The initial intervention is assumed to be uncaused – hence undetermined – while everything after that point is assumed to be determined (albeit in a non-linear fashion).

-thus Bruce Charlton

Perhaps literally.

Helpless as a Baby and Helpless as a Child–what we learn from Christ taking on the feeble helplessness of an infant.

How we are Mary and Overlooked Christmas Scriptures and We are Joseph and Mary and Holding the Messiah–four essays on being a father or a mother or a recipient of revelation. See also this brief meditation on the comparison between Mary and the tree of life.

An ant was scurrying busily back to his anthill with some small grain.  “What a waste,” a parrot said as it settled down by him.  “All this effort, and it will all come to nothing when a bull happens to step on your hill and crush it.”

The ant took notice of the parrot’s words and scurried away towards the fence.  “Even worse!” the parrot called.  “There are even  more animals in that pasture over there!”

But the ant was not headed to the other pasture.  The ant had stopped at the fence and was scouting for locations for a new hill under the fence itself.  “Even worse!” the parrot called.  “Birds that pray on ants will perch above you on the railing, and the  uncropped grass that grows underneath the fence will block your view of them.  You will be devoured!”  The ant then looked for a barer patch under the fence, but the parrot told him it was only bare because a rivulet sometimes flowed through it during rains, which would drown the hill.  When the ant found a different spot that was bare of grass due to rocks, the parrot warned the ant that the rocks would surely absorb the heat of the sun and bake the ant.

“I was foolish to listen to you,” the ant replied.  “Your warnings reflect no considered judgment.  I will return to my hill, reflect on what is to be done, and do what I can.  Apart from that, I will be merry, because frantic fretting will do nothing to ward off disaster.”

Moral: Spend your worry frugally.

That rumble you hear is me saying AMEN.

The Book of Revelation is an exceedingly mysterious and symbolic text; and I have never been convinced by any particular interpretation of its meanings.

It seems like a multi-referential code, understandable to an initiate of the time, no doubt; but whose ‘key’ has been (to a significant extent) lost. Consequently, guesswork is required, and results will be tentative… (more…)

The full gospel is very full.

(more…)

My brother is into health.  He reads up on diet and exercise and has a sophisticated regimen that he tinkers on.  He has followed it for years.  Inter alia, he lifts weights.

he told me about it some over Christmas.  One interesting thing: he said the limits a man runs into aren’t always his strength.  A lot of times its the grip that fails while the main  muscles are far from spent.  A lot of times its the central nervous system.  He didn’t mean willpower.  He literally  meant the physical elements of the nervous system.  He said that he had to move on from one program he was on because the day after exercise he would feel woozy and shaky.  Part concussion and part palsy, apparently.

I did a little research.  My brother’s experience isn’t unusual.  Central nervous system fatigue is a known experience in the weight room.

It got me thinking.  We view emotions as elements of our spirit.  They are actually hybrid things.  They are part body, part spirit, just like we are.  Fasting can make one grumpy.  Fatigue weepy.  Emotions are facts, but are not decrees.

A new year. A new ward. Another volume in my journal, a.k.a. “the Book of Bookslinger.”
(more…)

“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

Enjoy these goodies. (more…)

Bad showers, bad dishwashing, bad clothes laundering.  True in my experience, and it makes me angrier then some of the more serious oppressions we get from Washington.

Not to mention the crappy, expensive lights we are now stuck with.

It has free cures for hypotension and aids for self-administered  surgery to correct non-alopecia.

Such as this:

A psychiatrist actually rapes a patient, he doesn’t get punished because he’s a very important guy who’s friends with all the bigwigs, but everyone has to feel like they’re doing something, so they ban all normal human contact with patients, and also sell $399.95 courses that you can use to prove you’re compliant with patient protection regulations. This may be the best metaphor for life that I have ever heard.

-thus Scott Alexander

Provo’s Daily Herald reports the death of Bruce Porter, an LDS General Authority. His death leaves me with questions, all of them irrelevant: (more…)