Have you read “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ”? Have you even heard of it? I have and I must say that it is probably the most important book in my life. It has testified to me again and again of the true role of the Savior Jesus Christ. It has added depth and meaning to his teachings, working hand in hand with the testimonies provided by the Holy Bible. It has provided comfort and direction in times when life’s challenges were great. It has been a source of peace and comfort as well as understanding when I needed it most. It is a book that brings truth and clarity, dispelling the clouds that often line the path of life. It builds on the truth and light found from all sources helping me to grow in wisdom and learning as I seek to follow in the Savior’s footsteps, to be like Him and to return to live with our Father in Heaven.
If you have read the Bible or even just parts of it and have felt the richness of the spirit it brings then you owe it to yourself to add unto it by reading The Book of Mormon. If you have felt intimidated by the Bible because it feels awkward to read at times, then start with The Book of Mormon. They both testify of Christ for out of the mouth of two witnesses shall the truth be established.
Fear not what others have told you about the nature of The Book of Mormon either to the good or the bad but rather find out for yourself. The Bible itself was taught by word of mouth for many generations before it was available in printed form by which each person could read and gain testimony for themselves the truth contained therein. The same spirit of testimony that will let you know of the truthfulness of the Bible will let you know of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon. It is a promise contained within the book that those that will read this book and ask of God if it is true, that the truthfulness thereof will be made known unto them by the power of the Holy Ghost.
I have done this very thing and know without a doubt that The Book of Mormon is true and is the work of God. If you will read it with real intent you will come to know this also of your own accord. I, like many before me, desire that all partake of this special gift. The book can be found at many book sales sites, new and used book stores, libraries and all the usual places but if you would like a free copy now, you can go to mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon. There you will find links to download the book in written form or as an audio book, or you can have a hard copy delivered to you. It is all free but its value can truly be priceless.
The book is published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The members are sometimes referred to as Mormons and the nickname was given because of this book. I am a member. The web site above will link to other pages that may help answer some questions about the church for those with an interest but what is really important is that you obtain a copy and then read it.
This book is the keystone of our religion. If it is not true then the rest cannot stand, but I know that it is true and I want you to know also, one way or the other, but you must know for yourself, by yourself through the power of God, and the only way to do that is for you to gain possession of this book then obtain that knowledge yourself. One way or the other your life will change by the reading of this book.
May God bless you with this gift as He has me.
05 November 2011
25 September 2011
Quick change the channel
Boring...change the channel.
Irritating...change the channel.
Annoying...change the channel.
Don't want to think about it...change the channel.
Not interested...change the channel.
Disgusting...change the channel.
I have tuned into too many things over the years I guess that my level of interest has waned a bit. I am not saying this is a bad thing. After you have spent so many hours seeing the same old thing played out in the same old way over and over again, perhaps it is better to change the channel in an effort to find something new, and if not new at least worthwhile and of good report. That isn't always easy to do these days.
Thing is there really isn't a lot of worthwhile stuff out there so you really have to make an effort to find something of good report.
I suppose that part of the reason finding something new is that I have experienced so much of it before and find the new stuff mere copies, imitations, sequels and out and out ripoffs of the previous stuff.
Sequels are o.k. if you are truly building upon the foundation and adding to the flavor of the original, but more often than not it is just someone cashing in on the popularity of the original and not putting a lot of effort into it. Think of any Hal Needham movie done the second time.
Or sometimes, someone thinks it would be a good idea to remake a classic. Trouble is it is seldom if ever as good as the original. They know this and yet they do it anyway. Why? Because they know that if the wait long enough to do the remake, they will have a new audience to play to, one that has not experienced the original and will have no basis for comparison. Do you think Pat Boone would have been anywhere near as successful with "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti" if his audiences had heard them done by Little Richard first?
For those of you that do not get the above references, and for those that do but know of some that will not, that is my point. To the young, everything is new and it is all being experienced for the first time. It is still judged for its merit but with little baseline to compare it too it rates pretty well. How else can you explain some of the drivel out there?
For those of us that have been around the block a time or two, the bar is raised. Sadly the bar does not have to move up much to exclude 80% of what is presented in the way of T.V., movies and music.
And that leads me to a problem. My attention span (that was pretty short to begin with) has been cut in half yet again. I can scan the preset radio stations on my car faster by hand than with the scan button. I can scan T.V channels faster than anyone in the room is ready to appreciate and not experience a small case of motion sickness. I can peruse web pages faster than they are meant to be enjoyed. (Don't even bother getting me started on staff meetings.) What I am saying is I can name that tune in three notes (another obscure reference for those keeping score) and decide if it is something that I want to continue with or move on to the next object faster than Simon Cowell can make a buck, euro, or pound. (That reference was at least a little more current I hope.)
