I dreamed I found my way to the hidden part of California.  Its below San Diego and its a landscape of brushy tangled hills where the sea pounds against rocky pinnacles under a lowering sky.  No one lives there but there is a road that winds in and out down the coast.  When you find your way there, at the beginning there is a roadhouse perched on the rocks above the sea.  Other than that there is no inhabitant.

A young man is hiking in the rocky hills when he comes across a small stream he didn’t remember.    He follows it to a small waterfall that shimmers.  Behind the curtain of the water he can see glimpses of a cave.  As the day is warm, he decides to see.  He splashed down into the stream and to the fall.

When he wakes up, the landscape outside is changed.  It seems lusher at first glimpse.  Also inhabited, albeit lightly.

He has a few weird conversations with scattered people he runs across in oddly accented English.  He has read a lot of science fiction and knows a few things so he quickly concludes that he has been transported to the future.  It turns out his conclusion is correct. (more…)

Paul’s Letter to the Romans, ch. 13, v. 1

 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

He then goes on to talk about how great the civil authorities are.  It reminds me of the line from the Church’s vax letter about how the public health authorities were wise and competent, something like that.

The odd thing is that Paul himself had contrary experience.  He seems to have generally had a positive experience with the civil authorities on his missionary journeys.  But then in his last journey to Jerusalem though the authorities rescued him they also didn’t let him go once they realized there was no case against him.  He got held for a long time for a bribe, thrown into chains to please the Jews, and held even longer and then sent to Rome despite no legal requirement that he be so held in an act of bureaucratic buck-passing.  Hardly a fantastic record.  And then he was murdered while in Rome, though naturally that was after he wrote the letter.  Not to mention Pilate framing up Christ and having him executed without trial because of political pressure from the Jews.

Make of it what you will.

I have a different way of reading v.1.

(more…)

CS Lewis has a great riff in the Screwtape Letters. He talks about the common experience we all have of a temptation intensifying as if it were a pressure building up. He says that the devilish tactic in that situation is to convince you to sin a little to “let off the pressure” before it gets too strong.

Of course the whole metaphor of sinning as bleeding off temptation pressure is wrong. The temptation grows when you feed it.

Now let me tell you a story.  By the end your respect for ol G. will diminish a little.

We share a building with several other concerns. One of them, I gather, is a little peculiar. It’s been around for awhile, at least two generations, and they are very tightknit. They have a table with a display they put up in a sort of common lobby area that we all share but that is not open to the public. The centerpiece has a very old battle drum, a real relic from way back when, that it seems was important to the founder of that concern and has ongoing significance to it today. They treat it with a lot of reverence.

There is a drumstick on the display next to the drum.

(more…)

Yesterday the Lovely One told me she was stuck on Paul’s teaching Romans that we were coheirs with Christ.  Contrast with Christ in the premortal councils saying that the glory would be all the Father’s.  So what exactly does Christ have that we can inherit with him?

My off the cuff response was that Christ disclaiming payment doesn’t prevent him getting gifts and that anyway glory isn’t a commodity.  Glory is earned respect and ironically Christ being willing to save us for pure love without reward means even more glory accrues to him.

(more…)

My daughters met me this morning with a chorus of,  “Dad,  Dad,  we wanted to get out of weeding so bad we fasted for rain on Sunday and prayed for it every night. ”

It was raining.  We didn’t weed.

The Dark Bill of Rights

In theory we have the right of rebellion. But that is only theory. But it is fascinating to see cultures that DO have such a right.
And no, if any one asks or suggests, I think that is WRONG for us. We should be working within the system, in spite of how badly the system may be working. In spite of the fact the Constitution is hanging by finer and finer threads.

Porn vs Masculinity

As I said recently, we need to better understand and explain the doctrine of Gender and Family. This, by way of rebuke, clarifies Righteous Masculinity, to me. — I remember this as a powerful and insightful discussion… but that is all I remember. But I promise it is deep! I need to see this again.

You have heard of Cocaine Bear, and we just had Shark Week. I give you Cocaine Sharks!

I noticed a bunch of posters sprouting all over the house.  “Vote [X] for President!”

Me: You are running for President?

X:  I am running for Student Body President.

Me:  You’re homeschooled.

X:  I know!

Update: (more…)

Fantastic summary of great information on the Old Testament world view.  I wish I had this last year for the OT.

The Language of Creation

One great thing about family is people who think differently than you but who are close enough to you that the line of their thought crosses yours often.

CS Lewis’ First Friend and Second Friend are types.

(more…)

Our stake did Moroni’s Quest for the first time several years ago along with another stake.  This summer was the second time.  I went along as a general hey-you and chaperone.  Some of my teenagers went along as youth.

Having also gone on Pioneer Trek as an adult chaperone, I thought I would do a comparison.

For those who are unaware, Moroni’s Quest is when the youth normally ages 14-18 go somewhere and simulate participating in the events of the Book of Mormon for a few days, usually in costume.  Pioneer Trek is where the youth go somewhere and simulate participating in the western trek of the LDS pioneers by camping in the woods but pulling their supplies in a handcart instead of in a backpack,  usually in costume.  Both have a number of little set pieces and devotionals and such, and fun activities mixed in.

(more…)

Paul in his typical way lets the wicked high priest have it with both barrels.

And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. ³Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? ⁴And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? ⁵Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.

Then he apologizes when he finds out it was the high priest.

What to make of this?  Remember there is no question that this high priest was apostate and was part of an apostate line.

(more…)

One of the best parts of the blog is looking at the list of post titles that Zen and John Mansfield have decided not to publish.  Sometimes for good reasons, but wow, those are some intriguing little glimpses.

I am not particularly gifted with dreaming. Still, I had an interesting dream Saturday.

I dreamt that the Savior visited each of his people, though they did not see him. He wanted to do some miracle in their lives. But first he wanted to test and evaluate them, to see if they were ready. The tests were little minor things, but most often people failed them, and in a way rejected Him. The people did not see the Savior or His disappointment when they were not ready. He would come back later, perhaps tomorrow, and try again.

The verse that really resonated with this:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20

Now, I am sincerely wondering what those little tests would be in my life, and what I need to do to be ready.
I am still looking.

Higher Education as Privilege Laundering

What if We’re the Bad Guys Here? – David Brooks – NYT (link to archived article)
The discussion by the Reddit/SlateStarCodex folks are hilarious, horrified by this “Conservative” David Brooks. They struggle to comprehend how their class could have unfair advantages, and are not very much interested in any case.

If education has merely become a way for privilege to perpetuate itself, then I am beginning to feel about it like I feel about the Hollywood strike. The Studios are dealing in bad faith and are trying to force a bad deal, hoping to bankrupt writers so they are forced into a bad deal. The writers feel likewise. I, for one, hope they are both successful in their duels to the death.

When do we try to fix things, and when do we just let them destroy themselves?
We do the best we can first, because we understand the results of rejecting the Word of God.

We can’t and shouldn’t force these things, but we need to be ready to build a better world. Because we are going to be the only ones doing so.