AdventureBill

Friday, December 29, 2017

Madman Atomic Comics

Thurs, 12/28 Good noontide Brandon, Teeth numbers 3 and 14 are my bad ones. 1 and 16 are your wisdom teeth. I have mine. \Image 1 ***1\ I looked up how to get through tooth pain today to see if there was anything I could have done better than what I did. He is a portion of the best article. I announced it to the world and posted it on Facebook. :”) ~~~ Of course, the answer to a toothache is always “see your dentist.” But this advice isn’t all that helpful when you can’t see your dentist right away and the pain is unbearable.In this article, I’m sharing my best method for getting out of pain from toothaches or gum pain, techniques to reduce the pain while you wait for your dentist appointment, and the common mistakes people make that actually make the pain worse.\The 3-3-3 Method for Tooth Pain\When getting out of tooth pain, it’s all about controlling the swelling. Reduce the swelling and you reduce the pain. Short-term, the best way to reduce this inflammation is with the 3-3-3 method: three Advil (600 mg total), three times a day, for three days.\What not to do: Don’t take the Advil and then stop once you start to get pain relief. The trick with Advil is to keep the levels up, because if you back off, it takes a while for the Advil kick in again and reduce inflammation.\Keep in mind that this method can’t do anything to address the root cause of your tooth pain. You also have to check with your doctor that you can take ibuprofen. Tooth pain almost never goes away by itself—so don’t use this method for anything else except for getting out of pain enough to tide you over until your dentist appointment. [bps, I don't want to go to the dentist. 2 years ago I got this tooth repaired. Deep side filling! It took months and months for the pain to go away even after getting it filled. Last year I had an episode and stopped it with ibuprofen. This year I did the same. The same tooth on the other side of my mouth had issues too. I now have a stub, a trunk, a post there with an artificial tooth on top. Chances are I will be doing the same with this one. So what's wrong with putting it off? The next step is to lose it anyway.-v]\What Causes Tooth Pain?\Inside each of your teeth, you have living tissue with an artery, vein, and nerve. These parts of the tooth give the tooth sensation to pressure, hot, and cold, but also can get infected. Certain bacteria in your mouth excrete acids and bore their way through tooth enamel (the hard, white outer coating of teeth). Once bacteria get through enamel, they gain access to the inside structure, dentin—which is like a sponge with tubules, and the inside of the tooth responds to these invaders with inflammation.\When you cut your hand, there’s room to expand and swell up—but inside the hard enamel walls of a tooth, the swelling can’t expand—and that should give you a good sense of why tooth pain is excruciating. It’s rather unique, as there’s nowhere else in the body that this happens. This is why the 3-3-3 method works—it reduces the swelling. @@@ Other updates: (I like you Brandon, I think you are wonderful!) I don’t know my sister Gayelinn’72 all that well. Even though she acts tough and defies the world’s/ nation’s expectations in many ways she has a soft spot I just discovered. She wants her children to be excited on Christmas! She rewrapped Sorenson’s book and gave it to her husband for Christmas. She held off opening “The BoM on Trial” until Christmas and she taped both openings for me so I could hear their responses! I got a kick out of MichaelM describing his book and thanking me for it after I had sent it to Gayelinn, to her, and she had rewrapped it for him! Isn’t that cute! @ I teased her in a text last night. She celebrated finding a way to spend the $50 gift card I sent only for her: Instant Pot. It is an electric pressure cooker. Water tops out at 212 degrees F. It’s boiling point. But if under pressure it can go much higher and cook things much faster: Instant Pot! Here is my tease: Son-”Mom, I got you a blender for Christmas” Mom-”Thank you, son.” Son-”Since you have now opened it, may I use it to go make my shake?” @ I am tired of writing The Book of Mormon on Trial. I am going to call it bomot, so I don’t have to write it all out. G said that Britner read it all day and everyone else will just have to wait and that he was half way through. :) @ G corrected me. She does not have “Another Look at Mormonism” like she said she did. It is a different premortal sketched book. DArn! I was satisfied thinking someone in the family had “Another Look at Mormonism”. Now I am not. @ ARe comic books worth the money? Man, I don’t think so! But if they have joined, boxed, bound a couple of years worth together, that might be. There were 3 issues of a French comic bound together in the Graphic novels section of the library, called Blacksad. All the characters are different animals. He is a detective black cat. Are there any mormon comic books? I researched it yesterday and there are not. :( @ There is one mormon comic strip artist that sometimes includes mormon elements in his books. But they have not been compiled, bound together so I won’t be reading them: ***2:Madman Celebrates 25 Years As The World’s Snappiest Comic t1992 was a big year for comics. Seven big name creators, tired of working under the corporate machine of publishers like Marvel and DC Comics, combined their talents to form their own publishing company: Image Comics. In that year alone, the nascent publisher launched WildC.A.T.S, Youngblood, Savage Dragon and Spawn, with the first issue of the latter title selling over million copies.\Of course, 1992 also saw the first issue of another new costumed hero: Michael Allred’s pulp-infused, pop-art inspired, retro-throwback series, Madman!\Secret Origins!\Dressed in all-white and rocking a red logo that combined an exclamation mark and lightning bolt (A.K.A. the Exclamation Bolt!), the first Madman series followed the eponymous hero on a journey to find Dr. Gillespie Flem, the only person who can help Madman resurrect his recently deceased friend, Dr. Egon Boiffard. Armed with superhuman reflexes and the ability to take a psychic reading of someone by touching them, he faced crime bosses, a murder plot to kill a town’s mayor and deranged mutated clones. In the final issue of the series, we learn that Madman’s mask isn’t used to conceal his secret identity but to hide his scarred and discoloured face! It turns out Madman’s secret origin is that he’s actually a John Doe brought back to life by Dr. Boiffard and given the name Frank Einstein (named after Boiffard’s two idols, Frank Sinatra and Albert Einstein, while also an obvious pun).\For the record, Madman’s first appearance wasn’t actually in 1992. The character debuted in the one-off anthology Creatures of the Id in 1990, and popped up again in the Grafik Muzik miniseries. However, unless you’re a completist these series aren’t essential to the Madman canon. It’s clear from the beginning, though, that Allred had a strong connection to the character and clearly wanted to do something with him.

