O CALIFORNIA, CALIFORNIA . . . !

In the Bible it is recorded that Jesus, very near the end of His mortal ministry, rode near unto Jerusalem and stopped and looked over the city and wept before entering into it.  He lamented, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her [chicks] . . . and you would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:37).

 A novel was written over 1,900 years later by Curt Gentry in 1968 that had the provocative title “The Last Days of the Late Great State of California” describing what might happen if a Richter magnitude 9 earthquake occurred on California’s San Andreas fault line—desolation.  The author fictionally described the consequences of the entire western half of the state collapsing into the Pacific Ocean. 

It seems that a political/cultural/economic earthquake is now taking place in California and with its northern neighbors. 

In the mid-1930’s, in the midst of the Great Depression, huge dust storms made desolate many parts of the Midwest of America. The storms took  millions of tons of precious topsoil carrying it hundreds of miles from farms where it had been caused by destructive farming practices.  Not only was soil for productive farms displaced, but also were thousands of people.  These people were generically and pejoratively called “Okies,” people who lived on the heartland and who thought they could relocate in California, the “golden” state, and reclaim their lives from the desolation they had experienced. Many who were willing and eager to work did—and recovered-- but many didn’t—and the state’s population increased with both contributors to the economy and non-contributors.  

Forty to fifty years after this influx, hundreds of thousands of others, survivors of the War years, including many non-citizens who came illegally from south of our borders, inundated what was viewed as a Mecca, but what was rapidly becoming the erstwhile ‘Golden’ state of opportunity.  In addition to providing work and a pleasant environment and climate to live in, what was not well thought-out and provided for by government was becoming overwhelmed:  infrastructure in educational and health-care and transportation and criminal justice and other social systems were, so to speak, ‘heading south.’ Public policy, except in Republican-led years, in response to population growth became more liberal.  The consequences of those policies are now being played out.   

Once the envy of the world, California’s infrastructure is now crumbling.  

After decades of neglect and political misfeasance, California’s educational system, once among the finest in the nation, is now in the lowest tier of student achievement (#37 out of 50 states in K-12 education).  Standards and curriculum have been ‘dumbed down’ to accommodate unprepared students, and in the process better prepared and serious students are neglected and are not being challenged.  Parents are pulling their children out of public education and are fleeing the public schools and public colleges to seek a better education elsewhere.  It is a return to the middle-late 1960’s with all of California’s twenty-six state universities now being mandated to teach ‘cultural diversity’—and students being required to take the class! Remedial classes are now the norm.  Introduced  in the public schools about the same time was ‘sex education.’  What happened to moral constraint since then?

What is needed, rather, is an education in and a return to the traditional underpinnings of American society: the ideals and values that once made her great.  These values are now mocked by the media and entertainment industry, the educational establishment from top to bottom, and so-called liberal political philosophy and policies in state government.

The largest economy of the 50 states is quickly becoming bankrupt because of unfriendly taxing and overly restrictive business regulations. Small businesses as well as large corporations are moving eastward taking their money and people with them.  The 1980’s term, ‘brain drain’ comes to mind.  

Consequently, news reports today are telling of the mass exodus of contributing citizens going the other way--away from California (and Oregon and Washington) who are pulling up roots and moving to states east of her.  My family are among them—we recently moved.

Why?

The bailout is not alone generated by the devastating fires and the terrifying earthquakes; not even the crime in sectors of the large cities and the overwhelmed and ineffective penal-justice system; or the highest tax rate in the nation; not just the failing schools, the deteriorating roads and transportation infrastructure; or the demands on medical care by the uninsured or those whose ignorant health practices have caused their own health problems (California now requires that insurance companies cover ‘disability’ owing to the ‘disease’ of drug abuse!). Not even the heartbreaking destruction and magnet for the homeless of formerly one of the finest cities of America—San Francisco, longtime home of its former mayor and current governor could be called the 'tipping point' generating the exodus. These are all contributive in causing the decision to move out; but there is more.

In the West, contributing and home-owning  citizens and businesses are moving out of California (and likewise out of Oregon and Washington state and Colorado) because of the very toxic political and social climates (read here, moral failure) of these states' governments. What is the common denominator of once fine but now failing states?  I submit that it is liberal, even socialistic policies and cultural hostility to historic and religious and conservative virtues and values of marriage and family, and economics. If you are acquainted with the political philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand, you will sense that what we are seeing is what happened when 'Atlas Shrugged.'

What is the attractive pull of where the exodus is headed?  Conservative policies and traditional moral values are the drawing card.  It is ideas and ideals that ultimately move society. 

And where are they going?  They are moving to Idaho and Arizona and Utah and Nevada—the four states out of the 50 in this nation which have gained the most population in the last two years. These are states populated by people who love freedom--with responsibility.  

Interestingly, in addition to California, the states with the largest population losses by percentage in the United States were New York and Illinois--both states embracing liberal governmental policies.

