Being Thankful and the Real Thanksgiving

The story of the Pilgrims begins in the early part of the seventeenth century. The Church of England under King James I was persecuting anyone and everyone who did not recognize its absolute civil and spiritual authority. Those who challenged ecclesiastical authority and those who believed strongly in freedom of worship were hunted down, imprisoned, and sometimes executed for their beliefs. A group of separatists first fled to Holland and established a community.

"After eleven years, about forty of them agreed to make a perilous journey to the New World, where they would certainly face hardships, but could live and worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. On August 1, 1620, the Mayflower set sail. It carried a total of 102 passengers, including forty Pilgrims led by William Bradford. On the journey, Bradford set up an agreement, a contract, that established just and equal laws for all members of the new community, irrespective of their religious beliefs. Where did the revolutionary ideas expressed in the Mayflower Compact come from? From the Bible. The Pilgrims were a people completely steeped in the lessons of the Old and New Testaments. They looked to the ancient Israelites for their example.

"And, because of the biblical precedents set forth in Scripture, they never doubted that their experiment would work. But this was no pleasure cruise, friends. The journey to the New World was a long and arduous one. And when the Pilgrims landed in New England in November, they found, according to Bradford's detailed journal, a cold, barren, desolate wilderness. There were no friends to greet them, he wrote. There were no houses to shelter them. There were no inns where they could refresh themselves. And the sacrifice they had made for freedom was just beginning. During the first winter, half the Pilgrims – including Bradford's own wife – died of either starvation, sickness or exposure. When spring finally came, Indians taught the settlers how to plant corn, fish for cod and skin beavers for coats.

"Life improved for the Pilgrims, but they did not yet prosper! This is important to understand because this is where modern American history lessons often end. Thanksgiving is actually explained in some textbooks as a holiday for which the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Indians for saving their lives, rather than as a devout expression of gratitude grounded in the tradition of both the Old and New Testaments. Here is the part that has been omitted: The original contract the Pilgrims had entered into with their merchant-sponsors in London called for everything they produced to go into a common store, and each member of the community was entitled to one common share. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belong to the community as well. They were going to distribute it equally. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belonged to the community as well.

"Nobody owned anything. They just had a share in it. It was a commune, folks. It was the forerunner to the communes we saw in the '60s and '70s out in California – and it was complete with organic vegetables, by the way. Bradford, who had become the new governor of the colony, recognized that this form of collectivism was as costly and destructive to the Pilgrims as that first harsh winter, which had taken so many lives. He decided to take bold action. Bradford assigned a plot of land to each family to work and manage, thus turning loose the power of the marketplace. That's right. Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism. And what happened? It didn't work!"

"It never has worked! "What Bradford and his community found was that the most creative and industrious people had no incentive to work any harder than anyone else, unless they could utilize the power of personal motivation! But while most of the rest of the world has been experimenting with socialism for well over a hundred years – trying to refine it, perfect it, and re-invent it – the Pilgrims decided early on to scrap it permanently. What Bradford wrote about this social experiment should be in every schoolchild's history lesson. If it were, we might prevent much needless suffering in the future. 'The experience that we had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing – as if they were wiser than God,' Bradford wrote.

"'For this community [so far as it was] was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without any recompense ... that was thought injustice.' Why should you work for other people when you can't work for yourself? What's the point? Do you hear what he was saying, ladies and gentlemen? The Pilgrims found that people could not be expected to do their best work without incentive. So what did Bradford's community try next? They unharnessed the power of good old free enterprise by invoking the undergirding capitalistic principle of private property.

"Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work and permitted to market its own crops and products. And what was the result? 'This had very good success,' wrote Bradford, 'for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.' Bradford doesn't sound like much of a Clintonite" I wrote then "does he? Is it possible that supply-side economics could have existed before the 1980s? Yes. Read the story of Joseph and Pharaoh in Genesis 41. Following Joseph's suggestion (Gen 41:34), Pharaoh reduced the tax on Egyptians to 20% during the 'seven years of plenty' and the 'Earth brought forth in heaps.' (Gen. 41:47) In no time, the Pilgrims found they had more food than they could eat themselves.