That something would be the monochromatic limited series Madman and the full-color Madman Adventures, both of which were published in 1992 and were colored by Allred’s wife, Laura. While Madman didn’t exactly match the million-copy selling popularity and broad appeal of books like Spawn or Youngblood, it wasn’t without fans or attention.

At the 1993 Harvey Awards, Allred received a “Best Cartoonist” nomination, with Madman winning “Best New Series.” At the following year’s awards, Allred would receive nominations for “Best Artist”, “Best Cartoonist” and “Best Single Issue” (Madman Adventures #3), while Laura was nominated for “Best Colorist.” Allred was also nominated for a couple of awards at the 1993 Eisners, including “Best Writer/Artist” and “Best Finite Series.”\Tundra would go out of business in 1993, but that didn’t deter Allred from continuing Madman’s story. He’d go to star in his first on-going series in 1994, Madman Comics, published through Dark Horse Comics under Frank Miller and John Byrne’s newly-minted Legend imprint. The same imprint would also put out series such as Byrne’s Next Men, Miller’s Sin City: The Big Fat Kill, Paul Chadwick’s Concrete and the line’s breakout series, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, who has a brief cameo in Madman Comics#5\It’s here that Allred’s creation would reach a wider audience and popularity. It’s also where Allred’s style noticeably evolved the most, as he become more confident as a storyteller with every issue. His line work got cleaner, page layouts became more interesting, and his writing more consistent. Alongside this, Laura Allred’s color became brighter, crisper, more “poppy.” The series’ cast also expanded to include the alien Mott from the planet Hoople (named after the 1970s glam rock band Mott the Hoople), the Astro Boy homage Astroman, and the John Woo/Chow Yun-fat-inspired secret agent Chow Skip-Wang, who is constantly diving through the air while firing off pistol rounds and being shot with an alarming amount of enemy bullets.\Ginchy Stuff!\There’s a generalization that the ’90s are the worst period of comics history. I don’t think that’s true as a whole, but I can definitely see where that idea comes from when you focus your lens specifically to Marvel and DC’s out-put. The X-Men were hit with crossover event after crossover event, while legacy characters were either taken out of the spotlight or straight up killed in long running storylines like “Knightfall,” “The Death of Superman” and “The Clone Saga.” Not all of these stories are bad, but it’s easy to understand the fatigue felt by readers at the time as their comics became increasingly gimmick-laden. Off the page you also had to contend with the speculator market, which was constantly on the hunt for the new Action Comics #1, buying up limited-edition die-cut covers and almost bankrupting the entire industry.\I bring this up because even now Madman feels like a breathe of fresh air for the superhero genre. You can tell just how much fun Allred is having while creating the series, and how much love he’s pouring into it. Some of his writing has aged well – the first Madman series feels a bit clunky at times, but for the most part they hold up pretty well, especially the Dark Horse run.\It’s a comic where people describe things as “ginchy” (1930s slang for cool), and it doesn’t feel out of place. Allred has an affinity for the past; his clean style owes a lot to Jack Kirby and Alex Toth’s art, and he regularly dips his toes into pulp fiction: aliens, robots, shady G-Men from Hell! On more than one occasion, Einstein runs into a gang of Street Beatniks who’ll confuse you with the bizarre slang of yesteryear before beating you up.