My Life - Part 3

Work Experience

Right after My mission, I thought I’d assist
ESL students in Colton; I worked to persist
In teaching them English, but instead I learned
that the teaching profession is not for what I yearned.
So into the world of retail sales I went
selling carpet and giftware and all that bent.
It was no good, I couldn’t make enough
to support a family, and it was rough.


Santa Fe Railway was looking for help
So I went a-railroading with a yelp.
I started as a switchman in the town of LA;
Ended up as Assistant Sup’t down El Paso way.
I retired my lantern and moved my brood
to Enterprise, where there’s a more quiet mood.
We loved that little berg, the people are grand
We love the closeness they have with the land.


In the meantime, I still needed to work
to pay the bills and not go beserk.
I got my CDL and went truckin’ for a bit,
but Santa Fe beckoned and promised me writ
if I’d come help them combine with BN.
I worked long hours helping, and then
my contract was over and back home I came.
Back to Andrus and trucking was my game.
Dispatching and running international freight I did.
Until I thought I saw greener pastures and bid
for a job with Rasmussen Equipment; parts I sold.
I was manager for a few years, until behold
They thought they could do without me; did me harm.
So back to Andrus again, 3rd time’s the charm.

I’ve been in transportation for near 42 years
in all that time I’ve had many fears.
I worry my customers will not get their due
I worry my company will not persue
the relationships I've fostered in my little part
of the business now that I'm ready to depart.
I’ll be retiring soon, I’m ready to leave
I need to rest for a time I do believe.
My health is no good, much I can't do
to the level I want so Cerece is training anew.
There is much to teach; I have learned much.
I'm sure she will get it as I put her in touch.
I have much to do with family and friends
I hope there’s time to do all my errands.
I still have much to think about and desire
before my health leaves me in the mire.
My bucket list is short, not much left that I need.
I've had a good career; very good indeed.

My Life - Part 2 - Family

Family

I was released from my mission in ‘73
and I returned to my home in Californy.
I yearned to be a father and husband.
I looked ‘round and could only see one
young lady that was created especially for me.
She was kind, and sweet, but most of all she
loved me as much as I did her.
So just 3 months and a little bit more
after I returned from my missionary chore,
We visited our Bishops and Stake President; then
we went to the temple and there did listen
to a man of God who sealed us together
for time and eternity and told us to ever
remember the ceremony that wrought
our family that will n’er be forgot.

One by one our little ones came.
Our camera was filled frame by frame.
First came Caryn, cuddly and small,
then came Kristin who could out scream them all.
Along came Matthew a little later on.
Janice was next and I thought we were done.
Then Gardner found his way
into our clan and joined the fray.
Along about then I was sure, I thought
there were no more little ones to be brought.
But, to our surprise, more happened along;
twins to make our days busy and long
Peter and Jeremy were cute little fellas,
Made all our friends a little bit jealous.

Our family now was finally complete.
That is until our children began to compete
to see how many grandchildren they could bring us.
Here they come, and what a great fuss.
(I thought we were out of the baby business.)

Caryn began with her little group
giving birth to Brittany and into the soup
she went – for that was not all.
Andrew came along, not very small,
Justin was next and we thought that was fine.
Then little red headed Ciana entered the fam.
Colin was next, a tiny little gem.
He could throw a fit with the best of them.
Caryn was done – that’s what she said.
Then came HER twins, Colton and Logan instead.

Kristin was only to be in this mortal world
a little while and then she was gone in a whirl.
Heavenly father needed here there, I guess.
She left while driving home, maybe too fast.
She left a little boy, who we call Jon-Jon.

Janice was late, she wondered if she ever
would get to enjoy a family, but she never
gave up hoping and with faith she strove
Finally along came Ivy to hold and to love.
A little while later  Zoë entered this world
She caused us concern and worry unfurled.
But now she’s growing and all is fine
Her older sister thinks she is divine.


Peter met his sweetheart and fell head over heels
Dorian came first and all was well... then...
Surprise... here’s Caleb, how’d that happen?
So two little boys within a year’s short time.
Wow!, what work.  But worth it – they’re fine.