"Now, this is where it gets really good, folks, if you're laboring under the misconception that I was, as I was taught in school. So they set up trading posts and exchanged goods with the Indians. The profits allowed them to pay off their debts to the merchants in London. And the success and prosperity of the Plymouth settlement attracted more Europeans and began what came to be known as the 'Great Puritan Migration.'" But this story stops when the Indians taught the newly arrived suffering in socialism Pilgrims how to plant corn and fish for cod. That's where the story stops, and the story basically doesn't even begin there. The real story of Thanksgiving is William Bradford giving thanks to God for the guidance and the inspiration to set up a thriving colony. The bounty was shared with the Indians. They did sit down and they had dinner, and I think they had a turkey, but it was not the Indians who saved the day. It was capitalism and Scripture which saved the day."

I want to thank Rush Limbaugh for telling the truth in is book “See, I Told you So” that sold 2.5 million copies.  You can find this story in chapter 6.

It is all to easy to forget that God played a great role in this country coming into existence.  This is the promised land (no it is not in South America) see 2 Nephi 1: 5 “But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.”  William Bradford and others were led to this country where a free nation could exist and where the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ could happen.  This is what I am thankful for.

One of the Best Talks

In the last LDS General Conference Elder Holland gave this very passionate talk about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and his testimony of it.  The talk can be listened to at the website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  If you have not heard it then I would take the 16 or so minutes to do so.

Safety for the Soul
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Oct 11, 2009 Sunday Afternoon Session

Prophecies regarding the last days often refer to large-scale calamities such as earthquakes or famines or floods. These in turn may be linked to widespread economic or political upheavals of one kind or another.

But there is one kind of latter-day destruction that has always sounded to me more personal than public, more individual than collective—a warning, perhaps more applicable inside the Church than outside it. The Savior warned that in the last days even those of the covenant, the very elect, could be deceived by the enemy of truth.[1] If we think of this as a form of spiritual destruction, it may cast light on another latter-day prophecy. Think of the heart as the figurative center of our faith, the poetic location of our loyalties and our values; then consider Jesus’s declaration that in the last days “men’s hearts [shall fail] them.”[2]

The encouraging thing, of course, is that our Father in Heaven knows all of these latter-day dangers, these troubles of the heart and soul, and has given counsel and protections regarding them.

In light of that, it has always been significant to me that the Book of Mormon, one of the Lord’s powerful keystones[3] in this counteroffensive against latter-day ills, begins with a great parable of life, an extended allegory of hope versus fear, of light versus darkness, of salvation versus destruction—an allegory of which Sister Ann M. Dibb spoke so movingly this morning.

In Lehi’s dream an already difficult journey gets more difficult when a mist of darkness arises, obscuring any view of the safe but narrow path his family and others are to follow. It is imperative to note that this mist of darkness descends on all the travelers—the faithful and the determined ones (the elect, we might even say) as well as the weaker and ungrounded ones. The principal point of the story is that the successful travelers resist all distractions, including the lure of forbidden paths and jeering taunts from the vain and proud who have taken those paths. The record says that the protected “did press their way forward, continually [and, I might add, tenaciously] holding fast” to a rod of iron that runs unfailingly along the course of the true path.[4] However dark the night or the day, the rod marks the way of that solitary, redeeming trail.

“I beheld,” Nephi says later, “that the rod of iron . . . was the word of God, [leading] . . . to the tree of life; . . . a representation of the love of God.” Viewing this manifestation of God’s love, Nephi goes on to say:

“I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, . . . [who] went forth ministering unto the people. . . .

“ . . . And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; . . . and they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.”[5]

Love. Healing. Help. Hope. The power of Christ to counter all troubles in all times—including the end of times. That is the safe harbor God wants for us in personal or public days of despair. That is the message with which the Book of Mormon begins, and that is the message with which it ends, calling all to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.”[6] That phrase—taken from Moroni’s final lines of testimony, written 1,000 years after Lehi’s vision—is a dying man’s testimony of the only true way.

May I refer to a modern “last days” testimony? When Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum started for Carthage to face what they knew would be an imminent martyrdom, Hyrum read these words to comfort the heart of his brother:

“Thou hast been faithful; wherefore . . . thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.