\Allred also embraces the sheer ridiculousness of comics. Madman has to decapitate Dr. Flem and reattach his head to a clone of his body, while Felm’s assistant Gale tries to use chemically-treated bandages to remove tattoos that are covering her entire body, but instead makes herself totally invisible except for the tattoos. Dr. Boiffard repeatedly injects himself with a brain enhancement formula until he becomes a giant floating brain. Each issue of the original Madman series included drawings in the bottom corner of the page that you could flip through to make a short animation.\Madman’s set up – a dead man brought back to life who now fights crime – is one that easily could’ve taken a much more grittier and darker route. It’s basically Spawn’s origin, the book that defined the grimmer superhero comics of the ’90s. With a premise like that, it could’ve also have been a macabre contemplation of man’s morality or post-modernist experiment, similar to what authors like Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison were writing over at Vertigo. And yet, the darkest Madman gets is in the first couple pages of the original Tundra run, when Frank rips out a hired goon’s eye and eats it. (He feels bad about it later.)\But what ultimately set Madman apart from a lot of the other popular superhero books that were coming out at the time, with their edgy, grungy, “These ain’t your daddy’s superheroes!” aesthetic, was how effortlessly cool it was. Madman is cool in the same way as David Bowie or the Velvet Underground are cool — you don’t know how to explain why, they just are. Einstein regularly wears a leather jacket over his costume, and you never really question the look, while the bomber jackets being worn by the X-Men and Avengers at the same time came off as extremely dorky.\Overall, Madman was a celebration of just how imaginative and weird comic books can be. Madman’s costume is one of those simple but brilliant designs in comics, and each issue is filled with this energy as Allred goes for broke, channelling his love for 1950s sci-fi pulps, 1960/70s glam rock and the dynamic energy of Jack Kirby. It was fun, but still managed to tackle big concepts like identity and existence as Einstein tries to unravel the mystery of who he was before he died.\Madman & Beyond!!\Frank Einstein would go on to appear in a spin-off series The Atomics (a super team consisting of mutated Street Beatniks turned good guys), a second on-going Madman Atomic Comics (now published through Image), a handful of one-shots between 2009 and 2014 and a coffee-table sized 20th anniversary hardcover.\It’s been a couple of years since Madman’s Exclamation Bolt graced comic store shelves, which is understandable considering that Allred has been busy with art duties on Vertigo’s iZombie, Marvel’s FF and Silver Surfer, and is currently writing and drawing Bug!: The Adventures of Forager over at Young Animal (With Laura on colours and his brother Lee co-writing). On Twitter he’s hinted at a 25th Anniversary Special that’s should be coming out sometime later this year, so here’s hoping for the return of the World’s Snappiest Comic Magazine! @@@ bps, are you salivating? Wouldn’t it be fun to have all those 25 years to read and enjoy? It sounds fun and intriguing doesn’t it! @@@Friday, 12/28 Good morning Brandon, How are you feeling today? Is anything disturbing you? @ Last night at bomc I offered to read Moroni 10: 9-18. Janice asked me to do it without elaboration. I offered to only number the gifts. She said no. Rex said no. Bert said no. Do you mean you don’t want me to say one, two, three after we identify each one? Yes, said Janice. Then I am not willing to read them, I said. Rex said, “I will pick it up.” And he did. @ What do you think of that?_____ @ I guess I have been coming on a little too strong. Do you remember when I have mentioned being willing to be limited? Back at the beginning I told Erin in a letter that if they ever needed me to calm down they could say: Drop it down a level, or something like that. Well, it looks like Janice is invoking that offer. I am not sure how I feel about it. @ So how many gifts are mentioned? 8 And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.