So, I repeat:  It is ideas and ideals that ultimately move society.  Wake up California!

I end this sad tale with a slightly altered verse from the song “The City of New Orleans” sung by Willie Nelson and many others:  

    “Good morning America (good night California), how are you? I'm the one they call(ed) your native son.  I’m the train they call the City of New Orleans (City of San Francisco).  I’ll be gone 500 miles when the day is done.” 

And so it is, and will be until policy makers wake up or are voted out.  Until then, "Good night, California." Any "gold" that is left will be provided solely by the sundown in the West.   

CHRISTMAS

Earlier this month I published what I thought would be my Christmas message for 2020.  I amend my thought, but not my earlier message.  My thought, now, after rereading many of His teachings and listening to many hours of Christmas music, is to very briefly review the basic message of Christmas and what our response might be. 

In America we may call this season of the year from Thanksgiving Day through New Years’ Day the ‘holidays,’ but for me the preeminent ‘Holiday’ (holy day) is Christmas—the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ.  It happened this way:

A little over two thousand years ago the archangel Gabriel appeared from the Heavenly realms and made a startling announcement to some faithful shepherds who were attending to their task in the dark of the night.  The message was that the long-awaited Messiah had been born and was now among them. Additional heralds, a multitude of what we suppose were singing angels, joined Gabriel praising God. They, too, left their message with the astonished shepherds.  The shepherds responded with haste to this glorious outpouring to find this child, this long-prophesied Messiah—to gain a personal testimony of the things they were told.  After they had seen for themselves, they unhesitatingly told all they encountered of what they had heard and experienced. 

What can we learn from this?  The scriptural record here shows that God, on His timetable, will make known even to the lowliest of His children messages of transcendent importance. There is no indication in the record that the shepherds were aged or highly-educated sages; nothing is said about them holding position or priesthood.  Nothing is said of their gender. The likelihood, instead, was that these were probably poor and uneducated young men and/or young women who knew how to care for God’s creatures, who were in the line of their duty, and who were not asleep.

What else might have qualified the shepherds to be given this message?  Perhaps the fact that they had earlier listened to the prophecies about a promised Messiah and found them credible.  Perhaps because they were worthy to receive a spiritual message and that their spirit resonated with the message they heard.  Perhaps because they believed in angels.  Perhaps because God knew they would not hesitate to proclaim the message and witness they received to any person they subsequently encountered.

Can you see the pattern?  Though the wise men came later bearing gifts, the response desired by God of those who were in a position to immediately respond to this Holy day, this Birthday of birthdays, was for them to listen to His messengers, to gain a personal testimony themselves, to worship God’s Son, and to proclaim to others what they knew to be true.  Could this not be the proper response for us to emulate during this Christmas season? Could we not qualify ourselves in the same way?

We will glorify God this Christmas season and give our best gift by proclaiming with joy the Good News message of His Son’s ministry (his activities and teachings or three years following his baptism) and mission (the events of his last week as a mortal) into a darkened world and into the hearts of His children.

Let us light the world!

PRODUCTIVE DIALOGUE

       Every one of us has attempted to talk with someone about something important to us or to them and gotten nowhere.  We have broached a subject or tried to take part in a conversation and have our point-of-view be heard but to no avail. We have been unpersuasive in making our point and, too often, we found the conversation ended with us becoming more frustrated than before the attempt. Not only was the issue unresolved, but sometimes the other party had become defensive or more entrenched in their own point-of-view than they were before the discussion. 

Here are some ideas that might help you to turn things around:  

Before engagement in discussion resolve personally that we are out to solve a problem or look at an issue with wisdom and fairness and not out to unilaterally ‘win’ an argument. You have a point of view and want a fair hearing, and so does the other person.  When we engage in discussion, we must understand that often better solutions are a result of not insisting that our way is the only way. We must be trying to understand each other and the facts that define the issue.  The middle way or the not-entertained third way does not necessarily mean a compromise; it can be a higher way that may have not been seen by either party when emotionality was clouding our/their vision.

Respect and listening must come first. If that is understood, both parties feel safe to contribute and express their viewpoint without attack by the other. Then, hopefully, each person will honestly believe that their input counted and that a synergistic outcome is possible where everybody gains: Stephen Covey famously called it “win-win.”

Look at the information, the data, the evidence, the facts contributed to by all parties of the discussion to the issue at hand.  When engagement begins, that is where you start. Do not try to defend or impose the too-often emotionally driven assumptions, opinions, or independently-arrived-at ‘conclusions’ that unproductive dialogue often starts with. Productive dialogue is not a modern political ‘debate’--may God forbid.  

There are methods of engagement that foster helpful dialogue and conversely behaviors that kill it.

Let’s look at behaviors that close down healthy dialogue.        

         Demeaning comments; sarcastic remarks; name-calling; threats; accusations; blame;         coercing; force; revenge; violence.   