Jeremy knew his bride as a childhood chum
She always kept him in line so he’d never be glum.
He went into the Air Force to learn his way
but he knew he just had to pull her away
and into his life, permanently, she came.
First came Cody who everyone adores
but he is so shy and can’t bear to score
a glance in anyone’s direct eye view.
things went well and then time to renew.
Along came Eli into the fold
looks just like Cody, who could have told.
Now we have Emmy, fresh from above.
She has the same look, one we all love.

My Life - Part 1 - my youth

Youth

I was born at a very young age,
to a pretty young lady and a fairly young sage.
They taught me all through my years
that I am worth more than just a few tears.
I’ve caused some tears of sorrow and joy
as I’ve struggled through my life, but boy,
I wouldn’t change an instant of it, except,
I’d have learned the gospel better and accept
all of the teachings of the prophets of old
written down experiences that have been told
to help us gain that testimony strong
that Jesus is the Christ and in not very long
we will experience that which has been told in story.
We’ll see him come again to earth in glory.

When I was a child, I and a buddy
stole a doll from a girl and made it all muddy.
Then we threw it into a near-full ditch
to cover our sin, but there was a glitch.
Someone saw our dastardly deed.
They called our parents who did heed
the news and made us repent of our mistake
and search the ditch banks with shovel and rake
to find that doll and return it back
to the little girl with hair shiny and black.

When I was older we had a great flood.
There was much water and lots of great mud.
To the church we went to get all of us shot
with typhoid shots, so none of us got
a dread disease that would make us sick.
Some of the kids went out into the flood to pick
out the good spots to play and wallow in the mire
where parents wouldn’t come and see us conspire
against one another and against friend or foe,
whether against Ronnie, or Shirla or Greg, or Joe.

As a teen I thought it was great fun
to take a girl out to the graveyard and run.
I’d tell stories about ghosts and those long gone
(making things up as I went along).
I hoped to cause such a horrible fear
the girl would want to stay very near.
One time, though, things went awry;
the car stalled and so by and bye
I couldn’t get it started again and then
we began to hear noises long and thin.
Those noises gave us both a fright
even when we turned on the light.

When I graduated from High School
I thought it’d be pretty cool
to go on a mission; visit and preach
the gospel to others; reason and teach
people who hadn’t yet received it.
So..onto my knees I went to visit
each morn and eve with Father in Heaven.
I asked for help to learn to leaven.
I asked for confirmation of my testimony small.
I even asked for an angel to teach me all
the things I’d need to know
as a missionary whe’er I’d go.
I never got any celestial view
but nonetheless I did learn and review
the lessons that I’d need to apply
to investigators in “El Uruguay”.

It Is Too Early for Presidential Politics, but...

I think it is way too early for Presidential Politics.  If I had my way congress would pass a veto-proof law that would restrict national office campaigning to the year in which the election is held.  Why in the world do we have to be inundated with political angst 18 months before said election?  That being said, I will do as I did last cycle and make my observances.  You all know that I am conservative.  In fact I make Rush Limbaugh look like a centrist.

On the Democrat side:

Basically anyone but Hillary.

Mr. Biden was ineffectual as a Senator, pretty much a do nothing VP.  Why would we expect anything different as President?

Mr. Sanders is an admitted Socialist.  While we've suffered through an Obama socialist experiment, Mr. Sanders would be Obama on steroids.

Mr. O'Malley is someone I've heard little about.  I can make no comment about him.

On the Republican side:

I like what Mr. Trump is saying.  So far he has stayed true to his cause.  He is very anti-establishment and if he follows through with his stated program our nation would be much better off than it is today. That having been said, I wonder if his various business organizations can get along without him for 8 years.  It is something to consider.  He does connect well with the populace.  If he can keep doing so is the real question.  I believe Mr. Trump could take the country by storm even if he went under the umbrella of a 3rd party. The nation is craving a true conservative and he at least talks like one.

I also like what Mr. Cruz is saying.  I like it more because he irritates the Republican establishment elitists and that I like.  I like what he is saying about immigration, and he is ready for the fight.  However, I don't believe he has the staying power I'd like to see.

Mr. Rubio is fading fast.  I can't think he'll make much of a showing.  He is a centrist in conservative clothing.