9 For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom1;

10 And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge2 by the same Spirit;

11 And to another, exceedingly great faith3; and to another, the gifts of healing4 by the same Spirit;

12 And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles5;

13 And again, to another, that he may prophesy6 concerning all things;

14 And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits7;

15 And again, to another, all kinds of tongues8;

16 And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues9.

17 And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will.

18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.

So there were 9 gifts mentioned the way I count them. :) @ Later in the lesson I chose to read aloud again. I did not want to sit and stew. The best way is to get up and try again. I did. @ I don’t socialize much. Bomc is my only small group socializing each week. As I drove to class I thanked HF for this special weekly opportunity. Mark Clayton carefully tried to tell us, Camille and I, that our over-the top loud laughter and other responses are evidence of distorted feelings inside. He said others are more sensitive to what is going on in society and what is acceptable and what is not. I should not be hurt by being limited. After all I was the one who offered. Insert: (a couple of hours later) Hello Brandon. I was overwhelmed with tiredness after finishing the rosary below and going back to indexing. I turned on the priesthood session, took a couple of ibuprofen to ward off the tooth pain, and sat back in the recliner. I awoke to knocking on my door and went back to indexing. I started to pray. Hf, as you I am fighting depression and feeling I have been bad. I have no issue with admitting I am prideful at times. I am sorry for that pride. I apologize for causing problems in my bom class last night. As you know my main interest in that class is to draw others out. To make a safe , wild and crazy place, where they feel comfortable sharing. Perhaps, that had happened and my efforts were no longer needed last night. If that is the case I have no problem with stepping into the background. I would have succeeded. I would have accomplished my purpose. Itnojc,a. @ It worked Brandon. The shadows of oppressive feelings dissipated. That was not what I was expecting. Tyhf. @ Insert over. @@@ Lisa said she has a convert friend who read the bom in 24 hours without stopping and when she got to the promise in Moroni 10 everything stopped. She prayed using the rosary before and after the prayer and gained a witness. Janice said we can do that each time we read if we want. Of course I stuck my neck out and commented that Lisa didn’t mean in 24 hours. Lisa affirmed she really meant that. After her wonderful faith promoting story, quiet Walt turned to me and said, She must have had the Evelyn Wood speed reading course. @ So how many minutes does it take to read the whole bom? My original copy has 590 pages. Let’s round that to 600. At a page a minute that would be 10 hours. At a page per 2 minutes that would be 20 hours. At a page per 3 minutes that would be 30 hours. I just timed myself reading a page aloud. 3 minutes. Interesting huh! @ Do you like power Brandon? What about a powerful motorcycle? You have heard of the gift of the HG. It is the 4th principle or ordinance of the gospel. What about the power of the HG? What is the power of the Holy Ghost? It is mentioned twice in Moroni 7. It is mentioned in verse 4 of Moroni 10. You may have heard the phrase, “power in the priesthood”.
And one of my favorite scriptures says: 41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; 42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile— @ I am wondering about the power of the HG. @@@ I watched LizD yell within a foot of BruceR face 3 or 4 times last Sunday during my home teaching visit. She is a convert of less than 5 years, and admits she is bipolar and brilliant. Does that sound like gentleness and meekness? Woah! It sure doesn’t. Bruce invited this lady to live in his house with her 19 year old son. She has 2 other sons. And he takes that verbal abuse right in front of his home teacher. That blows my mind. I don’t think I can take watching that happen again. I told my absent companion about it and suggested we pull BruceR away from her next time. She says Greg Walker is her home teacher. @@@HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY
Rosary beads help Catholics count their prayers. More importantly, Catholics pray the rosary as a means of entreaty to ask God for a special favor, such as helping a loved one recover from an illness, or to thank God for blessings received — a new baby, a new job, a new moon.

