Familial Research and Development

Some people like the idea of having a picture perfect post stamp yard. Not only that, they expect their neighbors to have one too. 'Keeping up with the neighbors' is a thing of the past-you all have to have it perfectly equally perfect, aka the new status quo. When I first heard about 'gated-communities' and then later about HOA (Home Owner Association neighborhoods) I had to think about it, pretty long and pretty hard. Right off I didn't like the concept. Largely because it sounds 'snootish' to me. Back to that kindergarten, 'You can join my club but he can't.' It also sounds clickish. True, true, birds of a feather do flock together (and they deserve each other-pot stirrers and finger pointers)-that's clickish enough, yes, yes. However, an HOA or gated-community appears to be an elite level of clicks and snoots. Today as I pondered it deeper, two things happened. One I was reminded of a Montgomery Gentry song, "What Do You Think About

Picture of a Nativity statue in front of the Provo, UT Temple. Small factions of society say, "You cannot post the 10 Commandments in public places." "You cannot put up Nativity scenes during the holidays in or on government owned properties." "You cannot raise white crosses along the Interstate road system designating the demise of public servants." When will the rest of us who are god-fearing Christians stand up and say, "ENOUGH!" "SILENCE." Okay, so if we-the majority are going to be soooo tolerant as to let others kick us around, then can we at the very least, every church put up Nativity scenes? Can we, at the very least, post a billboard on Church property with at least one of the Ten Commandments and change it out every month or so? We are a Christian nation, i.e. a nation founded by Christian believing and practicing individuals. Really people, it's okay. Let's put our $ where our hearts are and get the ball moving on t

I have always, as long as I remember, reached heavenward, pondered on my existence and its purpose and wanted to know-truly know God/Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ/His Son/Our Elder Brother and more recently, the Holy Ghost. As a child and young free-to-think and wage-earning teen, I wanted a crucifix. I didn't want a Christopher-I wanted a crucifix. Strange, I know. But when I had seen them and asked others about them the only parts of speech I heard and understood was: obedience to Christ; Love of Christ; Worship of the living Christ; sacrificial gift of Christ. So I bought one and wore it-relatively religiously. (Sacrifice) + (in obedience) = blessings (temporal, spiritual, and eternal) There was a returned missionary speaking in Sacrament meeting and had mentioned what some investigators would question having to 'give up' in Brazil where they start drinking coffee when they're just little tikes. This set me to pondering and reflecting, hence this blog post. It may be

"And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power: wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness..." 1 Nephi 22:26 I've wondered about that largely because I wonder and ponder on His second coming-what it will be like and how long it will last-but mostly what will be in the hearts of the people that they can and will be in such a state of peace. So I've boiled it down to two questions. What constitutes righteousness? A simple answer to that may be obedience. What then constitutes obedience? I'm so far from perfect and have little hope of really making it there so I wanna know what it takes to be righteous . Checking the Bible Dictionary it has a list of 'See also': equity, perfection, Standard of Righteousness , godliness, good works , holiness, honesty, integrity, judgment, sanctification, truth, uprightness, walking with God . So what is th