Ms. Fiorino is someone I could seriously consider.  I think she may be a little too naive, but I hope she will go far enough to have some strength left for the future.

Mr. Santorum is a non-starter.  otta give up now.

Mr. Pataki is also a non-starter.  wasting his money and political influence.

I would be interested in hearing more from Dr. Carson.  I think he is way to naive to be a serious politician, but I think he'd make a great Sec. of State.

I wish we'd hear more from Mr. Jindal.  I like what he has done in Louisiana.

I'd like to think Mr. Walker could go far, but he doesn't have the ability to connect with the people well.

I'd like to see a Trump/Cruz ticket.  I think that ticket would be unbeatable.  

It is still early and my mind is still open to change.

 - 30 -

A Funny Thing Happened....

A funny thing happened to me recently when I was preparing to go to visit my elderly Mother-In-Law.

On our way out of town we stopped by the local Wal-Mart to pick up some supplies.  As it is a 6+ hour trip we thought it would be a good idea to pick up some drinks and snacks where it is cheaper so we didn't need to stop at convenience stores for those items enroute.  However our stop at Wal-Mart turned out to be a little more exciting than we planned.

I was tasked to go pick up some sodas.  The section that has the soda-pop is in the rear of the store behind the grocery area, so I trekked back to get what we wanted.  I enjoy drinking caffeine free Diet Coke, but I didn't see it right away.  When I did find it, it was stored a little differently than usual.  I didn't have a basket with me and I wanted 2 2-liter bottles.  They were placed upright on the rack, like all the other brands/flavors, but they also had 2 bottles laying horizontally on top of the other bottles.  AND THAT WAS WHERE MY TROUBLE BEGAN.

First I have to tell you that I am not as strong as I once was.  My hands are filled with arthritis and so I can't grasp as well as I have in the past.

I got the first bottle with no problem.  After all, I had two hands to do it with.  It was the second bottle that caused all the excitement.  I got it out of the rack, but it was upside down.  While I was trying to get it upright it slipped out of my hands.

Have you ever seen a bottle rocket?  This two liter bottle of soda slipped from my hand and landed on the floor in the lid-down position.  It hit the floor with a great "thud" and exploded upwards like a bottle rocket, spewing Diet Coke along the way.  There was a large metal poster on the wall and this "rocket" hit that metal poster with a great BANG!

And then people began to show up.  The young man that runs that department was the first to arrive.  He couldn't figure out what happened, so I told him all about it.  In the mean time there was Coke all over the floor.  Wal-Mart employees and other shoppers were tracking it all over the place while I was telling my story.  I guess nobody ever looks where they are walking....  It wasn't funny at the time, but I've sure had fun telling the story to my family.  There is not one ounce of embellishment to this story.  It all happened just as I've told it.

I guess you have to get your amusement where you can....

The United States of Sodom and Gomorrha

Oh what a wicked and perverse generation we have become.  I do not believe that Sodom and Gomorrha were any more wicked than the United States of America.  Even in Sodom and Gomorrha there were righteous people and there are righteous people in the United States of America.  However, it appears to me that the constitution has been perverted to the extent that we cannot any longer call this the "Promised Land".  While it is still better than most nations, we have lost much of our liberties, much of our brotherly love, much of our common sense, much of our love of God, and much of our ability to tell right from wrong.  We are instructed that there is no such thing as "wrong" today. 

The Supreme Court of the United States just ruled specifically against God and against Jewish, Islamic, and Christian traditions when it ruled that homosexual marriage is legal in the 50 states.  I worry about the future of our nation.  We have sunk lower than did Rome of old and our nation is doomed to failure just as was Rome.  As a nation, we do not seem to be able to take the lessons learned in our history and then avoid the pitfalls that the peoples of those times fell into.

I suspect much of our fall from grace is because we do not teach historical fact in our schools any longer.  We are too focused on teaching Current Social Skills and Political Correctness.  We are too afraid to "offend" others with truth.  We don't teach the children to learn to seek out answers through logic, but rather to seek out answers through "feelings".  If heard it said that 2 + 2 can be 5 if one "feels" it to be correct.  Common Core does not teach our children common sense, or logic.  The people who designed it must be insane.  College History, English, Math and Science professors must have a very hard time undoing all the bad habits learned as a result of Common Core.