“And now I, Moroni, bid farewell . . . until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ.”[7]

A few short verses from the 12th chapter of Ether in the Book of Mormon. Before closing the book, Hyrum turned down the corner of the page from which he had read, marking it as part of the everlasting testimony for which these two brothers were about to die. I hold in my hand that book, the very copy from which Hyrum read, the same corner of the page turned down, still visible. Later, when actually incarcerated in the jail, Joseph the Prophet turned to the guards who held him captive and bore a powerful testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.[8] Shortly thereafter pistol and ball would take the lives of these two testators.

As one of a thousand elements of my own testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, I submit this as yet one more evidence of its truthfulness. In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?

Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be “houseless, friendless and homeless” and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor.[9] Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history—perhaps like no other book in any religious history. And still it stands. Failed theories about its origins have been born and parroted and have died—from Ethan Smith to Solomon Spaulding to deranged paranoid to cunning genius. None of these frankly pathetic answers for this book has ever withstood examination because there is no other answer than the one Joseph gave as its young unlearned translator. In this I stand with my own great-grandfather, who said simply enough, “No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.”[10]

I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies. If anyone is foolish enough or misled enough to reject 531 pages of a heretofore unknown text teeming with literary and Semitic complexity without honestly attempting to account for the origin of those pages—especially without accounting for their powerful witness of Jesus Christ and the profound spiritual impact that witness has had on what is now tens of millions of readers—if that is the case, then such a person, elect or otherwise, has been deceived; and if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit. In that sense the book is what Christ Himself was said to be: “a stone of stumbling, . . . a rock of offence,”[11] a barrier in the path of one who wishes not to believe in this work. Witnesses, even witnesses who were for a time hostile to Joseph, testified to their death that they had seen an angel and had handled the plates. “They have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man,” they declared. “Wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.”[12]

Now, I did not sail with the brother of Jared in crossing an ocean, settling in a new world. I did not hear King Benjamin speak his angelically delivered sermon. I did not proselyte with Alma and Amulek nor witness the fiery death of innocent believers. I was not among the Nephite crowd who touched the wounds of the resurrected Lord, nor did I weep with Mormon and Moroni over the destruction of an entire civilization. But my testimony of this record and the peace it brings to the human heart is as binding and unequivocal as was theirs. Like them “[I] give [my name] unto the world, to witness unto the world that which [I] have seen.” And like them, “[I] lie not, God bearing witness of it.”[13]

I ask that my testimony of the Book of Mormon and all that it implies, given today under my own oath and office, be recorded by men on earth and angels in heaven. I hope I have a few years left in my “last days,” but whether I do or do not, I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world, in the most straightforward language I could summon, that the Book of Mormon is true, that it came forth the way Joseph said it came forth and was given to bring happiness and hope to the faithful in the travail of the latter days.  My witness echoes that of Nephi, who wrote part of the book in his “last days”:

“Hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, . . . and they teach all men that they should do good.

“And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day.”[14]

Brothers and sisters, God always provides safety for the soul, and with the Book of Mormon, He has again done that in our time. Remember this declaration by Jesus Himself: “Whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived”[15]—and in the last days neither your heart nor your faith will fail you. Of this I earnestly testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

NOTES
1. See Matthew 24:24; <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/24/24> see also Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:22. <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_m/1/22>
2. Luke 21:26.  <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/luke/21/26>
3. See History of the Church, 4:461.
4. 1 Nephi 8:30. <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/8/30>
5. 1 Nephi 11:25, 27–28, 31. <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/11/25,27-28,31>
6. Moroni 10:32. <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moro/10/32>
7. Ether 12:37–38; <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/ether/12/37-38> see also D&C 135:5. <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/135/5>
8. See History of the Church, 6:600.
9. Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 4:539.
10. George Cannon, quoted in “The Twelve Apostles,” in Andrew Jenson, ed., The Historical Record, 6:175.
11. 1 Peter 2:8. <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_pet/2/8>
12. “The Testimony of Three Witnesses, <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/thrwtnss>” Book of Mormon.
13. “The Testimony of Eight Witnesses, <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/eghtwtns>” Book of Mormon; emphasis added.
14. 2 Nephi 33:10–11; <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/2_ne/33/10-11> emphasis added.
15. Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:37. <http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_m/1/37>

Manners

What an interesting comment. I believe the Prophet of God said it best when he said, "No Success can Compensate for Failure in the Home."

