Author Archives: rameumptom

About rameumptom

Gerald (Rameumptom) Smith is a student of the gospel. Joining the Church of Jesus Christ when he was 16, he served a mission in Santa Cruz Bolivia (1978=1980). He is married to Ramona, has 3 stepchildren and 7 grandchildren. Retired Air Force (Aim High!). He has been on the Internet since 1986 when only colleges and military were online. Gerald has defended the gospel since the 1980s, and was on the first Latter-Day Saint email lists, including the late Bill Hamblin's Morm-Ant. Gerald has worked with FairMormon, More Good Foundation, LDS.Net and other pro-LDS online groups. He has blogged on the scriptures for over a decade at his site: Joel's Monastery (joelsmonastery.blogspot.com). He has the following degrees: AAS Computer Management, BS Resource Mgmt, MA Teaching/History. Gerald was the leader for the Tuskegee Alabama group, prior to it becoming a branch. He opened the door for missionary work to African Americans in Montgomery Alabama in the 1980s. He's served in two bishoprics, stake clerk, high council, HP group leader and several other callings over the years. While on his mission, he served as a counselor in a branch Relief Society presidency.

The 1 Percent who own half the world’s wealth

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As a Libertarian, I hate faux Republican and Democratic government programs equally.

Given the “war on poverty” has been going for 50 years and we have more poor people than ever, while spending trillions of dollars on it, we can see that it is a failure.  Has it helped people to eat? Yes. Has it eliminated poverty? No.

So, what’s the solution? Many would have us double down on the program, spending twice as much.  The reality is, the more we do, the more people end up dropping below the poverty line. Continue reading →

book review: Feardom by Connor Boyack

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“Fear always springs from ignorance.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rahm Emanuel (Obama’s former chief of staff) said, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”  He meant that when there’s a crisis, try to stack on it as much other policy, regulation, tax increases, and programs that you can.  His statement fits nicely in with Connor Boyack’s book, Feardom.

In this book, Boyack considers how governments use fear to get the public to approve and back new rules, regulations, actions and wars that the leaders of a nation seek to implement. Continue reading →

Teachings of Pres Ezra Taft Benson – Kindle version

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The Church, so far, only has a PDF version of the new PH/RS manual for 2015. It works great on large screens, but a 7″ tablet isn’t a large screen.  So, I’ve converted it over to Kindle MOBI format for anyone wanting it for their personal use.

It is available here: Pres Benson Manual

Also, I have the 2014 Oct General Conference in a PRC format (early MOBI format) available here: Oct 2014 General Conference.

Enjoy!!