The term “intellectual” is one frequently found in descriptions of political groupings and presumably refers to writers, artists, poets, philosophers, and other idlers whose influence is considerably greater than their numbers or contribution would warrant.

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Why are the press so in love with the word “alleged”?

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain…   

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This Christmas we will take the sacrament together. The ordinance will be, or can be, bigger than the time and place. Bigger than the place, because it binds us to all the Saints who are taking it with us worldwide, and to God in his heaven. Bigger than time, because it brings us to the foot of the cross and to the times when we made our covenants. (more…)

This is the time of year for Christmas Devotionals. Here are a few of my favorite Christmas essays and thoughts: (more…)

Lynn Margulis died a month ago, a woman for whom the important qualities of life were mostly found at the single-cell level. “People think the earth is going to die and they have to save it. That’s ridiculous. If you rid the earth of flowering plants, people would die, period. But the earth was without flowering plants for almost all of its history.” (link)

My first Bible that I could call my own was The Jerusalem Bible, Reader’s Edition, the 1968 edition.  This Bible includes several additional books known as the Apocrypha. It is a paraphrase, or better said, a “thought-for-thought” translation rather than a literal translation as is the King James (mostly*).  (There are later editions of The Jerusalem Bible which make substantial changes. Plus, there is a “New Jerusalem Bible” which has further emendations.  I am not fond of either of the latter editions, which seem to put a more modern theological and politically correct twist into the translation.) (more…)

He violated one of the cardinal rules, know your backstop, with tragic results.

Update: 7:00pm EST.

And AGAIN, like I said, KNOW YOUR BACKSTOP!  (And note the fine print, “Alcohol was involved in the incident…”)   This time with a surprise something-good-came-out-of-it twist.

Appears to be lost on too many people.

That appears to include LDS people. I can’t think why else they give the Family Services talk once a year to all the parents in my unit.

The Jesus character in this Saturday Night Live skit tells the Tim Tebow character that Mormonism is true.

(Hat tip to Eric Nielson of Small and Simple.) (more…)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2074994/Plans-floating-city-California-coast-house-entrepreneurs-visas.html

In a previous life, I spent part of a year in college on an ocean-going tanker.  It does take a couple weeks to get your sea-legs, and not everyone can adapt.

But this is a very creative solution to the problem of high-tech entrepreneurs not being able to get the necessary types of visas.

It also illustrates that the United States culture/families/education system is not creating sufficient home-grown talent.

I don’t know if it’s possible to believe same-sex attraction is disordered, and homosexual relations sinful, and not be considered homophobic, even if you strive to separate the temptation from the person. That does seem to be the razor’s edge the Church has walked of late, and I’m trying to do the same.

So does my gut reaction to the following image show I still have a long ways to go? (Warning: Your eyes may run screaming from their sockets.)      (more…)

Some people have a problem when they do a literal reading of “smote off his head” in the case of Nephi killing Laban (1 Nephi 4:18), and Coriantumr killing Shiz (Ether 15:30-31).  Common questions are “How could Shiz raise up on his hands and struggle for breath if he had been decapitated?”  and “Wouldn’t Laban’s clothes have been covered in blood and gore, and wouldn’t Laban’s servant Zoram have noticed the blood?” (Warning: the rest of this gets gory and technical.) (more…)

Sung in Klingonese.

It warms my heart to see members rising to meet the 1977 challenge by President Kimball to Mormon artists in this manner.

I have long believed that most of the best Mormon music of the last fifty years was written for Primary children. While there has been some outstanding adult music, like Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of Come Thou Font of Every Blessing, it has tended to either be derivative or to not be performed nearly as much as it deserves (or both in Wilberg’s case.) However, “I am a child of God” has never been one of my favorites. Which leaves me pondering: Is it still kitsch if it’s translated to Klingonese?

Well, you probably already believed that. But you may be surprised to learn that you may be a war criminal, too.

The ICRC forfeited my goodwill and respect some time ago, but this certainly does not help.

I think chess is probably still okay with the ICRC, since pieces are humanely captured rather than cruelly killed. I suppose it depends on whether captive pieces receive the same pay and rations as your own pieces, whether pawns are compelled to do military work, and whether non-pawns are exempt from being compelled to work.