         Avoiding, withdrawal, silent fuming, coldness, passive resistance.

         Playing verbal games to overpower or confuse the other person.

     Creating stories in our mind (subjective conclusions) that paint the other party in a         negative way and then shape our unhelpful self-justifying responses to or judgments         about anything they say to us.

That which produces healthy dialogue is to:

·                   Look at your own motives first.  Am I being honest?  Am I being just?  Am I being          fair, and trying to see it through their eyes? Am I at all at fault?

·                   Identify mutual purpose and shared goals, and then state them and share them and           explore them with the other person.

·                    Maintain mutual respect; if they push back, do something to make the other person           more comfortable; try to calm them with a soft answer but be sincere. This does not        mean you have to back down; it may mean that you have to try another approach.           You can smile and say something like, “I think I see your point (and then restate it in        your own words), but allow me to see if I can my point more clear to you. . . .”

·                  Get all relevant, truthful information out into the open and into a common pool. The        larger the pool, the smarter the decisions the parties will make and the greater the            buy-in.

·                 Stay focused no matter what happens. Stay focused on what you really want—for             yourself, and for your relationship, and for others who could be impacted.                       Make these things your highest priorities. Don’t get derailed or divert from your              objectives by what the other party may throw up at the beginning of the conversation.

·                Clarify what you don’t want to happen—bad feelings, wasted time or money,                 damaged opportunities, etc.  See where this is taking you.

How to speak persuasively and productively:

·        Pray first if you believe in this way of receiving strength or insight.

·        Share your facts; your facts are not an attack.  Facts are things, observations, not assertions, not conclusions. Try to keep personalities out of it to start with.  

·        Tell your story—your point of view, your reasoning path which have led to your tentative conclusions. Make sure you are thinking about and talking about the real issue. Use “I” statements, not “you” statements.

·        Encourage them to tell their story—their point of view. Then listen carefully. Be curious and be courteous. This brings their information into the pool.

·        Use tentative language—“In my opinion,” “It’s starting to look like. . .”

·        Be patient.  Don’t assume you know the others’ motives. Get to the source of their feelings.  Try to get to an area of agreement.  Don’t force a conclusion by using your authority, or age, or position. Use persuasion.  

·        Build upon what you’ve mutually come up with. Do something; come to a plan of action that involves both of you. Write it down.  Make a commitment. You are both accountable for the outcome, but only you are accountable for your commitment to the person and the process.   Keep thinking, and say, “We can work this out.” Be positive and confident and know that you can; then encourage them to believe that ‘we’ can. 

     These ideas have worked for many good communicators. It is my hope they may help you the next time you need to have productive dialogue where in the past you have had only frustration or hard feelings.            

·        

PEACE

 This is my Christmas message, of sorts, for 2020.  I give these thoughts to you because I am convinced that the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birthday we commemorate, wants to bless those who “bringeth good tidings (news), that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation” (Isaiah 52:7;).

We are all familiar with the Christmas story recorded in the Bible, from Luke, chapter 2, where an angel from the Lord appeared to some faithful shepherds who were watching over their sheep in the fields below Bethlehem and declared the birth, that day, of the Savior of the world. Accompanying this angel were “a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying . . . peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). 

In years past, I sometimes received Christmas cards sent by Christian friends that had the word ‘Peace,’ alone with no punctuation mark following, on the outside of the card. The inside of the card was left blank for the sender’s message. I wondered, Is my friend sending a proclamation, or a declaration, or a question . . . or a plea?;  an exclamation mark, a period, or a question mark, or a sigh?  Too often all I got was a variation of the message, “happy holidays.”  Thank you, but it missed the point. 

As this year 2020 drags to an end, for many who have had their life altered by the outfall of the recent pandemic there has been no peace—only uncertainty, anxiety, disruption, unemployment, confusion, and discouragement.  Add to that the ‘social noise’ of divisive politics by those elected to represent us, name-calling and accusations, riots in the streets, and many other self-and-society-fragmenting influences in the media and in a morally bankrupt ‘entertainment’ industry.

Peace?

What then did the angels mean?  What did they not mean?

Let me begin with what “peace” means.  I like the definition given by the ancient historian Sextus Empiricus: “an untroubled and tranquil condition of the soul; the hope of attaining quietude.” This is the opposite of what many this year have experienced. 

Although great minds have contemplated international peace, interpersonal peace, and innerpersonal peace, all that most of mankind has known is conflict.  Though strife and disquietude has been the lot of most, God, our Heavenly Father, has provided men with the means whereby they could know peace if they would—but they would not; they wanted it “my way,” as Frank Sinatra sang with existential angst, and that the modern world has bought into.  The humanistic mind has rejected God and looked forward to ‘X-mas.’ Man does not live by ‘X-mas’ presents alone.  But he can live by Christmas: God the Father’s gift to us, of Christ, who is the man of peace incarnate. 