1. On the crucifix, make the sign of the cross and then pray the Apostles’ Creed.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified; died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
2. On the next large bead, say the Our Father.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.
3. On the following three small beads, pray three Hail Marys.
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
4. On the chain, pray the Glory Be.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
5. On the large bead, meditate on the first mystery and pray the Our Father.
You pray mysteries for each of the five sections (decades) of the rosary according to the day of the week:
5.1 Mondays and Saturdays:
The Joyful Mysteries remind the faithful of Christ’s birth: The Annunciation (Luke 1:26–38); The Visitation (Luke 1:39–56); The Nativity (Luke 2:1–21); The Presentation (Luke 2:22–38); The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41–52)
5.2 Tuesdays and Fridays:The Sorrowful Mysteries recall Jesus’ passion and death: The Agony of Jesus in the Garden (Matthew 26:36–56); The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26); The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27–31); The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:32); The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33–56).
5.3 Wednesdays and Sundays:The Glorious Mysteries focus on the resurrection of Jesus and the glories of heaven: The Resurrection (John 20:1–29); The Ascension (Luke 24:36–53); The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–41); The Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God, into heaven; The Coronation of Mary in heaven.
5.4 Thursdays:Pope John Paul II added The Mysteries of Light, also known as the Luminous Mysteries, in 2002: The Baptism in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:13–16); The Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1–11); The Preaching of the coming of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14–15); The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1–8); The Institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matthew 26).
6. Skip the centerpiece medallion, and on the ten beads after that, pray a Hail Mary on each bead; on the chain, pray a Glory Be.
Although a decade is 10, these 12 prayers form a decade of the rosary.
Many Catholics add the Fatima Prayer after the Glory Be and before the next Our Father: O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.
7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 four more times to finish the next four decades.
8. At the end of your Rosary, say the Hail Holy Queen.
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. @@@ Woah! Talk about complex! I recite the 13 articles of faith regularly. I recite A poor wayfaring man of grief regularly. The Lord’s prayer shows me how to praise, something I am not very good at. They help lift my spirit. There is a ton more to the rosary than I was expecting. @@@***4 Before or After? Do you remember the 2000 stripling warriors? Do you remember what they looked like after the battles or before? In Modesitt’s books, for example Lorn in the Magi'I of Cyador (2000), and Scion of Cyador (2000), kills/ murders / assasinates people every hundred pages of those thousand pages, and yet he is still sensitive, thoughtful, loyal, loving and unselfish. That does not make any sense to me. I cannot imagine killing someone, even in righteousness, and being whole and sane afterwards. But that is me. That is how I feel. Am I handicapped by my past? Yes. And that is how I feel. @ You probably remember me saying that I would give soldiers a carte blanc since they face such ugliness in war. But evidently JC doesn’t feel that way. Imagine this: In modern times, the First Presidency has given the following counsel to Church members in military service: “To our young men who go into service, no matter whom they serve or where, we say live clean, keep the commandments of the Lord, pray to Him constantly to preserve you in truth and righteousness, live as you pray, and then whatever betides you the Lord will be with you and nothing will happen to you that will not be to the honor and glory of God and to your salvation and exaltation. There will come into your hearts from the living of the pure life you pray for, a joy that will pass your powers of expression or understanding. The Lord will be always near you; He will comfort you; you will feel His presence in the hour of your greatest tribulation; He will guard and protect you to the full extent that accords with His all-wise purpose. Then, when the conflict is over and you return to your homes, having lived the righteous life, how great will be your happiness—whether you be of the victors or of the vanquished—that you have lived as the Lord commanded. You will return so disciplined in righteousness that thereafter all Satan’s wiles and stratagems will leave you untouched. Your faith and testimony will be strong beyond breaking. You will be looked up to and revered as having passed through the fiery furnace of trial and temptation and come forth unharmed. Your brethren will look to you for counsel, support, and guidance. You will be the anchors to which thereafter the youth of Zion will moor their faith in man” (Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark Jr., and David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Apr. 1942, 96). @Did you catch those promises Brandon? @@ I told the class about the top 10 countries with the most mormons last night. The biggest one was Chile. The 9 others were Pacific Island nations. There are a number of lessons in the manual I have skipped and I studied one today: Chapter 34. That’s where that picture and ideas are coming from. Guess what? It tells of 2 prophets that told New Zealanders where they came from: “To [a] group of Saints in the South Seas, President [Spencer W.] Kimball observed: ‘President Joseph F. Smith, the president of the Church, reported, “You brothers and sisters from New Zealand, I want you to know that you are from the people of Hagoth.” For New Zealand Saints, that was that. A prophet of the Lord had spoken. … It is reasonable to conclude that Hagoth and his associates were about nineteen centuries on the islands, from about 55 B.C. to 1854 before the gospel began to reach them. They had lost all the plain and precious things which the Savior brought to the earth, for they were likely on the islands when the Christ was born in Jerusalem.’ (Temple View Area Conference Report, February 1976, p. 3.)” @You may remember one or some of the temple dedications saying the same thing. This time it really hit me. How cool!

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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

History of the Earth

Earth\See this page in the original 1992 publication.\Author: Petersen, Morris S.

