Tuesday, August 12, 2008
A call to arms!
Brothers in Truth indeed we, at this very time, are engaged in a struggle for the freedom that is so often taken for granted by those around us. I hereby pledge my loyalty to the Principles and Promises enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. I declare that those principles, if adhered to, will ensure the freedom of every soul under their banner. I second the call for the defense of this nation's greatness and seek to bear it up with the declarations of truth. Let us call on all those around us to do the same and to be found living a life in accordance with all truth, acting no guile whatever our private pursuits. For this battle is not to be fought in the manner of our forefathers, but in the thoughts and ideas that shape the very world in which we live. It is imperative that we stand up and wrest the erroneous declarations and debased principles of wicked men everywhere that would see this great nation crumble under the weight of their debauchery. I add my witness to that of Joseph Smith Jun. when he said, "Shall we not go forward in so great a cause!"
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Humble Beginings
In the light of a recent admontion of an apostle of God to "join the conversation" this blog has been created to stimulate discussion on a topic that affects everyone. That topic is governemnt, and the role it should and should not play in our lives.
Though discussion may seem awkward and cumbersome at first, overtime we will learn to express our ideas more clearly and concisely. As we share our opinions and insights with one another may we keep in mind a few things that will improve the quality of our conversations and keep them constuructive.
First and foremost, let us always remember to speak (or in this case) write truth. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "But speak the truth, and all nature and all spirits help you with unexpected furtherance. Speak the truth, and all things alive or brute are vouchers, and the very roots of the grass underground there, do seem to stir and move to bear you witness."
It does not matter how eloquent your pen, how broad your knowledge, or how deep your wisdom; if you write what is truth, or in other words, write by the spirit of God, which is the source of all truth you need not be concerned with anything else. Adhere to this and you cannot go wrong.
Second, a disadvantage to having a discussion via blog is that we miss a part of the conversation. Though the ideas when posted should be well thought out and proof read before posting it is easy to missunderstand one another because we are not face to face. So, when reading and responding to other's posts please, first seek to understand, than to be understood. Seek for clarification on foggy subjects by asking the author questions like, "when you said... did you mean...?" Or "Can you give an example of the principle you presented." Or simply, "What did you mean when you said..."
Always remember that "a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grevious words stir up hate." (Prov. 15:1) In our conversations respect is prerequisite.
The third is really just a remphasis of the first. In our posts we must focus on principles not issues. A wise mentor of mine once demonstrated the difference of these through an analogy of cutting down a tree. When falling a tree you do not go about it by hacking at the leaves and the branches, but you focus your energies on the trunk. Once the trunk is severed everything else falls with it.
It is the same with issues and principles. When hacking at the issues very little is accomplished, but when you focus on the bare principles from which the issues stem, they are all resolved at once.
This blog has great potential and the ideas that will originate here may one day help cure the apathy of our society. So, though humble our beginings, we must remember that we can have a huge influence. But this influence can be gained only through small and simple steps like this blog. And though this puny effort may seem of no consequence in the grand scheme of things we must remember that we can change the world. We can make our own reality. "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." ~Abraham Lincoln
Though discussion may seem awkward and cumbersome at first, overtime we will learn to express our ideas more clearly and concisely. As we share our opinions and insights with one another may we keep in mind a few things that will improve the quality of our conversations and keep them constuructive.
First and foremost, let us always remember to speak (or in this case) write truth. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "But speak the truth, and all nature and all spirits help you with unexpected furtherance. Speak the truth, and all things alive or brute are vouchers, and the very roots of the grass underground there, do seem to stir and move to bear you witness."
It does not matter how eloquent your pen, how broad your knowledge, or how deep your wisdom; if you write what is truth, or in other words, write by the spirit of God, which is the source of all truth you need not be concerned with anything else. Adhere to this and you cannot go wrong.
Second, a disadvantage to having a discussion via blog is that we miss a part of the conversation. Though the ideas when posted should be well thought out and proof read before posting it is easy to missunderstand one another because we are not face to face. So, when reading and responding to other's posts please, first seek to understand, than to be understood. Seek for clarification on foggy subjects by asking the author questions like, "when you said... did you mean...?" Or "Can you give an example of the principle you presented." Or simply, "What did you mean when you said..."
Always remember that "a soft answer turneth away wrath: but grevious words stir up hate." (Prov. 15:1) In our conversations respect is prerequisite.
The third is really just a remphasis of the first. In our posts we must focus on principles not issues. A wise mentor of mine once demonstrated the difference of these through an analogy of cutting down a tree. When falling a tree you do not go about it by hacking at the leaves and the branches, but you focus your energies on the trunk. Once the trunk is severed everything else falls with it.
It is the same with issues and principles. When hacking at the issues very little is accomplished, but when you focus on the bare principles from which the issues stem, they are all resolved at once.
This blog has great potential and the ideas that will originate here may one day help cure the apathy of our society. So, though humble our beginings, we must remember that we can have a huge influence. But this influence can be gained only through small and simple steps like this blog. And though this puny effort may seem of no consequence in the grand scheme of things we must remember that we can change the world. We can make our own reality. "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." ~Abraham Lincoln
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