No, it cannot come, “my way,” Mr. Sinatra (an interesting name). 

And so, God, by contrast, has provided us with a comforter, a redeemer, a message and His  plan of peace and salvation, but which could come only by His way, and His way was through Christ, whose birth we celebrate but whose mission many really do not contemplate.  One cannot really celebrate Christmas without celebrating Christ.  Genuine peace was and is inextricably dependent upon Him. 

So how do we get it?

“Learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace [meaning internal peace] in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23).

Isaiah called this child who was born a little over 2000 years ago, “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).  In fact, when He comes again He will not only be the Prince [promise] of Peace, but will be the “God of the whole earth . . . " (Isaiah 54:5), and Lord of Lords. 

John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way before the Lord, said He [the Lord] would “. . . give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:79).

In the last discourses the mortal Lord gave to His apostles, Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you . . . “ John 14:27).   

As He concluded these discourses, the Lord declared: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might [I desire for you to] have peace . . . [although] in the world ye shall have tribulation. . .” (John 16:33).  The angels at Christ’s birth did not mean a peaceful world, though that would be most desirable and will one day come.  But for now, and for the past 6,000 years it has been a fallen world though soon that will end. 

The apostle Paul said, “In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off [gave little thought to] are made nigh [near] by the blood of Christ [through His atonement by which He ransomed us]. For He is our peace. . . and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Ephesians 2:13-20).  Just as God is love, so His beloved Son is peace.

Paul also said, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). 

The angels, at His birth annunciation, therefore meant Peace is Christ. 

Is not Peace, not only in this world but in the world to come, one of God’s greatest gifts to us? 

It—He—surely is.  

A FOUR-LETTER WORD YOU NEED TO USE

 

A little over five years’ ago I wrote an essay about a valued possession (check my archives for my published essay of 14 July 2015—title intentionally and temporarily withheld).  I ‘read’ (four-letter word) and altered somewhat what follows from an unidentified source so I can’t give proper credit for a very clever treatment of a four-letter word of which too many people increasingly do not avail themselves:

 “Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge (BOOK)

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology; no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, no passwords, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use even a child can operate it.  Compact and portable, it can be accessed anywhere, yet it is powerful enough to hold as much data as a CD-ROM disc!

Here is how it works: BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of recyclable paper, each capable of holding thousands of bits of information.  The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder, which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.  Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain (CPU).  A flick of your finger takes you to the next sheet.  BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by simply opening it.

BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting.  The browse feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish.  Many come with an Index feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.  An optional ‘BOOKMARK’ accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session, even if the BOOK is closed.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, named ‘Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus,’ acronym,  ‘PENCILS.’

Portable, durable and affordable, the BOOK is being hailed as the precursor of a huge entertainment wave.  BOOK’S appeal seems so certain that thousands of content-creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to the newly discovered phenomenon.

 

 Technology Rebuttal to Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge (BOOK)

You should be warned that regarding the review quoted above, this BOOK technology has serious shortcomings in user outcomes which, while not apparent from an immediate usability analysis, seriously impair its market desirability.  Research shows that prolonged and repeated exposure to BOOK technology causes users to become contemplative, reflective, and, in severe cases, it can induce bouts of concentration and focused thinking, with common side-effect that include activation of the imaginative and/or analytical portions of the brain.  Such activation of these cerebral regions of the brain can impede market-critical emoto-cognitive functions like the impulse-purchase quadrant of the cerebellum. 

In one overlooked period of history, the installed user-base of the BOOK technology spread with almost pandemic speed.  This period, in BOOKish techno-jargon as the ‘Renaissance’, saw that after the introduction of BOOK there were unpredictable outbursts of individual and collective creativity. 

JULY 4, 2020

It is again time that I address an issue that defines my attitude about what it means to be an American.  The upsetting events occurring in this country during the past three months demand my response.

Sometimes it is a small thing that upsets the ‘angle of repose’ of something precariously placed or balancing, such as a boulder on a hillside, or a nation on the cusp of engaging in bitter and destructive culture wars—even another civil war.  Repose is broken when some event breaks the friction and the boulder starts sliding or rolling.  That, in turn, starts other rocks and soil or snow to break loose and soon you have an avalanche that affects everything in its path. You have a catastrophe. A ‘tipping point’ has been reached and things start to fall.  The phenomenon used to be called the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back.’ 

For me it happened this morning when I went for a walk with my wife.  We were admiring the neat and tidy homes that were flying the American Flag on this day of celebrating America’s independence –a day of fine traditions and shows of patriotism  and appreciation for our country and for those who established it and those who have for nearly 250 years preserved it. We spoke of the founding fathers, and the men and women who fought to defend it, and those who have put themselves in harm’s way such as medical personnel and firefighters and the police who are charged to enforce its laws. I expressed that I was grateful to my God that I am a citizen of this great country and I rehearsed in my mind the pledge of allegiance that I had said and heard so many of thousands of times before, and I thought of the patriotic music that we have traditionally heard and sung on this day in times past.

