A visit - Rev. Teal and Elder Holland...

Texted text from  https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900043476/at-oxford-elder-holland-lays-out-latter-day-saint-theology-before-religious-scholars-students.html is re-ordered by me to make a better story in my view; the story of explaining with respect and listening with respect.  No statement or fact is added or changed.

At Oxford, Elder Holland lays out Latter-day Saint theology before religious scholars, students

They stood between old stone walls on creaking wooden floors before a full room of 50 theology faculty and students, the public and local Latter-day Saints. 
The room once housed the first library at Oxford (England), the oldest university in the English-speaking world. 

The beginnings of University Church date back more than 1,000 years.  Methodist founder John Wesley preached here.  Three Protestant leaders were burned at the stake here after a "theological conversation" at the 1,000-year-old University Church of St. Mary the Virgin in 1555.

On this November day in 2018, Rev. Dr. Andrew Teal, chaplain and lecturer at Pembroke College and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a 90-minute conversation which ended with the two having a warm embrace.

Rev. Teal said: "We are both determined to be aware that our history should not collapse into categories in which we label each other as distant."

Elder Holland agreed: "We've let some differences, significant differences, get in the way of a larger, warmer, wonderful conversation."

He praised Rev. Teal, who told the Deseret News that he has watched many of his new friend's talks online, for his preparation, saying he already knew more about Latter-day Saint theology than many of the faith's members.

I find him a wholesome, faithful and inspiring man," Rev. Teal told the Deseret News, "indeed, 'great' but lacking all pomposity of grandeur." 

"We need each other’s eyes to see ourselves," he said.

"Might it be possible to listen carefully, attentively and respectfully, to ask questions with integrity and intellectual honesty of one another, without defensiveness or tribalism?"

My hot air about genocides and our point of view

Interesting. I....I just have to say that is ideal. That the everyone is susceptible to the spirit and guidance by it, and therefore instead of being controlled by law, their good hearts are guided in the right direction. Unfortunately, the adversary is always hard at work, and what percentage is guided by the spirit, and what percentage thinks they are but really put the other things above it in a self serving way. That just brought it back to the starting point.

My reading travels tonight took me to deep dive into the Cambodian situation of the '70s. During the time, there a lot of confusing things going on, and now it is clear. I was bouncing between being on a carrier on Yankee Station at that time, and beng back in the states on a land base causing too many things to happen domestically. (Looking back, it was what it was.) With connection of later on, Vietnam got rid of Poi Pot and Khmer Rouge (think killing fields). I've known Cambodian refugees from that time. Then I come to a good article of the start of the Vietnam war. I was in a poor man's Italian restaurant one day when the Italians showed me a newspaper with the event that was excuse for Johnson releasing the brakes on warfare, and "the rest is history". My best friend has authored four books on the RVN war, but didn't capture it quite in that conclusive manner, more like a thousand data details.

On the Wikipedia sidebars are links to dozens of accounts of genocide, some of which I knew about, and also many things surrounding the "Indian Removal".and the situation of Mexico getting the Southwest, then our government pushing them our. Holy smokes, what a lotta!!!! I had known and/or learned about many things that weren't in the schoolbooks or TV documentaries. But it's been a sick, sick world.

YES: "Scripture has, I think, a clear answer for us as believers." Keywords: "for us as believers". Virtually the only and best thing we can do is make more people believers, but the problem is that many who claim to be don't really care deeply about the other folks who are children of God; they/we don't want to sacrifice in the way we learn in the temple, for the benefit of the other children. So we have all these wars, we stick our noses around, and we fuss about borders and DACA. We are nicy nice people, relatively comfortable, and want to be. Scriptures on the table. The scriptures aren't the problem. We are..

Oh how I wish for.... the Lord would like us to be.... "truly ethical society, each individual is led by their conscience and their conscience alone, not rhetoric.

Not rally bullhorns and name calling. No football field inhabited by kool aid drinkers on both ends.