And move on is what I do best. Because I have too spend more and more time trying to locate something worthwhile, I have less and less time to spend enjoying that something worthwhile which should. This tends to drive the bar higher still in an attempt to only spend my time on the best of the best.
This behavior also tends to push me outside the typical marketing demographics. I don't seem to mind except now advertising increasingly tends to be an annoyance and intrusion more than the communal interaction intended. In other words, they don't get me and I don't get them.
Let me expand on that just a little with an example. If you search on a news item to get a little more information and it takes you to a news media web site that has an inserted video to go with the text, my advice is to just read the text. More often than not the video, even if it is interesting though short on depth, will begin with an inserted, irrelevant video advertisement. These ads have been shortened to 15 seconds usually but that seems like an unusually long amount of time to put up with to watch a 2 minute segment in this day and age. I have and will regularly hit the mute button on these ads while I wait for what I am really after, but lately I find myself hitting the back button, leaving the site entirely and searching for what I am after elsewhere. And all because 15 seconds has become too long.
It isn't has if there are no other ads being flung at us as the web page itself is usually littered with them. They are static, passive unless clicked on and mostly unobtrusive. These video inserts are more demanding because they have what is essentially a captive audience. That is they are captive only in so far as the person desires to see the content provided. Kinda like regular T.V. in that way. But I am not captive or captivated and so I "change the channel". Often.
So what is the real downside here? There is nothing wrong with trying to avoid crap in whatever form it takes.
The downside is when you get in hyper scan mode it becomes difficult to take it down a notch when you finally come across something worthwhile. It is hard to slow down to a pace that will let you appreciate what you have found let alone slow down to the point that you can immerse yourself in the topic at hand.
And sadly I find myself slowing down less often for other things besides T.V, movies and music. I find myself having a hard time slowing down for people. I mean really connecting with others without having my mind racing off in half a dozen other directions. I find that to be one of the saddest things of all. But awareness is one of the first steps to recovery so I am putting forth effort to keep myself in the present as much as possible and especially around others.
That doesn't mean I will turn off my crap meter, it just means I wont be so quick to hit the next button when I am dealing with a human.
Non-humans on the other hand don't have any feelings so they shouldn't feel offended when I "change the channel".
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Irritating...change the channel.
Annoying...change the channel.
Don't want to think about it...change the channel.
Not interested...change the channel.
Disgusting...change the channel.
I have tuned into too many things over the years I guess that my level of interest has waned a bit. I am not saying this is a bad thing. After you have spent so many hours seeing the same old thing played out in the same old way over and over again, perhaps it is better to change the channel in an effort to find something new, and if not new at least worthwhile and of good report. That isn't always easy to do these days.
Thing is there really isn't a lot of worthwhile stuff out there so you really have to make an effort to find something of good report.
I suppose that part of the reason finding something new is that I have experienced so much of it before and find the new stuff mere copies, imitations, sequels and out and out ripoffs of the previous stuff.
Sequels are o.k. if you are truly building upon the foundation and adding to the flavor of the original, but more often than not it is just someone cashing in on the popularity of the original and not putting a lot of effort into it. Think of any Hal Needham movie done the second time.
Or sometimes, someone thinks it would be a good idea to remake a classic. Trouble is it is seldom if ever as good as the original. They know this and yet they do it anyway. Why? Because they know that if the wait long enough to do the remake, they will have a new audience to play to, one that has not experienced the original and will have no basis for comparison. Do you think Pat Boone would have been anywhere near as successful with "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti Frutti" if his audiences had heard them done by Little Richard first?
For those of you that do not get the above references, and for those that do but know of some that will not, that is my point. To the young, everything is new and it is all being experienced for the first time. It is still judged for its merit but with little baseline to compare it too it rates pretty well. How else can you explain some of the drivel out there?
For those of us that have been around the block a time or two, the bar is raised. Sadly the bar does not have to move up much to exclude 80% of what is presented in the way of T.V., movies and music.
And that leads me to a problem. My attention span (that was pretty short to begin with) has been cut in half yet again. I can scan the preset radio stations on my car faster by hand than with the scan button. I can scan T.V channels faster than anyone in the room is ready to appreciate and not experience a small case of motion sickness. I can peruse web pages faster than they are meant to be enjoyed. (Don't even bother getting me started on staff meetings.) What I am saying is I can name that tune in three notes (another obscure reference for those keeping score) and decide if it is something that I want to continue with or move on to the next object faster than Simon Cowell can make a buck, euro, or pound. (That reference was at least a little more current I hope.)