My repose was broken when my mind suddenly reverted to just the previous day when my golf buddy and I were driving through a high-class neighborhood admiring the American flags displayed on many homes when my patriotic gratitude was suddenly shattered, for on the gate of one home was displayed a large American flag hung upside down with, in my mind, a diagonal red line cutting through it. It was an intentional act of disrespect for this country and maybe even defiance and it pushed my button as it did with the flag burnings of the 1960’s and ‘70’s. 

It rudely brought me back to the media news of the past 8-10 weeks with the violent protests and riots and the pulling down by dissidents of the erstwhile symbols of the heroes and builders of ‘America the beautiful.’

The destruction of art was to me like the burning of books.   

Increasingly we are seeing acts of defiance and desecration and destruction by those who have not defended, not consecrated, not contributed to or constructed much of anything.  They are not the builders, not the givers, not the faithful, not those who have sacrificed much—even their own lives—but rather the takers, the destroyers, the ignorant who know not the history of the rise and fall of great nations and cultures and even of civilization itself, much less the history of their own country. The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne had it right: “Ignorance of one’s own ignorance is the malady of the ignorant.” 

Maybe even the current viral epidemic that has brought the nations of the world to their knees is a metaphor for how small, even microscopic, things can upset the ‘angle of repose’ and sicken and kill a once-viable organism—even a nation. Such too are self-inflicted destroyers of even their own lives as are pornography or food or drug addicts.  And it can be a lesson on how things spread and get out-of-hand when people do not follow sensible guidelines—and how even the innocent fall when those infected with a virus, or an addiction, or ignorance, or hate are not contained.

But, on a positive note it is well to remember that small things, sometimes, can also turn negative events around.  A kind word can calm a troubled heart; a pacific but courageous spokesman such as a Mohandas Gandhi or a Martin L. King, or in a much greater way, a Jesus Christ can move millions to a different and superior way of life. A small immunization can prevent a life-threatening infection; a single act of self-discipline in a crisis of the spirit can be the act that brings about an inner victory; even a large ship can be turned about by a very small rudder.

My response to the desecrated flag incident this morning is this opinion piece.  It is a small thing, but I believe that “a word fitly spoken” (Proverbs 25:11), for words are strong things, can do more, in the long run, than ripping the flag off the gate, or pulling down the statue of a man who may have done some wrong thing he later regretted; or burning or looting a business or participating in a riot. For who is there who has not done something he wished he had not done, but who has later repented and done much good?  Or, ask yourself, Has not this country done more good to more people over a longer period of time than any country in the world, notwithstanding its current weakness and wickedness?  If you really know your history you will know this is true.

“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her [or our country or its symbols]. / And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one. . . even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone [with] the woman” (John 8:7-11).

 And no stones were cast that day.  

(ANTI-)SOCIAL DISTANCING

Having gone shopping for necessities, like you, we have probably noticed an interesting phenomenon in the experience.  The social component of shopping has been stripped of any social interaction with others.  Our trip to the store has become simply a necessary transaction to be done-with as quickly and safely as possible.

 It is, of course, very difficult to communicate while wearing a mask and staying at least 6 feet away from any other person.  The mask and the prescribed ‘social distance’ act as a barrier and introduces an implicit distrust and a fear of others as their being a potential threat to your own health or even your life. We look at each other with some suspicion, if we look at them at all, that they might be a ‘carrier’ of the dreaded virus. Especially is this so if we think their appearance fits with profiled characteristics of those who have been first afflicted—blacks, the elderly, those who are overweight, men, maybe those who we suspect as Chinese and those from ‘disadvantaged’ backgrounds. It manifests to others in ways similar to being in a strange land, or among people who don’t look like you, or don’t speak your language, or who do not share your values. 

These times are unsettling to those who thought they were settled.

All of this leads to isolation—which was intended by the authorities—to keep the virus from spreading, but also, unfortunately, leads to social withdrawal and the unintended consequences associated with that behavior.  

One of the consequences of ‘sheltering in place,’ or wearing a mask and gloves in public or constantly sanitizing one’s hands after touching anything is cabin-fever or a low-level paranoia and the syndrome associated with being by oneself or limited to one or a small number of immediate family.

Family is or can be one's greatest defense.  But we hear of those who find their family relationships beginning to be trying or compromised. People get edgy and inpatient; they become more sedentary, get out-of-shape, gain weight, are compelled to do some things they would not ordinarily do.

Steam can be let off under normal circumstances in common ways:  little-by-little through casual talking and interacting with others, engaging in normal routines, through exercise and walking in nature, through work in their normal work environment, through just being around others as in their churches, at restaurants, at public events, movies, etc. 