This is hugely long, which I despise. My apology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge_Killing_Fields

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_removal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Genocide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_transfer_in_the_Soviet_Union#The_Great_Patriotic_War,_1941-1945

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Crimean_Tatars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Bangladesh_genocide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_genocide

https://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-britain-us-diego-garcia-20180814-story.html

https://www.britannica.com/place/Diego-Garcia-island-Indian-Ocean

http://ifg.org/2016/05/03/diego-garcia-50-years-of-fiction-about-an-american-military-base/

Trump and Melania

Validity:  Who knows

http://www.pollhype.com/melania-trumps-shocking-secret-past/

Although Melania and her father never publically acknowledge him, the first lady has a half-brother named Denis Cigelnjak. She even once denied his existence and later flip-flopped her comment when a reporter proved it with court papers.

Speaking of her family, Melania's father - Viktor Knavs - was a listed member of the League of Communists. Wonder why she never talks about that...

Whether they have separate beds or their own rooms, as it's been reported, a family source said "she is not interested in Donald, the presidency or anything involving him."
When asked about her own opinions and what she tells Donald, Melania only shares what she thinks with him. "Nobody knows and nobody will ever know," she said.

Perhaps having close to nothing in her bank account when she met Donald plays no part in their relationship, but it seems fishy. "She ran into Donald just at the right time," a friend of hers told the New York Post. "She was just about out of money, at the end of her rope and about to move back to Eastern Europe."

Raunchy radio host Howard Stern once asked Melania Trump a list of degrading questions, like "Are you naked?" She replied by saying "almost" and went on to detail her and Donald's intimacy.

Donald Trump is 24 years older than Melania, meaning she is actually closer in age to his son Donald Jr., who is only 8 years younger than her.
Melania refers to her and Donald's son, Barron, as "Little Donald" and claims that he's his father's biggest fan. Melania, however, strangely preferred Donald to stay away from their son. "I didn’t want him to change the diapers or put Barron to bed," Melania said.

Throughout her modeling career, Melania participated in some pretty racy photo shoots. She's even posed in the nude - what a lovely story to tell as the first lady.

http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/donald-trump-melania-trump-knauss-first-lady-erections
Want jet-set chic? Then sex, style and 18-carat gold seat belts are essential. Supermodel Melania [now Mrs Donald Trump] is the launch pad for 14 pages of high living.

http://www.lifedaily.com/story/17-most-stunning-melania-trump-photos-on-the-web/2/

Russia and white house - thoughts

Stimulated by www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38966846

I think that for people who follow government antics and form political opinions (we hope the are not polarized opinions but most of them seem to be, increasingly, even among those whose religious teachings say otherwise) it's valuable to look at and consider a variety of viewpoints and "news"'sources, definitely not limiting to "news" from the FAR right or FAR left goalposts of the football field.

Did you make it thru that sentence?

BBC news exhibits to me pretty straight arrow fact, very thorough in nature, low expression of opinion, and combing every corner of the entire world for good detailed info. To call BBC fake news or favoring that which you don't want to hear would be quite unfair and destructive to reasonable viewpoints. My acquaintance with far and deep teachings of BBC started with being around a respectable BBC gentleman in Kazan Russia and on the trip out, in 1990. Increasingly I go to the BBC New app for deeper understanding of many past or present goings on in many nations around the world, even in my own country. Things and places which I have had light brushes with, on the ground in many countries and/or with acquaintances and histories from nations within those countries.

Did you know there is a difference between nation and country?

So... I think this article is a good level layout of information.

When I was in Russia, I built on love of Russian people as a people, mainly Tatars.. At the same time, I heard and understood the great distrust of and abuse from those I would loosely call the Putin types. Communists, atheists, who would not believe that those of their national system had ever done anything wrong. (Think atrocities in White Russia and the Ukraine.) And our group was definitely being watched with assigned "observers"

.(Today, people's likewise don't believe the person who has the Loudest Voice In The Room and childishly Twitter's early every morning could do anything wrong, or they don't care.)

It still seems recent that we were aware that there were sleeper cells and individuals inserted by that huge country into ours, and some stated concern that the previous AGOP president, followed by our first black president, were part of a plan to let our County become an appendage of Russia (or China, or some Arab country). The Tea Partiers were making the most (worst) over Obama's striking some rapport with Putin. I didn't see the issue in that that I see now.

I am very disappointed at our county-s leader seeming to have so many questionable defenses of Putin's brand of Russia,, and having so many around him who have those connections. Count them!