And move on is what I do best. Because I have too spend more and more time trying to locate something worthwhile, I have less and less time to spend enjoying that something worthwhile which should. This tends to drive the bar higher still in an attempt to only spend my time on the best of the best.
This behavior also tends to push me outside the typical marketing demographics. I don't seem to mind except now advertising increasingly tends to be an annoyance and intrusion more than the communal interaction intended. In other words, they don't get me and I don't get them.
Let me expand on that just a little with an example. If you search on a news item to get a little more information and it takes you to a news media web site that has an inserted video to go with the text, my advice is to just read the text. More often than not the video, even if it is interesting though short on depth, will begin with an inserted, irrelevant video advertisement. These ads have been shortened to 15 seconds usually but that seems like an unusually long amount of time to put up with to watch a 2 minute segment in this day and age. I have and will regularly hit the mute button on these ads while I wait for what I am really after, but lately I find myself hitting the back button, leaving the site entirely and searching for what I am after elsewhere. And all because 15 seconds has become too long.
It isn't has if there are no other ads being flung at us as the web page itself is usually littered with them. They are static, passive unless clicked on and mostly unobtrusive. These video inserts are more demanding because they have what is essentially a captive audience. That is they are captive only in so far as the person desires to see the content provided. Kinda like regular T.V. in that way. But I am not captive or captivated and so I "change the channel". Often.
So what is the real downside here? There is nothing wrong with trying to avoid crap in whatever form it takes.
The downside is when you get in hyper scan mode it becomes difficult to take it down a notch when you finally come across something worthwhile. It is hard to slow down to a pace that will let you appreciate what you have found let alone slow down to the point that you can immerse yourself in the topic at hand.
And sadly I find myself slowing down less often for other things besides T.V, movies and music. I find myself having a hard time slowing down for people. I mean really connecting with others without having my mind racing off in half a dozen other directions. I find that to be one of the saddest things of all. But awareness is one of the first steps to recovery so I am putting forth effort to keep myself in the present as much as possible and especially around others.
That doesn't mean I will turn off my crap meter, it just means I wont be so quick to hit the next button when I am dealing with a human.
Non-humans on the other hand don't have any feelings so they shouldn't feel offended when I "change the channel".
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
12 August 2011
The balanced budget amendment is hooey
With the latest financial crisis in America ever present in the minds of some and totally ignored by others (and sadly those that should be paying attention) new talk of a balanced budget amendment is raising it's head yet again. This is total political hype and haymaking and belongs in the area of things to be laughed at and made fun of and here is why. A balanced budget amendment like term limits and debt ceiling limits is a sign of weakness in the individuals that wish to have them. They are also not realistic solutions to very real problems.
Let me explain. Say you had a weight problem and were trying to get your weight back under control but your will power, resolve, and commitment to diet and exercise were just too great for you to handle. What do you do? Well the first thing I would do is pass a law that would not allow my bathroom scale to go over 200 lbs. I know for a guy my size that that is still considered overweight but really 200 lbs. is only a little overweight and wouldn't put me in the category of obese.
Of course the law of gravity (which wasn't written by me and for some reason can't be vetoed by me) is conspiring against my newly written law. But wait, there is a solution, I will buy a new scale for my bathroom, one that only goes to 200 lbs. In fact let's pass another law that says that no one can manufacture or purchase or own any bathroom scales that allow readings greater than 200. Just think of the spurt to the economy we will have from everyone having to replace all those old scales. And this rule applies to everyone equally because we care enough about you that we don't want anyone to weigh more than 200 lbs.
Oh but wait, what about the lineman who play for the Packers? Sports fans are not going to be please when they open their stat sheets only to find that their team is so evenly matched up with the opposing team with every player on the offensive and defensive line at an average weight of 200 lbs. Perhaps we should create an exemption for locker rooms. But then what should the new limit be for locker rooms? And should that be all sport locker rooms or just those of football players? Would the local fitness gym count?
And what about size? Should a 7 foot person be held to the same 200 lbs. limit, and should there be a lower limit for people under 5 feet tall? What if someone bought a metric scale, would a 200 kilogram limit apply?
I could go on and on but you quickly see how silly this stuff can get and this really is how some of our laws get created, especially the ones that shouldn't be laws in the first place as the bathroom scale represents. It is not in the charter people, it does not belong.