 I worry that the Master will come and we will be found wanting.  I anxiously await his coming.  I hope it is soon.  The perversity of today's society is unbearable to me.

The So-Called "Affordable Care Act"

I remember years ago there was a post circulating around the Internet regarding the "new" IRS form 1040.  it said something like this:

Line 1........Total Earnings for Year 2014                               __________________
Line 2........    Make Check for the amount on line 1 payable to:
                                     The Internal Revenue Service
                                     Washington DC

I see now that there was not much that was wrong with that thinking except it was too futuristic for it's time.
with "Obamacare" AKA the "Affordable Care Act" that is about what it feels like.

Here's an example.

A middle class employee, 55 years old, making about $50,000.00 per year will pay about $21,500.00 in Federal, State, and Local taxes, including property, income, excise, fuel and sales taxes.  that leaves him with $28,500 per year or about $2375/month to take care of everything else.  Let's also suppose there is only two people in the household.  Household expenses are pretty much as follows:

Rent/Morgage payment:                                   $1500.00/month
Utilities including phone/TV, household energy      500.00/month
Food                                                                   600.00/month
clothing                                                               100.00/month
Home owners, auto insurance                              125.00/month
Obamacare premiums                                        1300.00/month
  Obamacare deductibles                         up to    833.00/month
       TOTAL                                                over $5000/month     

If the spouse also goes to work and makes $50.000 income then it all becomes more "affordable" because now the two of them can barely scrape by and heaven help them if they have an appliance, auto, other unplanned expense.

I think I begin to see what this is really about.  The federal government has figured out how to make living so expensive that both spouses HAVE to work so that they HAVE to place their children into government controlled day-care or schools.  Therefore the government can determine how the children are raised/taught because the parents have no time to do so.  We really are living in the culture that "1984" envisioned.

Consider:
1.  The liberal government has elected to eliminate lower cost energy, i.e. coal, domestic oil/gas.
2.  The liberal government has determined that the people have no right to control "personal and/or real" property.
3.  The liberal government just passed a bill declaring the citizenry of the United States to have no right to private/personal communication.
4.  the liberal government will soon pass a bill declaring that "freedom from unreasonable search" does not mean the authorities cannot enter your property at will and search for "contraband" without a warrant.  Of course the warrant is pretty much no protection at all because rare is the time a judge will deny it.

These days Liberal largely means Democrat and Republican alike. There appears to be no difference between the two parties. 

Additional to all that is that our political leaders do not think they need to listen to the electorate at all.  We've just seen a perfect example of that over the past few days.  They put on a good face for the elections, but then turn their collective backs on us when we "trust" them.  What genuine pig excrement!

We understand it more when we see the federal government furnishing local police departments with wartime supplies and equipment.  The elites know the populace will not put up with this long and they are determined to put down the rebellion that is sure to come.  It cannot come fast enough, say I.

I guess I must be a rebel.  All this time I thought I was a patriot.  I was obviously wrong.

the "Play-Time" President

I remember when I was a child we sometimes played as if we were a government and we would take turns being "President".   Some of my playmates would act as if he/she were king of a monarchy and some would take the more democratic method of governance.

It seems to me that the Grand Ayatollah Barry Soetero (Obama) is one of those playmates that is just playing at being president, but using the monarchy plan.  He wants to decide every little thing of our lives, but doesn't want to do the hard things required of his station.  He took an oath to defend our nation from enemies from without or from within.  Anyone want to tell me when he has done that?

Instead of defending our nation, he invites terrorists in by opening our borders to anyone that wants to come in.  He fails to defend us when he sees a progressing evil and decides it can wait until someone else has to deal with it because he doesn't want to appear to be a warmonger.  He's right.  He isn't a warmonger.  At the same time, he isn't the defender of the faith or the defender of the nation.  Instead of defending freedom, he encroaches upon our freedoms.  We have become a nation very similar to nazi Germany, in my opinion.

Now, how do we combat this arrogant, pretender?