Again, my apprehension isn't about Russians as a people, although Putin and trends have made more of the populace turn back toward Russian Nationalism than I think it was in 1991 -'more than I heard on the ground then.

To Elderly Church Members

From Teachings of ... Benson

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-ezra-taft-benson/chapter-16-the-elderly-in-the-church

May we suggest eight areas in which we can make the most of our senior years:

1. Work in the temple and attend often. 

We urge all who can to attend the temple frequently and accept calls to serve in the temple when health and strength and distance will permit.

2. Collect and write family histories. We call on you to pursue vigorously the gathering and writing of personal and family histories. In so many instances, you alone have within you the history, the memory of loved ones, the dates and events. In some situations you are the family history.

3. Become involved in missionary service.  You are able to perform missionary service in ways that our younger missionaries cannot.

4. Provide leadership by building family togetherness.  call your families together. Give leadership to family gatherings. Establish family reunions where fellowship and family heritage can be felt and learned. Some of the sweetest memories I have are of our own family reunions and gatherings. Foster wonderful family traditions which will bind you together eternally.

5. Accept and fulfill Church callings. We trust that all senior members who possibly can will accept callings in the Church and fulfill them with dignity. How we need the counsel and influence of you who have walked the pathway of life! We hope that priesthood and auxiliary leaders will continue to give the elderly callings in which they can use their reservoirs of wisdom and counsel. Church leaders should prayerfully seek the Spirit in helping members meet the needs of the elderly.

Plan for your financial future. We also advise caution in cosigning financial notes, even with family members, when retirement income might be jeopardized.  Be even more cautious in advancing years about “get-rich” schemes, mortgaging homes, or investing in uncertain ventures. Proceed cautiously so that the planning of a lifetime is not disrupted by one or a series of poor financial decisions.

7. Render Christlike service. Christlike service exalts. Knowing this, we call on all senior members who are able to thrust in their sickles in service to others. This can be part of the sanctifying process.

8. Stay physically fit, healthy, and active. We are thrilled with the efforts being made by so many of the elderly to ensure good health in advancing years. …

elderly parents and grandparents

It is important that families give their elderly parents and grandparents the love, care, and respect they deserve.
Now for a few minutes may I speak to the families of the elderly. We repeat a scripture from Psalms: “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth” (Psalm 71:9).

We encourage families to give their elderly parents and grandparents the love, care, and attention they deserve. Let us remember the scriptural command that we must care for those of our own house lest we be found “worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8). I am so grateful for my own dear family and for the loving care they have given their parents over so many years.

Remember that parents and grandparents are our responsibility, and we are to care for them to the very best of our ability. When the elderly have no families to care for them, priesthood and Relief Society leaders should make every effort to meet their needs in the same loving way. We submit a few suggestions to families of the elderly.

Ever since the Lord etched the Ten Commandmentsinto the tablets of stone, His words from Sinai have echoed down through the centuries to “honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12).

To honor and respect our parents means that we have a high regard for them. We love and appreciate them and are concerned about their happiness and well-being. We treat them with courtesy and thoughtful consideration. We seek to understand their point of view. Certainly obedience to parents’ righteous desires and wishes is a part of honoring.

Furthermore, our parents deserve our honor and respect for giving us life itself. Beyond this they almost always made countless sacrifices as they cared for and nurtured us through our infancy and childhood, provided us with the necessities of life, and nursed us through physical illnesses and the emotional stresses of growing up. In many instances, they provided us with the opportunity to receive an education, and, in a measure, they educated us. Much of what we know and do we learned from their example. May we ever be grateful to them and show that gratitude.

Let us also learn to be forgiving of our parents, who, perhaps having made mistakes as they reared us, almost always did the best they knew how. May we ever forgive them as we would likewise wish to be forgiven by our own children for mistakes we make.

Those who are blessed with a closeness to grandparents and other elderly people have a rich companionship and association.

We also hope that you would include the elderly in family activities when possible. What a joy it is for us to see lively, sweet grandchildren with a loving grandparent in the midst of them. Children love such occasions. They love to have their grandparents visit them and to have them over for dinner, for family home evenings, and for other special events. This provides opportunities for teaching ways to honor, love, respect, and care for those who are in their later years.

Grandparents can have a profound influence on their grandchildren.