Today is a special day for my family and millions of other families with children who rely on a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for help. Today is #MiracleTreatDay!

On Miracle Treat Day, $1 or more from every Blizzard Treat sold at participating DQ® locations will be donated to local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals®. Every minute, 62 children enter a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital for treatment. Help participating DQ restaurants help local kids by purchasing a Blizzard Treat on Thursday, July 28*. Find your nearest participating DQ location by clicking here and when visiting the #MiracleTreatDay link–typing your zip code into the store locator tool below.

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This is one of those must-read articles if you follow social media. There are so many things false things passed around on the internet, that sometimes the very elect will be fooled!

Here’s one example:

If you vote for the lesser of two evils you are still voting for evil and you will be judged for it. You should always vote for the best possible candidate, whether they have a chance of winning or not, and then, even if the worst possible candidate wins, the Lord will bless our country more because more people were willing to stand up for what is right.

Supposedly this was said by President Ezra Taft Benson, but nobody has found any confirmation of it, and the quotation may simply be made up. (We welcome any evidence that President Benson actually said this).

The moral of the story is: check and double-check any quotations from the prophets before passing them on.

If the history of the Bloggernacle is ever written, I doubt the so-called “snark sites” – especially since they appear to all have been defunct for years now – will likely merit more than foot note or brief paragraph.  But perhaps not.

However, since many newbies to the ‘Nacle may be unaware of these sites, and knowledge of history is important, I give a brief overview of these sites, plus a few thoughts on why they went defunct:

(If anyone is aware of a snark – note: not humor or even parody, but actual snark – site I overlooked, please note it in the comments)

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Discuss.

Introduction

Latter-day Saints have been long-time defenders of religious liberty, and have faced the brunt of some of the most egregious religious liberty violations in U.S. history (the Missouri extermination order, the imprisoning of Church leaders over polygamy, etc.). Our scripture and our rich history of sermons and teachings supply us with ample reason to support a strong tradition of property rights, religious liberty, and constitutional restraint.

It is no wonder, I think, that some members of the Church, particularly those with libertarian leanings, have reacted incredulously to the Church’s “Fairness for All” campaign, which they interpret to be a capitulation on some of these core principles. After all, non-discrimination laws — of any variety — are argued to be a fundamental violation of basic property rights. Preventing large housing units from making conscience-based decisions, while allowing small landlords the same rights, seems like more than a compromise; it feels like giving up something important. Continue reading →