We must fall to our knees and plead for help from our Heavenly Father.  We have been promised that this nation will never fall if we never fail to worship God.  Now we, as a nation, are turning away from God. Every branch of government is working to undermine worship of God.  The so-called Freedom From Religion folks are undermining our freedom to worship God.  And now the Supreme Court of the United States refused to take up a cause that will surely indicate a refusal to permit our citizens to worship God according to the dictates of conscience.  By denying a God issued command that marriage is only between one man and one woman , we are set up to be chastized by our God.

The Gadiaton Robbers are indeed in control.  And their associates, the King-Men are working tirelessly to assist them in their conquest of anything righteous.

God Help us all.

Life After 60?

I wonder why my life has gotten so interesting since I turned....well actually, I guess it started after I turned 50.  My life certainly isn't what I expected for these years.  I thought the "golden years" would be restful and would be a time when I could just enjoy time with my bride of all these many years.  I am spending a lot of time with her, but it seems much of it is while she is setting in a chair while I'm laying in a hospital bed.

I've been having some struggles breathing over the past few years.  I've been poked, prodded, stabbed, invaded, placed in very tight places, given chemicals to breath, inflicted with many sensors, and more.  I've received various diagnoses including Pneumonia (never had it), Asthma (never had this one either), over exertion (now you KNOW that didn't happen).  And these same diagnoses were given over and over by several different doctors except the pulmonary specialists who claimed none of the above could be proven.  However, they didn't know either.

5 years ago I suffered a heart event and underwent an angiogram.  It indicated that I had suffered something (nobody knew what) to my heart.  The cardiologist thought then and he maintains today that it was a spasm that affected the floor of my heart.  Maybe I thanked to many people from the bottom of my heart?  At any rate there was little damage to my heart and echo cardiograms later indicated the damage had been repaired.

Two years ago I suffered an incident in Grand Junction that I was sure was a heart attack.  All the tests done at St. Mary's were inconclusive and they sent me home with medicine to cure Pneumonia because they couldn't find anything else to diagnose.  Last year I suffered a similar incident and again underwent an echo cardiogram.  Again I was told everything was normal and nothing to worry about.

Two weeks ago I went to my new doctor because my old one retired (of all the nerve) because I've been struggling with having enough air to even climb a flight of stairs.  I've been sucking on oxygen for the past year and still have trouble.  I've even had to increase the amount of oxygen so that I can stay even.  My new doctor looked over all my records and paid particular attention to the echo cardiogram done last year and said something to the effect, "it is here in black and white.  I suspect that you have Pulmonary Hypertension."

HUH?  I've never heard of such a thing.  She immediately got ahold of my cardiologist and set up an appointment with him for me to visit and schedule a angiogram, which I did last Thursday.  Well...I had the angiogram on Friday.  The results?

Dr. Radley's diagnosis is confirmed.  I have Pulmonary Hypertension. My Pulmonary Arterial blood pressure is more than double normal. In the mean time, I've been researching what that means.  I   found a whole lot of information on a website maintained by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association that taught me a whole lot, but didn't satisfy my need for information.  However, Dr. Radley thinks the information on that website is a little outdated so I continue to search out more information.

The first site I researched was not very positive on my life expectancy, but the more I researched, the more I learned and am still learning.  Pulmonary Hypertension is not curable.  It can be treated and the symptoms can be mitigated somewhat, but the end result is still heart disease, liver failure and eventually death.  Dr. Radley told me today that she expects my life expectancy to be in the 15-20 years neighborhood.

However there is more to this story.  I have problems breathing at higher altitudes.  Dr. Radley instructed me to plan on moving to a lower altitude.  I don't like the heat and it doesn't like me, so I have resisted living in St. George.  However, I may have to bite the bullet and move to the St. George area anyway in order to breath better.

...and the saga continues....

Athiests, Agnostics, Pagans, oh my.

I wonder about lots of things and as I get older I find more things to wonder about.

I wonder why it is ok to sue because you are offended that someone might speak the word "God", but it isn't ok to sue the "Freedom From Religion" foundation because I'm offended they bar me from exercising my 1st Amendment rights.

Why do the minority have more power than the majority in our nation?  Why can athiests insist that we may not practice our religion in their presence?  Why do we permit them to force their "religion" upon those of us who practice organized religion?  Why do we not "protest" and scream and cause civil unrest?

