In the last many years, we’ve seen many movements based upon anger, often justifiable anger. Blacks Lives Matter, Me Too, and several others have declared their anger towards society and its failure to protect and help them.

Society Has failed them (and us). It has created the environment for peoples everywhere to be mistreated, abused, harmed, and enslaved. Nephi saw what to expect of society in our day:

 4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.

  5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;

  6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.

  7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us

  8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

  9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.

  10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.

  11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.

 12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.

  13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.

(2 Nephi 28).

Even the once good organizations have become corrupted. No one sees a problem with digging a pit for others. Even God will look the other way because of cheap grace. Pride allows all of us to justify our sins, and still think God accepts us. Society, including its churches, will persecute the meek and poor!

So, how do the poor and afflicted respond to the failures of society?

For behold, at that day shall he (Satan) rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

  21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

  22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

  23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

  24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!

  25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!

  26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost! (2 Ne 28).

Beginning next week, Daniel Ortner and I will begin a book club to discuss the Church’s new history book, Saints vol 1.

We’ll have two posts per month, each covering two chapters. The chapters are rather short, so it will be easy reading. All are  invited to share in the comments. It may be a chance to compare this with other books on Joseph Smith

The first post will also cover the introduction.

Book Review: The Expanded Canon, Perspectives on Mormonism and Sacred Texts
Edited by: Blair G. Van Dyke, Brian D. Birch, and Boyd J. Peterson

This is the first in a planned series of volumes, looking to expand our understanding of the LDS canon and related documents. For those familiar with the Joseph Smith Papers Project will understand, the development of modern scripture is quite complex – even in Joseph Smith’s day. We often do not know the underpinnings that create or influence the documents we hold sacred, including the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants, and the proclamations and official statements made by the First Presidency and Twelve over the almost 200 years of the Church’s existence. We will see that the Expanded Canon, vol 1, takes a hearty stab at expanding our understanding of events and actions that impacted our perception of sacred scripture today. Continue reading →

Book review of Converting the Saints, A Study of Religious Rivalry in America, by Charles Randall Paul

Back in 1980, I was standing at the railroad station in the southern Bolivia town of Yacuiba, waiting for my new missionary companion to arrive. Having only been a member for a few years, I had never come across missionaries from a Protestant church before. On that night, however, I came across about a dozen Baptist missionaries traveling to their next assignment, among indigenous cannibals. All were very friendly and happy to see a fellow American, except for one. He had been a Baptist missionary in Brigham City, Utah a few years earlier. Instantly, he wanted to debate what he believed was Mormon doctrine, throwing out one controversial teaching after another. Fortunately, he came upon a teaching that I was able to show in the Bible. When he protested it as a bad translation (I was using the KJV), I asked him if he believed scripture was God breathed. When he answered affirmatively, I then said he would have to consider the LDS teaching on the issue as a possibility. He quickly ended our conversation and left.

Upon seeing the title, Converting the Saints, I initially thought it would be filled with anecdotes of preaching to the Mormons in Utah. Happily, I found the book to be this and so much more. Continue reading →

Henry David Thoreau once said, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” This is also true of immigration, a long time problem that Washington DC has grappled with for more than a century.

The issue never goes away, because government never really deals with it, but only uses it as political fodder. George W. Bush attempted a compassionate method to deal with immigration, but the Republican Congress voted it down, fearing the next election. Barack Obama promised his constituents that immigration would be the first issue he tacked as president, only to side step it completely until after his second election, when he decided to side step the Constitution in proclaiming DACA as an executive order. It was just too easy for the next opposition president to tear up the paper it was written on.

Neither major party is truly interested in a solution. They claim they do, but it isn’t in their interests to do so. Too many Republican voters fear immigrants, convinced they all belong to the MS13 gang. Meanwhile, most Democrats refuse to do any compromising with Donald Trump, who is willing to give immigration reform if he can get a wall.

Yes, taking kids away from their parents because they committed a misdemeanor crime by entering the country is wrong and tragic. No, it isn’t anything like Hitler’s concentration camps. Both sides are so full of hyperbole and BS that we could fertilize all the cornfields in America (if their BS wasn’t so toxic!). Such stupid speech from both sides paralyzes the conversation. The kids still aren’t reunited with their parents, and won’t be until some tough compromises are made. Remember how Ronald  Reagan and Tip O’Neill used to arm wrestle through tough legislation on Social Security, Welfare, Star Wars, etc.? It wasn’t easy, perfect or pretty, but it created a strong America with a long lasting growing economy. Remember when Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress got serious and passed Workfare and a balanced budget? Again, not a pretty process, but it worked.

Insincerity drives Congress and presidents to make promises that they do not keep. It isn’t just an immigration issue. Remember Obama promising immigration, but instead delivered a massive, expensive health program that almost no one wanted, but guaranteed Neo-socialist control of 1/6 of the economy?

Republicans promised us a quick war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then messed up the systems, so that they collapsed even further into chaos. Now, we are in eternal warfare on several fronts, where we sometimes are fighting against Iran, and sometimes with them! The prison system is filled with victims from another war, the war on drugs. While some states and many doctors now recognize the importance of cannabis in pain relief for cancer, PTSD, and other illnesses, Jeff Sessions continues to act like marijuana is worse than the opioid crisis that the FDA created.

Democrats have made many promises too, as long as we keep pumping tons of money into the system for them to gleefully spend. Trillions into the Dept of Education has not lifted test scores and has left us ranked about 25th in the world in science and math. The War on Poverty is no better than before LBJ  began federal spending over $22 trillion.

Social Security, which was patched by Reagan and Tip O’Neill, needs a major overhaul. It is now losing money, which is bad, given LBJ and following presidents often borrowed from our big SS bank account to pay for their huge reelection projects.

Oh, and Medicare/Medicaid are in critical condition, too. It isn’t a secret. Neither is the $21 trillion deficit. But Congress doesn’t seem to care, as long as they can kick the can down the road.

The problem isn’t Immigration, Medicare, SS, endless Wars, or Donald Trump. Those are the leaves we have long been hacking at. The root problem is government is too big. It is so unwieldy that they can no longer fix the problems they create with their own legislation! Too many in Congress have been in office for decades, holding onto power as oligarchs, and using our tax money to buy power from lobbyists and others.

The solution is an easy one: We need to fix the Fed, as it is unwilling to fix itself. Fortunately, the Constitution has given voters in the fifty states a method to do this. Article V of the Constitution allows the states to call for a Convention of States. Several states have already voted for a convention.

The convention has a short list of things it wishes to accomplish:

1. Term Limits for Congress
2. Balanced budget
3. Impose limits on the Federal government’s power

It requires 34 states to convene the convention. 38 states must approve of each amendment, for it to move forward on the ballot.

With more power returned to the States and the people, the economy will thrive, and government oversight and regulation will decrease.

Imagine states having more individual power over immigration. California could bring in all the immigrants they wish, while other states can prohibit them, according to their needs. We don’t need the federal government to do it for us. Texas can build its own wall, thank you. Colorado can legalize marijuana without Jeff Sessions’ wraith darkening the skies.

I hope you will join me in joining the Convention of States, and contacting your state legislatures, demanding them to pass the Convention of States in your state.

https://conventionofstates.com/