Little V in her kitchen

Utah's Tea Party

A great article about Bennett's loss.

I just want all those who oppose the bailout to ask themselves what the alternative should have been and to seriously consider the consequence of not acting. Without a doubt it would have led to Depression 2.0.

Surprising how polarized Utah has become - or maybe I've just been moving to the left!

NC

Everyone please post your Spring availability for our North Carolina & Outer Banks (OBX) trip. The best times for me are between May 12th and June 15th. I think about 4 - 6 nights will give us enough time to see all the sites on our wishlist.

Aside from OBX and possibly the Biltmore mansion in Asheville, what were the other sites you were interested in? Dad, I think I remember you saying that there was a museum that mentioned our Harrell ancestors. Where was that?

Here's a little little quiz on lesson 17 for everyone on The Great Plan of Salvation

The Joseph Smith Translation (JST)
1. When and why did Joseph Smith produce the JST? (p. 207)
2. How does the JST fulfill prophecy? (see Moses 1:41)
3. In what sense is the JST a “translation”?
4. Do all the changes Joseph Smith made to the Bible restore ancient texts?
Joseph Smith – “There are many things in the Bible which do not, as they now stand, accord with the revelations of the Holy Ghost to me.”[1]
R. J. Matthews – Many of the changes consisted of “a harmonization of doctrinal concepts that were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith independently of his translation of the Bible.”[2]
5. Did Joseph Smith finish the JST?[3]
6. Why hasn’t the Church ever published the book?[4]
7. What is the position of the Church towards the JST?
“The Inspired Version does not supplant the King James Version as the official Church version of the Bible, but the explanations and changes made by the Prophet Joseph Smith provide enlightenment and useful commentary on many biblical passages."[5]
8. In our LDS Bible, where are short JST changes found? Long JST changes?
9. Where do we find the JST preface to Genesis 1? JST Isaiah 29? JST Matthew 5 (Sermon on the Mount)? JST Matthew 24?[6]
10. What was the doctrinal significance of the JST? (p. 208)

Preexistence
1. According to Joseph Smith, what choices did we make in the pre-existence? (p. 209, 213)
2. Which of the following reflects Joseph Smith’s teachings? (p. 209-210)
a. We always existed as intelligences and were later endowed (added upon) with spirit bodies.
b. Intelligence is a property or attribute of spirit element which was later organized into spirits.
c. Intelligence is the same as spirit element which was organized into individual spirits.
d. Intelligences, spirits, souls or minds are eternal.

3. What were the important aspects of our nature as spirits? (p. 210)
4. What did Joseph Smith teach about spirit birth?

Purpose of earth life
1. Why did we come to earth and how is this knowledge helpful in dealing with trials and loss of loved ones? (p. 213)
2. Why are we still here on earth?

[1] History of the Church, 5:425.
[2] Robert J. Matthews, “A Plainer Translation”: Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible, a History and Commentary (Provo: UT, BYU Press, 1975), 253.
[3] The JST was declared “finished” by the Prophet on July 2, 1833. History of the Church, 1:368.
[4] Robert J. Matthews, “The New Translation of the Bible, 1830-1833: Doctrinal Development During the Kirtland Era,” BYU Studies 11, no. 4 (1971): 400-422. Mathews explains that Joseph considered his work finished in July 1833 and that afterwards his attention was only on getting it printed. Robert J. Matthews, “Joseph Smith’s Efforts to Publish His Bible ‘Translation’,” Ensign (January 1983), 57–64.
[5] Church News, dated December 7, 1974
[6] The Scripture Publications Committee was instructed by the First Presidency to avoid duplicating material that appears elsewhere in scripture. Thus, changes in the JST that also appear in places like the book of Moses, Joseph Smith--Matthew and the Book of Mormon were not included. Thomas E. Sherry and Jeffrey Marsh, “Precious Truths Restored: Joseph Smith Translation Changes Not Included in Our Bible,” The Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 5, no. 2 (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 2004): 64.

Nationalization of the Mortgage Market

It's been very interesting to see the developments in this election especially in the wake of the worst global recession since the Great Depression. As widely publicized, the implicit government backing of both Freddie Mac (where I worked for nearly 2 years) and Fannie Mae was made explicit over the weekend: The government is now running these two entities and is using our tax dollars to do so. The government is saying that this is a temporary solution to stabilize the markets until a long-term solution can be arranged. This leaves one huge mess for the next administration to deal with and underscores the problems we face in the broader economy.

Now in terms of economic growth and stability, I personally would tend to lean more to the right since republicans believe in small government, low taxes, and market-driven economies. But given that we have, for the last two decades or so, been led by a primarily market-driven system and have found ourselves in this financial quagmire, I wonder if more government moderation and oversight isn't needed. So let's ask ourselves two very important questions: 1) Which administration do we believe has the skill and experience to engineer a long-term solution to this historic crisis (or at least find the best people to do so)? And 2) which administration will make the necessary reforms in our economic system in order to avoid this type of problem in the future?

The Rules of Engagement

Hello everyone! I wanted to setup a medium of communication (ok, debate, really) for all of us to share our views and opinions on all that's going on out there. I hope this will be both enriching and rewarding as we learn more about each other and keep in touch!

I think the topic of first debate will obviously be the Presidential Elections. Yvonne's note about Obama being "The One" and subsequent replies from Heidi and Ken are the inspiration for this project. So come right up and create a post to let everyone know where you stand on the issues!