Why do we let the "political correctness" crowd push us around?  I know of few people who take seriously these items of "integrity".  Again, we permit the minority push the majority around.

The people are not going to sit idly by and let these things go much further. 

Here is my thinking of how things work.

Why do we let these things go on?  Because we are more polite than are the "protesters". 

Why do anglos not riot when a black policeman kills a white teen?  May I make an observation?  I believe it is because we are more polite than the protestors and we trust in the system a little more.  I am not racist.  I simply make the observation.

Why do "Right-of-Center" politicians not cause as much trouble as do the "Left of Center" politicians?  Because the more conservative we are the more polite we are.  Again, I simply make the observation that any logical person could make if he/she paused to take note.

Why does the Constitution of the United States mean more to right-leaning citizens than it does to the left?  Because we are convinced that the Constitution was written by men inspired by God.  The framers knew it.  And now over 200 years later, the doubters want to deny it much as the Islamists want to deny the Holocaust.   Is the event too far in the past?

Some say these "protesters" hate America.  I don't believe it.  I believe these "protesters" simply are uneducated.  Education has nothing to do with what we learn in school, but rather what we learn in family units.  How to be polite,  How to interact with others.  How to meditate and contemplate.  How to accept responsibility for one's actions.  How to respect  What to respect.  How to become self-controlling.

Just some thoughts.

-30-

Ranting about this and that.

Whoa!  I can't believe it has been over a year since my last rant.  I should remember that Princess Bride and I have been serving as missionaries over the past 18 months, so it should not be surprising.
I felt, then, that I should not incase myself with political strife during those few months, and mostly I didn't.  However, now it is over and I can permit myself a little more rope (with which to hang myself?)

This post will be a little disjointed.  I hope you, gentle reader, will grant me a little latitude.

I've been observing our current government commit the basest acts over the past few years.  In my not-so-humble opinion a leader is one who leads....kinda simple, isn't it?  Apparently it isn't that simple.  Our "leader" hasn't got a clue of what is going on.  We've been hearing over and over that he gets information the same way we do, through public media.

Except.....

Yesterday he told us that he doesn't watch/read the news because he usually knows ahead of time what will be reported.  So is he prescient?  or maybe gets a preview before the newscast?  or perhaps his various minions write the "news" articles and distribute them to the various news outlets.  Maybe he knows about the news because he creates what he wants what Rush calls the "Drive-By Media" to report and they report nothing more than the "news" given them.

After all, the IRS works for the Department of the Treasury, not for the President.  Ambassadors work for the Department of State, not for the President.  Border Protection works for the Department of Homeland Security, not for the President.  CIA/NSA work for the National Security Advisor, not for the President.  AND, since Cabinet Meetings are not being held, those departments cannot report to the President and can run afoul of the law and the constitution without his knowing anything about it.

The jury is still out.  I prefer to believe Barry Soetero, AKA Barak Husein Obama, just doesn't care about what is going on.  In my opinion he has a large dose of the Marie Antoinette disease.  He doesn't know where tax money comes from and he doesn't really care unless the lack of it restricts his ability to play 30+ rounds of golf per year and take multi-million dollar vacations every other month.

I believe congress should give the White House a budget within which the President must live.  He makes a goodly sum already at $400,000.00/year.  Roughly 100 times more than we "normal" folk, who pay for his lavish lifestile.  It used to be that travel by the first family (other than by the President,himself) was paid for out of the President's salary.  I wonder why that changed.

This president and his government is so arrogant that they personally believe the lies that are passed to us ingrates as soon as they pass the lips of the speaker.  And then those people in government are insulted when we refuse to believe them.  Any person with any kind of logical mind can see through this nonsense.  Sequential, logical thinking goes a long way.  It is too bad none of that is done in government.

I think I'll coin a phrase:

"Those who can, do.  Those who can't, regulate those who can, so that the net result is the same."  After all we are ensconced in a government that dances to the "outcome" tune.  It doesn't matter how it is done so long as the desired outcome is the result.  And right now, the desired outcome is bringing the United States of America down to the level of the lowest level of living in any nation in the world.  After all, it is only the ruling elites that should be able to make decisions.

more later.

-30-

Response to the Supreme Court Decision on the family

---

                             The Family

---

                            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.