When pent-up people do come out into public, some begin acting out their frustrations about their way-of-life being threatened or rudely altered. They do this by deciding to take what they feel they had been denied: the things that they feel money can buy, their consequent deprivations because of lack of money, their fear of job insecurities, their real lack of income-to meet their needs for food and housing, their formal education being suspended, and their forecasts for a decent future  and hopes being dashed. 

Some get counter-reactive by engaging in social protest, unrest, even anarchy in venting their anxieties and needing to blame someone or something outside of themselves for their problems.  When personal dreams and aspirations are thwarted on a large-social scale that is when society and its public institutions can unravel and disintegrate very quickly. 

Anything can be a precipitating factor, a tipping-point that can lead to revolution—even war: then we have class against class, race against race, political polarization, the secular against the religious, have-nots against haves, youth against the aged, the well against the sick.

Learn the lessons of history  (which young people rarely learn these days) and then beware and prepare—especially if you are ‘privileged,’ or are a woman, or are of a class, race, culture, language, or place of origin where fearful things have been done by evil people in trying times.

The reality of our time is this: we are no longer insulated from anything—viruses, droughts, floods, fires, economic collapse, political instability, homelessness, or even starvation.  But there still is hope.  The answers are out there.  God is out there and He does not want to maintain a ‘social distance’ with you. You need to step into the light.

I end this somewhat gloomy social observation with an astute and overriding thought I received permission to copy from a Church talk given today by a good friend of mine.  Be aware of the other, but take this away as your bottom line and reflect on it often: 

          “May we . . . test positive for faith, keep distance from doubt, and isolate from fear, all the while we keep trusting in our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us the perfect way in all things, even spiritual preparedness.”

I have been taught in my Church: "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

TIMING

I have long been fascinated by the concept of timing. Maybe it started, or I at least became aware of it, in my early adolescence.  I heard the lyrics of a popular song that had in it the lyrics, “ticka ticka ticka good timing, timing . . . it’s true, it’s time that brought me to you.”  Maybe not too profound, but it got me thinking—and got me a wife about seven years later.

Timing is not something that happens in a vacuum; it is hooked to something else.  A homerun is a moving bat hooked for a microsecond of time to a moving ball. A good (or bad) outcome is being in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time.  My old car, later in my adolescence, would not run very well if my ignition timing was not ‘set’ so that the spark of the spark plug went off exactly when the piston was at the top of its stroke; a little bit ahead of time, or a little bit behind time would not give me the power the engine was capable of producing. Timing for a musician is absolutely critical if he or she hopes to succeed in an orchestra.

As you might guess, I learned from my early observations how to be a good hitter in baseball, a backyard mechanic in trying to keep my car running, a horn player in a band and a happy young man in timing it right with the right young woman.  It all took good timing.

Moving up from insights gained from a popular song in the late 50’s to a popular English author of the 19^th century to buttress my arguments, I turn to Charles Dickens: 

            “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us . . .” (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two  Cities ).

Though many would doubt it in this 21’st Century time of increasing catastrophes I would have to disagree with Dickens’ last line, “we had nothing before us. . . .” I would jump back in time to the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the Romans:

“. . . It is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light” (Romans 13: 11-12).

In my fascination with timing I have come to some (tentative) conclusions.  These have not been tested by the scientific method or confirmed by authoritative pronouncements, but rather by some of my experiences of a lifetime of learning—here a little and there a little, observation upon observation,  line upon line, response upon reflection, trial upon error, faith upon hope . . . . These things bear upon good timing and therefore upon a positive outcome.

·        Cause and effect always come into play with result.  ‘Luck’ is largely an illusion.  You make your own luck; and luck is made of work and work takes time. 

·        You’ve got to slow down and really pay attention to what the situation shows to you if you are a patient, careful observer.  The answer or right approach is, more often than not, right in front of you. It may be veiled, but it is right there. If you are thinking about a matter still undone, the timing is probably now.

·        Learn the important principles that appertain to whatever you are trying to accomplish, and you will find they are connected to timing.

 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to [harvest]; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; . . . a time to get, and a time to lose . . . (etc.)” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

·        There are two sides to every coin (or opinion, or experience). Which side are you looking at?

“We need to be careful how we deal with those about us, when every death carries to some small circle of survivors thoughts of so much omitted, and so little done—of so many things forgotten, and so many more which might have been repaired! There is no remorse so deep as that which is unavailing; if we would be spared its tortures, let us remember this, in time.”

(Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist)

It is time that I end this. 

CENTURY 21: Life 2.0

“. . .Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. . . .” / “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:12, 17)?