As I have stated before many of our laws are created to prevent you from doing or having something that I don't want you to have or do. Term limits where created as a way to remove a candidate that someone else didn't agree with but didn't have enough influence to remove with a legitimate alternative. You would think that common sense would prevail from the majority but as is too often the case common sense is not that common. How else do you explain the reelection time after time of (insert name here but contain yourself to the top 20 that come to mind)? Of course you have to think that if the people continue to put (insert name) back in office then they fully deserve what they get. And if the people of (insert state) wish to be represented by (insert name) then that is their right and I as a member of (insert other state) should have no say in it other than to make sure I am represented by someone who better expresses my viewpoint than (insert name).
Well that is all fine and dandy for the actions of others but what about for yourself? The key words is action and for self. When it comes to being a grown up and an individual we somewhere along the way begin to take responsibility for our own actions, which includes the outcome or consequences of those actions. Some of those consequences are automatic and consistent. If I jump up in the air, I will return to earth (there is that law of gravity again). There are certain rules we all must abide whether we know them or not. We can not impose our will over them just by saying they are not so. And if we say that we weigh 200 lbs. when we do not that is called a lie or at the very least a deception meant for others but mostly for self.
So if it is not a law or should not be then what is it? A GOAL. We can have a goal to have a balanced budget. The proposed law is an attempt to force an action to obtain the goal but it is a forced action and goal both of which are poorly defined, stated and acted upon. The debt ceiling was made into law in an effort to control an out of control government. It is not effective in that it has not made any headway in that regard. Because of it's failure to constrain the government fiscally it has been rewritten constantly to change the total debt limit more times than the number of years it has been in existence. It is like passing a law that says I can not weigh more than 200 only to rewrite it the next day at 201 and the next day at 202 and the next day at 203 and so on and so on and so on.
The other factor that comes into play with these types of legislation is the exemptions. They totally negate the effect you were after by introducing the loopholes by which you can ignore your own rules. We will have a balanced budget every year except when we can't, like during times of war or times of peace or times of famine or times of recession or times of emergency such as tsunamis or floods or hurricanes or tornadoes or earthquakes or depressions or election years or any time one of our neighbors has one of these problems. Oh yeah, and I will never eat chocolate again, unless I have a craving for some that can only be resolved by the ingesting of some form of chocolate.
Getting the idea.
We are the ones that are responsible for achieving our own goals, and we are the ones responsible for defining what those goals are and what rules we will give ourselves to obtain those goals. We then measure our success by how well we achieve our goals or how well we are progressing towards achieving them.
Our elected representatives are put in those positions to fulfill the will of the people. How successful they are is measured by how well they fulfill the will of the people they represent. If the people wish for a balanced budget, a debt ceiling, or a term limit, they do not need a special law enacted. They must take the action to find and elect a representative that will work on their behalf to reach these goals. They must then communicate their desires (goals) and monitor the progress of their representative to see that they are still their representative. If they really wanted a balanced budget then they would pass a balanced budget and with integrity only pass legislation that supported fiscal responsibility.
If we really wanted a balanced budget we also would be willing to accept nothing less. This means not accepting the handouts and entitlement programs that have been used by politicians for years to buy your votes and influence our support.
Just as we know what actions we must take to obtain a healthy weight, politicians know what actions they must take to obtain a healthy fiscal position with which to maintain a strong nation. If they don't, they don't belong there. If they know what they should do but they prefer not to act for their own reasons then they don't belong there. If they are not willing to act towards reaching our goals, simply put, they do not belong there.
If we are not willing to act to obtain our goals then we should not be surprised in the least when our goals are not met. All worthy goals take effort especially if you desire a worthy outcome. And you don't have to have a law written to make it happen. Just do it.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Let me explain. Say you had a weight problem and were trying to get your weight back under control but your will power, resolve, and commitment to diet and exercise were just too great for you to handle. What do you do? Well the first thing I would do is pass a law that would not allow my bathroom scale to go over 200 lbs. I know for a guy my size that that is still considered overweight but really 200 lbs. is only a little overweight and wouldn't put me in the category of obese.
Of course the law of gravity (which wasn't written by me and for some reason can't be vetoed by me) is conspiring against my newly written law. But wait, there is a solution, I will buy a new scale for my bathroom, one that only goes to 200 lbs. In fact let's pass another law that says that no one can manufacture or purchase or own any bathroom scales that allow readings greater than 200. Just think of the spurt to the economy we will have from everyone having to replace all those old scales. And this rule applies to everyone equally because we care enough about you that we don't want anyone to weigh more than 200 lbs.