Latter-day Saints believe that God created this earth to provide his children, the human race, with the opportunity to receive physical bodies and to hear and accept his gospel that they might be prepared for life with him on a celestialized earth hereafter. They also believe that this earth eventually will become a celestial, glorified world. Jesus Christ, under direction of God the Father, was the creator of the earth and all things in it (John 1:1-3). Creation was first a spirit creation followed by a physical creation of the planet and life on it. One LDS scholar observed, "The Latter-day Saints are the only Bible-oriented people who have always been taught that things were happening long, long before Adam appeared on the scene" (Cwhn 1:49). Because God created the earth for these eternal purposes, Latter-day Saints view its natural resources and life forms as a sacred stewardship to be used in ways that will ensure their availability for all succeeding generations. Latter-day scriptures also teach of a plurality of worlds. In itself this is not a unique concept among the religions of the world, but the LDS doctrine is distinctive (Crowe, pp. 241-46).

THE AGE OF THE EARTH. The scriptures do not say how old the earth is, and the Church has taken no official stand on this question (Old Testament, pp. 28-29). Nor does the Church consider it to be a central issue for salvation.\Discussions of the age of the earth feature distinct interpretations of the word "day" in the creation accounts. Very few Latter-day Saints hold to the theory that the days of creation were twenty-four hours long. Some have attempted to accommodate scientific theories to scriptural accounts of creation by extending creation day lengths to one thousand years each. Intriguing potential support for this view has been found in scriptures suggesting "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years" (2 Pet. 3:8; cf. Abr. 3:2-4;5:13; Facsimile No. 2).\But because even seven thousand years fails to approximate the billions of years suggested by contemporary scientific accounts, many Latter-day Saints have emphasized the possibility that the scriptural days of creation may have been vastly greater time periods. They point to the fact that "the Hebrew word for day …can also be used in the sense of an indeterminate length of time," and to Abraham's account of creation in which he "says that the Gods called the creation periods days" (Old Testament, pp. 28-29; see Eyring; Abr. 4:5, 8).\

THE ORIGIN AND DESTINY OF THE EARTH. Joseph Smith wrote, "We believe…that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory" (A of F 10). LDS revelation declares that the earth is destined to become a celestial body fit for the abode of the most exalted or celestial beings (D&C 88:18-20, 25-26). This is a unique departure from the traditional Christian beliefs that heaven is the dwelling place for all saved beings, and that after fulfilling its useful role the earth will become uninhabited, or be destroyed. Doctrine and Covenants 130:9teaches that finally the earth will become sanctified and immortalized, and be made crystal-like. The "sea of glass" spoken of in Revelation 4:6"is the earth, in its sanctified, immortal, and eternal state" (D&C 77:1). Elder James E. Talmage wrote of this earthly regeneration: "In regard to the revealed word concerning the regeneration of earth, and the acquirement of a celestial glory by our planet, science has nothing to offer either by way of support or contradiction" (AF, p. 381). [v- Sorry science! This is way beyond any science! It is prophecy. science has nothing to offer either by way of support or contradiction]\Latter-day Saints understand the entire history of the earth to be directly linked to its role in God's Plan of Salvation for his children, his work and glory, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). The earth was created as a paradise. Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, it was transformed to a telestial state, or the present mortal earth. This interval will end with the return of the Savior, after which the earth will be changed to a terrestrial state and prepared during the Millennium for its final transformation into a celestial sphere after the Millennium (D&C 88:18-19). The ancient Nephite concept derived from Christ's teachings to them includes the idea that before the final judgment the earth will be "rolled together as a scroll, and the elements [will] melt with fervent heat" (Morm. 9:2), "and the heavens and the earth [shall] pass away" (3 Ne. 26:3). This historical account is linear, marked by unique, important events that link the theological and physical history of the earth, that is, creation, fall, renewal at the second coming of Christ, and final glory.\Against the backdrop of this progressive history is the constancy of spiritual and physical law immanently affecting succeeding generations of God's children on earth. In this context President John Taylor said, "Change succeeds change in human affairs, but the laws of God in everything are correct and true; in every stage and phase of nature, everything on the earth, in the waters and in the atmosphere is governed by unchangeable, eternal laws" (Gospel Kingdom, p. 70, Salt Lake City, 1987; see Law).