It has often been said that ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’  A juxtaposition is in order, for it can just as legitimately be said that ‘Catastrophe is in the experience of the victim.’ Let us put a little perspective on our current catastrophe, the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Tragedy is not exclusive to any one time, or place, or people, or cause.  It does not need to reach a quantitative threshold or ‘tipping-point.’  The condition or situation or disaster does not have to affect a million or a billion people to be as painful, disruptive, shattering or life-altering as can a single incident to a single person.  The person who is hit and maimed or killed by a D.U.I. driver, the passengers who die at the hands of a terrorist shooter or bomber, the little human being who is aborted, the teenager who is duped into trying drugs and his or her altered life (or death if an overdose or suicide is the outcome) shatter the family left in the wake of their hopes and dreams of seeing their son or daughter, brother or sister go down. The community that is hit by a devastating tornado, or wildfire, or localized flood, or entire nation by a famine.  The scenarios go on and on.

It doesn’t take a world war, or an economic depression, or a volcanic eruption or a pandemic such as we are in now to tip the scales to a radically-altered life-style for the survivors.  

So what we come down to is Life 2.0—our personal or national or global status-quo being radically altered.  It will be for all people at some point in their lives or in the lives of the survivors who are left to pick up the pieces.  We should not “think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you. . . .” 

The thing to understand is that it will come.  Knowing or believing that, we should be as prepared as we can for whatever eventuality is likely to come to us.  We should have a supply of food, water, medications, medical supplies, tools and fuel on hand.  We should have some cash on hand.  We should, all along, make wise decisions regarding the food we eat, the daily exercise we should get, the things we do or have done that make us vulnerable to being taken down: things such as our hygiene practices, our skills (or lack of them) regarding first aid, of how to grow things, financial management, practices leading to sound emotional strength and resourcefulness.  We need fitness for living.

At least as important as any of these things, as you might guess if you are familiar with any of my perspectives articulated in these essays over the years (and the scriptural citation at the beginning of this piece), is the importance of having the knowledge of why these trials must come about to all mortals, and what we can do about them.  What are our spiritual resources to help us cope and understand? 

If people would not reject out-of-hand the assertion that there is a people who believe that there is a Prophet of God on the earth, right now, and His Church, who have some answers and are at peace with them they could likewise better cope.

But, of course, there are far more than the 17 million souls who belong to this Church, who don’t believe and would rather put their trust in science, or CNN or Fox, or their government, or themselves, to weather this storm, and the next, and the next. 

Well, good luck. 

“And when [Jesus]was come into his own country, he taught them . . . insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?  Is not this the carpenter’s son?  And they were offended in him.  But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country. . . and he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:53-58). 

LEAN ON ME

Let’s take this as a first thought—the need to belong to somebody. 

If we ever have, or have had, the privilege of becoming a parent we must know at the outset that the child we parent needs to know that they belong to us, at least for the first 15-20 years, maybe longer--that he or she can count on us until the time comes they must stand on their own.   As a parent we must be reliable.  We will provide for them, we will protect them, will care about them—will value them, won’t abandon them or abandon their other parent. And in some way, though they can’t articulate it, they intrinsically feel their parent needs them. In short, that they will love us and they can count on our reciprocation. 

Since we were all this child we have experienced this to one degree or another.

Take it one step back.  If we have the privilege of marrying, the same basic assumptions or expectations are in place.  Many marriage ceremonies have in them the language that the woman ‘gives herself’ to the man and vice-versa.  If it is less than that then a built-in instability or weak foundation will one day give way when faced with the stresses the relationship will inevitably have to face. Somebody will get hurt—and someone may likely feel they are adrift—that they belong to nobody. This is not true, but many feel that way. 

There are a couple of ways out of this. 

  

If we do not feel we are ‘number 1’ in somebody’s life, we will still seek to belong to somebody—even if they are ‘number 2—or 3’ or more. If we can’t find that ‘somebody’ as a substitute for an intrinsic family relationship or for most, the ‘programmed-in’ need for a marriage counterpart, the need will, probably less-satisfactorily be met by somebody or some organization or group or gang or something that in some way needs us.  It is a human imperative—this need to belong.

There are others, though, many others, who can help.

Songwriter-singer Bill Withers died yesterday.  His song, ‘Lean On Me,’ inspired many that there are others, indeed we could be the ‘other’ in other circumstances, there to help.  Many of my generation and even much later remember his words: 

“LEAN ON ME”:

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on

For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won't let show

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on . . .

Be the ‘other’ that someone can lean on.  As you do, both of you can be made strong until the day you need “somebody to lean on”!

THEODICY

With the relentless barrage of tragedies and disasters, the current epidemic, acts of violence, even wars and rumors of wars, which we personally experience or hear of in the 24/7 news media,  people need to find some explanation of why these things are happening and who or what may behind them. 

This is a big topic, one addressed by philosophy and religion for millennia.  I hope you stay with me and take time to think it through.