Oh but wait, what about the lineman who play for the Packers? Sports fans are not going to be please when they open their stat sheets only to find that their team is so evenly matched up with the opposing team with every player on the offensive and defensive line at an average weight of 200 lbs. Perhaps we should create an exemption for locker rooms. But then what should the new limit be for locker rooms? And should that be all sport locker rooms or just those of football players? Would the local fitness gym count?
And what about size? Should a 7 foot person be held to the same 200 lbs. limit, and should there be a lower limit for people under 5 feet tall? What if someone bought a metric scale, would a 200 kilogram limit apply?
I could go on and on but you quickly see how silly this stuff can get and this really is how some of our laws get created, especially the ones that shouldn't be laws in the first place as the bathroom scale represents. It is not in the charter people, it does not belong.
As I have stated before many of our laws are created to prevent you from doing or having something that I don't want you to have or do. Term limits where created as a way to remove a candidate that someone else didn't agree with but didn't have enough influence to remove with a legitimate alternative. You would think that common sense would prevail from the majority but as is too often the case common sense is not that common. How else do you explain the reelection time after time of (insert name here but contain yourself to the top 20 that come to mind)? Of course you have to think that if the people continue to put (insert name) back in office then they fully deserve what they get. And if the people of (insert state) wish to be represented by (insert name) then that is their right and I as a member of (insert other state) should have no say in it other than to make sure I am represented by someone who better expresses my viewpoint than (insert name).
Well that is all fine and dandy for the actions of others but what about for yourself? The key words is action and for self. When it comes to being a grown up and an individual we somewhere along the way begin to take responsibility for our own actions, which includes the outcome or consequences of those actions. Some of those consequences are automatic and consistent. If I jump up in the air, I will return to earth (there is that law of gravity again). There are certain rules we all must abide whether we know them or not. We can not impose our will over them just by saying they are not so. And if we say that we weigh 200 lbs. when we do not that is called a lie or at the very least a deception meant for others but mostly for self.
So if it is not a law or should not be then what is it? A GOAL. We can have a goal to have a balanced budget. The proposed law is an attempt to force an action to obtain the goal but it is a forced action and goal both of which are poorly defined, stated and acted upon. The debt ceiling was made into law in an effort to control an out of control government. It is not effective in that it has not made any headway in that regard. Because of it's failure to constrain the government fiscally it has been rewritten constantly to change the total debt limit more times than the number of years it has been in existence. It is like passing a law that says I can not weigh more than 200 only to rewrite it the next day at 201 and the next day at 202 and the next day at 203 and so on and so on and so on.
The other factor that comes into play with these types of legislation is the exemptions. They totally negate the effect you were after by introducing the loopholes by which you can ignore your own rules. We will have a balanced budget every year except when we can't, like during times of war or times of peace or times of famine or times of recession or times of emergency such as tsunamis or floods or hurricanes or tornadoes or earthquakes or depressions or election years or any time one of our neighbors has one of these problems. Oh yeah, and I will never eat chocolate again, unless I have a craving for some that can only be resolved by the ingesting of some form of chocolate.
Getting the idea.
We are the ones that are responsible for achieving our own goals, and we are the ones responsible for defining what those goals are and what rules we will give ourselves to obtain those goals. We then measure our success by how well we achieve our goals or how well we are progressing towards achieving them.
Our elected representatives are put in those positions to fulfill the will of the people. How successful they are is measured by how well they fulfill the will of the people they represent. If the people wish for a balanced budget, a debt ceiling, or a term limit, they do not need a special law enacted. They must take the action to find and elect a representative that will work on their behalf to reach these goals. They must then communicate their desires (goals) and monitor the progress of their representative to see that they are still their representative. If they really wanted a balanced budget then they would pass a balanced budget and with integrity only pass legislation that supported fiscal responsibility.
If we really wanted a balanced budget we also would be willing to accept nothing less. This means not accepting the handouts and entitlement programs that have been used by politicians for years to buy your votes and influence our support.
Just as we know what actions we must take to obtain a healthy weight, politicians know what actions they must take to obtain a healthy fiscal position with which to maintain a strong nation. If they don't, they don't belong there. If they know what they should do but they prefer not to act for their own reasons then they don't belong there. If they are not willing to act towards reaching our goals, simply put, they do not belong there.
If we are not willing to act to obtain our goals then we should not be surprised in the least when our goals are not met. All worthy goals take effort especially if you desire a worthy outcome. And you don't have to have a law written to make it happen. Just do it.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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