THE GREAT FLOOD. The Old Testament records a flood that was just over fifteen cubits (sometimes assumed to be about twenty-six feet) deep and covered the entire landscape: "And all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered" (Gen. 7:19). Scientifically this account leaves many questions unanswered, especially how a measurable depth could cover mountains. Elder John A. Widtsoe, writing in 1943, offered this perspective: The fact remains that the exact nature of the flood is not known. We set up assumptions, based upon our best knowledge, but can go no further. We should remember that when inspired writers deal with historical incidents they relate that which they have seen or that which may have been told them, unless indeed the past is opened to them by revelation.\The details in the story of the flood are undoubtedly drawn from the experiences of the writer. Under a downpour of rain, likened to the opening of the heavens, a destructive torrent twenty-six feet deep or deeper would easily be formed. The writer of Genesis made a faithful report of the facts known to him concerning the flood. In other localities the depth of the water might have been more or less. In fact, the details of the flood are not known to us [Widtsoe, p. 127].

SPECIAL CONCERNS OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. President Brigham Young taught: "The whole object of the creation of this world is to exalt the intelligences that are placed upon it, that they may live, endure, and increase for ever and ever. We are not here to quarrel and contend about the things of this world, but we are here to subdue and beautify it" (JD 7:290). Viewing themselves as tenants upon the earth, Latter-day Saints regard its resources as a sacred trust from God for the use of all while upon the earth: "I, the Lord…make every man accountable, as a steward over earthly blessings, which I have made and prepared for my creatures" (D&C 104:13). The earth was created by Christ for specific purposes: "We will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" (Abr. 3:24-25). President Brigham Young taught that the dominion God gives human beings is designed to test them, enabling them to show to themselves, to their fellow beings, and to God just how they would act if entrusted with God's power (Nibley, 1978, p. 90; see Purpose of Earth Life: LDS Perspective). Brigham Young supervised the relocation of the Church to the American West, which in the late 1840s was sparsely inhabited. His strong commitment to preservation of the environment and wise use of all natural resources influenced early Church colonizing efforts. Such prudence and wisdom in the use of land, water, air, and living things are still encouraged throughout the Church. In modern days of widespread concern for preserving the fragile relationships between the earth and its biosphere, Brigham Young's counsel remains vital: There is a great work for the Saints to do. Progress, and improve upon, and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labours you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations [JD 8:83].\As I read this entry from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism I noticed:\a. It is extremely concentrated/ potent.\

b. Darn, you mean there are some things I can't understand?\

c. Some things really do have to be taken on faith.\~~~~~~~~~~\My conclusion: Some BYU professors offered to update all the science teachers in the state on evolution. Our class was held at DMS. After it was over I asked to ride in their car. I asked them point blank, What about Adam? They had different answers! None of them knew. But they believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ from beginning to end and they believed in evolution. Evolution really means natural change over time. What about unnatural change over time? Sorry, not covered! SEE!\V\PS.\~~~~BoM on Trial, the book/ comic manual I gave you, does a fantastic job of pointing out how strong the testimonies of the witnesses of the BoM are. Satan would have us take one unknown and get stuck on it. God would have us take the dozens of truths and bask in them.\As you can tell, this was a fun question for me to respond to. :) @@@ Well, bps, I left Gayelinn 11 vmails today, I left Scott 7 tonight, I sent you and MichaelJ letters. I raked leaves and shoveled doggie doodoos this morning. I have worn my pajama bottoms under my pants all day to keep warm. It has been a wonderful day! @ I am taking a couple of ibuprofen every 7-13 hours instead of every 4 so I am very hopeful my body is handling this tooth problem. @ Have I indexed or reviewed? Nope. It is 10:30 pm and not a single name has been indexed at my house today. Strange. I’ll just say, if FS can go on vacation, so can I! :) As I was walking I began to think are their any nice round numbers I would like to reach by the end of the year so it will be easy to count for next year’s efforts. I will have to go look and see. @ Love you. See you later. @@@

