSA, IRS, FBI, Secret Service and the rest of the Alphabet Soup were all used to play political tricks against Mr. Romney.

Mr. Obama, Wannabe DOTUS.  (that would be Despot of the United States).

The problem is that Mr. Obama's regime is correct.  It didn't start with him, but all his promises to end domestic spying went for not.  He figured out the power he could wield and power went to his head.  Unfortunately, the old saying marks Mr. Obama.  Power corrupts...absolute power corrupts absolutely.

A Little Personal News

Yesterday my Princess Bride and I attended the temple in St. George to take care of a little business for some of our dead ancestors.  We were to have met our son there, but he contacted us early in the morning to report that his wife was in labor and would soon give birth to our 18th blood descendant, and 23rd claimed descendant.

We have 7 natural children and 2 semi-adopted children and now 11 natural grandchildren and 3 semi-adopted grandchildren and hopefully our family will continue to grow. 

What a marvel this life has turned out to be.  I wonder if, in the pre-earth life, any of us had any idea how interesting our lives would be.  When I witnessed the birth of our first-born it brought tears to my eyes. It was such an emotional and spiritual event that I was overcome.  What joy this child brought (and still brings) into our lives.  Has she always made decisions that I approved of?  Nope, but we love her still and will continue to love her.  She is supportive of us in our aging process and is careful of our needs and desires.

As I watched each of our children being born I had similar experiences.  Each brought tears of emotion and joy.  Each brought a spiritual experience to me.  I noted that each brought a little different character into our lives.  Some of our children are exuberant, outgoing, and fun loving people.  Some of them are introverted, quiet and somber.  Some are moody, and some have an even "keel".  Each is an individual, and each enriches our lives.  Each one has unique talents, and each has their own sense of humor.  What a variety!  Each is an honorable member of society.  We have a stay-at-home mom (wow! what a job), a computer geek, a Home-care provider/late-entry University student, a warehouseman, a military man, and a food service manager/University student.  

We have found joy in each of our grandchildren as they have been born.  Again each one is an individual.  We love them all.  We think we have the full spectrum already, but I'll bet that we'll find that each new grandchild or great grandchild (if/when) will be unique also.  That is what makes our lives interesting.  We have to learn to interface with each one of them. 

On a side note:

A couple of years ago I wrote a piece regarding our grandson, Logan, who is autistic.  What great progress he has made!  His mother is a Princess (had to be...she's MY daughter, after all) among women.  She has instincts that are needed to figure out Logan.  And what a marvel he is.  He loves life and now is not intimidated by me any more.  He is nearing 5 years old now and is smart as can be.  It will be interesting to watch him grow into adulthood. 

I don't mean to say that she is better than any of my other children, just that her talents prepared her for the lot in life that has come her way.