Lets address that theme for a moment. Not that this event would ever REALLY happen. The names have NOT been changed to protect the GUILTY. We were celebrating out daughter Jocelyn's 5th glorious birthday.

While discussing our children and their belief of their own independence I commented that a certain behavior has only happened to me twice today. At that very moment I was slapped on the arm by my beloved wife. No mention of spousal abuse was reported as the red marks never appeared on my arm. Later (maybe a minute) the slapper (Rachel) then got some ice cream from her plate and pretended to have a mid-evil sling shot in her hands.

Needless to say the ice cream went flying and the desired target (me) was hit.

Did our daughters see this double attack of injustice? Yes.

Did my wife tell my daughters to attack me after she launched the ice cream to protect herself? Yes!

Now I ask Marly and the rest of you blog stalkers out there who committed the greater offence of BAD MANNERS?

No reason to vote my wife is guilty of BAD MANNERS AT OUR OWN KITCHEN TABLE.

If you are new to this blog and wonder the source of this post please refer to the blog mentioned to the side entitled “The Bakers of Love” and find the post dated November 7, 2009 named “Disaster AKA Family Outing.”  Or follow the link below:

http://thebakersoflove.blogspot.com/2009/11/disaster-aka-family-outing.html

One Big Burger

This week I have been working in New Jersey in a city about 30 miles away from New York City.  While food generally costs more than in Utah I found (or was directed) to a place where the food matched the price.  Here are a few pictures of my bacon cheese burger.  Wanna guess what the price was?

This is from the top.  I think I counted 22 slices of bacon.  Yes there are two 1/2 lb patties.  The fries were good too.

I took this picture so that the near head of lettuce could be seen too.  I think that was the healthy part.

Once I put the two halves together this was the size of it.  Now I have big hands and I could barley hold the burger together.  Eating it became more of an art.  I did not eat it in one setting. 

The nice thing is that this restaurant was connected to the Holiday Inn I was staying at.

Running with Technology and its FUN

It has been some time since I last wrote anything on this blog. I have been told that most of my posts tend to be about things not many people have a lot of interest in which really does not bother me, but I thought I would add one that someone other than me would be interested in.

A lot of people jog for either exercise or as a hobby. If I posted a picture of me on this blog then you would see that I do neither. However I do like to track things statically. I like looking at charts and graphs and making and checking off lists. At present (last time I weighed in) I am a very happy 293 pounder. So what sparked a change. . .

I taught a lesson for my wife in her Sunday School class about studying the scriptures and I used one of my favorites.

2 Nephi 9: 50-51 “Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.”

Yes I know how can a scripture about letting your soul delight in fatness cause someone to go out and buy a shoe insert that would work with their iPod. Good question and I would answer it this way. It caused me to think about both my spiritual body and my physical body. I could use a bit of fatness spiritually and a be more physically fit. However like most people I needed to do something that would both make me happy and motivate me for longer than one jog or brisk walk.

Now I did have to learn where the Nike+ shoe disc went. I have to admit that at first I had no idea. I looked in the tongue and everything. What I failed to do was take out the shoe insert that came with my shoes. For anyone else that does not know where the Nike+ disc goes, I have included a picture.

Well so far I have to admit that I am hooked. Granted I have not dreamed of running a marathon or anything like that, but I have enjoyed what normally makes be bored. I listen to a mp3 book or listen to a play list I made on my iPod. The screen of the iPod looks like the image below:

Anyway I am having fun and may actually loose some weight as a result. Time will tell.

True Talent

I am not sure how many people have heard of Jon Schmidt, but the guy can simply flat out play the piano. Steven Sharp Nelson plays the Cello just as well.

Use the following address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXtVBJDPs6k

Anyway watch this clip from YouTube. It is a lot of fun to watch and even just listen too while doing something else.

Names and Monsters Inc

Apparently the picture below (the blue one) is me.  Yes it seems that by 1 year old has stopped calling me Da (short for THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD) to Kitty.

I submit that I am not the kiddy and who the real monster is the one without the claws, horns and a very limited amount of teeth.  I have included a picture of the beast below.

 

   

The real monster.  Look at this face of terror.