Many explanations are tendered. Some people in our time blame it all on ‘climate change’ caused by the ‘carbon footprint’ which humanity leaves on the planet. Some blame it on some ‘ism’—communism or capitalism or some other ‘ism’; others blame it exclusively on the devil or  bad people concluding that man is inherently evil; others attribute it to sunspots or asteroids, on ‘nature,’ or on bad governments.  I concede that many of these things may be involved.  

Or, people may attribute our troubles and tragedies to God. I reject that view.  

It is to this attribution that I write this essay.

Theodicy is a word philosophers and religious scholars use to address the problem of good and evil (theo=God / dicy [or dike]= evil) and how God is related to it. It is the strongest increasingly secular (without God) or cultural objection to belief in a purposive and worthy-of-worshiping deity.  The basic argument of the secularists and agnostics is:  'If there is a god and God is "good" and all-powerful as "religionists" say,  why does he allow these atrocities to happen—especially to good or innocent people-- especially if he created them?'  A good question.

These are my answers and assumptions and premises as a Christian:
  

As one who believes in the Christian (and only true and revealed and universal) God, I am convinced He is real and He is good.  My belief in the Bible, its teachings, and in the credibility of its many witnesses (prophets and apostles and God’s firstborn son Jesus Christ) carries great weight.  Likewise my testimony of the truthfulness of other books of scripture, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ and its many human witnesses (I have carefully read, studied, pondered and prayed about it; most critics have not) even more strongly supports this view, and the books of Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price, give strong Historical evidence and are available for examination for those who will look at them without bias. My own personal testimony by the Holy Ghost cements these other testaments (it follows that I also believe the Holy Ghost is real, as I do the divinity of Jesus Christ). 

·       The problem is, people do not exercise the faith to come to know the character of God; they do not know that His work and His glory is to "bring to pass the immortality and Eternal life of man."   God is grieved by these tragedies as are we. He did not cause the tragedies, but he does allow many to occur and play out to their natural conclusions. (And some, when we get the bigger picture, may not be the tragedies we think they are.)  The scriptures support this.

·        God may have the power to prevent tragedies and atrocities from happening but generally won’t intervene. One reason is that God, Himself, operates under divine pre-existing Law and Eternal principles; he cannot violate them and still be God. He may invoke some other law (yet undiscovered by man) which creates or allows 'miracles to happen, but these are clearly the exception because miracles do not create spiritual growth and spiritual growth is one major reason why we were sent to this earth.

     Another reason is because He sent us here to exercise our moral agency for good or for ill, to prove ourselves and ‘work out our own salvation’ in an environment of many options and conditions—from the best to the worst.  Work and even pain or other opposition is necessary to growth. Those who are not accountable and suffer (e.g., little children and the mentally or otherwise seriously handicapped) will be saved by the grace of Christ’s Atonement.  The rest of us will be ‘saved’ by obedience to the conditions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the plan of happiness—and the gift of His Atonement. All will be redeemed (made immortal) but not will be 'saved' in the Kingdom of God because of their choices. God is merciful as well as just. 

·       The earth itself, as were all people, as the Bible tells us, was created good by God (actually ‘organized’ pre-existing matter, not created ‘ex nihilo’—meaning ‘out of nothing’).  The earth and all things placed upon it, however, ‘fell’, or was removed, from the direct influence of God by the consequence of broken law (for all broken laws have consequences) but could, in their own time, be redeemed by Christ (through the resurrection commemorated on the day we call 'Easter').

·        As to the present ills caused by man himself, or the nature of Nature—the earth itself, its geology and entropy over time—the Atonement of Christ, in congruence with man’s obedience to the Law which covers all things, became the remedy to all of man’s temporal and spiritual challenges—even those caused by natural processes or by other people. But remedies are not always painless until healing or wholeness occurs. 

     Evil is real. There is a real devil (not the cartoon variety) called Satan. Suffering is real and none will escape it. Even Christ did not. Suffering is not always (and usually isn't) a form of Divine punishment or even discipline. Christ did not live and die to end all suffering, but to end all needless (self-imposed or self-generated) suffering.  Sometimes we, like Christ himself, need to "learn obedience by the things He suffered." And Christ, unlike ourselves, was sinless.  

·       This life and this earth is not a playground, but is a laboratory and testing center.  We come to it by choice (we signed a ‘contract’ as it were) and we come with the preparations and attitudes we developed in our pre-earth life.  We knew that it was worth it to come—as difficult as it might be.

·        Notwithstanding the challenges, some of which are horrific, people can succeed with the help of Christ and the help of each other. Pain is not permanent. Death is part of the plan. Life is worth living.  “Man is that he might have joy.”  “All your losses will be made up to you in the resurrection provided you continue faithful.” (Joseph Smith, Jr.)

·        Man is confronted with the bitter--there is much of it-- so he can appreciate the sweet--which will overcome all human tragedy and bitterness —and through trial and obedience come to know his Redeemer and Savior and thus receive a far more abundant life. 

Those are my thoughts what it is all about.