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOTues. 12/26/17 Hello Brandon, Only a few days of 2017 left. It was a huge year for you! Congratulations on making it through! Big changes. @ I sent your letter today. You may remember the two talks I only pasted the title to from MRB. Sometimes I put pastes in your letter just to make it more interesting, and because I can. I got to respond to a follow-up email. Let me share:Julie Ahlberg \6:49 PM (3 hours ago)\to me \Hi Vern,\I hope you had a merry Christmas.\I listened to "The Savior's Touch" and "Spiritual Development" by Elder Ballard. Both were really good talks. I was thrown off a little with how young Elder Ballard looked. I enjoyed them both, but the "Spiritual Development" was my favorite out of the two.\I told you at lunch the other day how I am studying the Savior from the topical guide and I came across a scripture where Christ talks about being slain. (I'd tell you which scripture but that would mean I would have to stand up and walk across the room to grab my scriptures.) Lol. Anyway, we read all the time how he "willingly gave his life" but for some reason the word "slain" stood out to me that day. I looked up all the definitions I could find of the word slain and boy, did that scripture become even more powerful to me. For me, I tend to forget how violent of an act Christ had to endure, and yes, I'm very grateful he willingly gave his life, but when I think about "willingly being slain" it takes on a more powerful meaning to me. I better get my act together, that's for sure. I've caused enough grief for the Savior and I don't want Him to suffer any more than he already has on my account.\Vern, I have a question and a favor to ask. My son who is 14, almost 15 years old, and who is very bright, struggles with the gospel and science (particularly how old science claims the earth is and then how the seven days of creation are explained.) I try to explain to him that science and religion go together and we do not know everything about God and his workings, and science doesn't know everything about our world and universe either. So, my question is this...Do you know of any talks, books, etc. that discusses this subject at all? And my favor is that if you do know of any good talks I could refer him to, would you send me a list of them? No pressure, but I thought I would ask. Thank you! Julie @@@ Yippee!\An email!\Slain. Interesting.\The two talks I sent you were my way of saying I couldn't find the one you suggested. ____________\Your request:I admire that your son dares to confront the issue!\It really is a pain.\I have two atheist brothers. Science is their religion. The holy grail.\Right off the top of my head, no I don't know of any resources.\Possible helpful concepts.\1- Our God is a god of miracles. Science isn't.\2- This life is a test of our faith.\3- Is there really a fight between good and evil? Is there really a Satan and God? If so. . . then where are Satan's teachings and what are his teachings? If so. . . then where are God's teachings and what are his teachings?\4- mr. lust, loves conspiracy theories. He attended class for a while last year. I think he is bipolar. He goes from one extreme to the other. He was telling me how the peaks in the Grand Canyon match constellations in the sky, like Orion's belt etc. and that they are ancient temples. I pointed out that the earth has moved. It was once near Kolob and will be again. The constellations have changed.\That was a real pain to him!\So what about the earth being "wrapped together as a scroll?", what in the heck does that mean? And where did all the water go that flooded the earth in Noah's day? And what about the layers of rock in the grand canyon that show the simplest creatures at the bottom, bacteria, and the most complex in the layers at the top? Isn't the sun 10 billion years old and the earth 5 billion? And isn't there evidence of evolution? And my big one: What about the cave paintings in France that are 20-40,000 years old? Was Adam really the first man? Did he live on the earth 6,000 years ago?\Damn, how is my faith supposed to oppose all the scientific evidence?\5- If we don't feed our faith regularly we lose it. How do we feed our faith?\6- One last consolation. How long are we here? The spirit world should prove to most of us that Satan is real and God's plan is real. And we'll be there shortly. :)\~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~\I wanted to be a seminary/institute teacher like my mission president. Where better to put my life's effort? HF knew better. Good thing I had a double interest, major.\Science is awesome because we use our senses of observation. I absolutely loved teaching my students to use all 5 of their senses to detect the world around them and then to analyze what their observations meant.\But what about our spirit? What about spirituality? Aren't we spirits living in a temporal world? Sorry. That is not a part of science. But it is a part of Satan and God! That is their realm. And as that p.24 that I shared with you Friday points out. . . Who believes in miracles or Satan anyway? The minority.\But isn't that the most important? Aren't our spirits the most important?\~~~~~~~~~ \So I went hunting when I quoted that wrapped together as a scroll scripture. Consider this:http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Earth

Earth\See this page in the original 1992 publication.\Author: Petersen, Morris S.

b. Darn, you mean there are some things I can't understand?\

Sunday, December 17, 2017

lauowhy

Thursday, 12/14 Good morning Brandon, Looks like my letter to Scott was not well received. 1-9 to appear later.10- I have responded without having you even identify the parts that felt like a "harsh sentence passed" on your head. [bps, this was when I realized I had jumped the gun. He might not even need the 10 rebuttals I had written. So instead I asked him which words made him feel that way?] @@@ Lauowhy=foreigner in China. This guy knows Mandarin and married a beautiful chinese girl, and I mean beautiful, and lives and works there and I watched 4 or 5 of his videos last night. Haven’t you ever been curious about China?

Here are some things I learned. 1- The weirdest thing is they think drinking cold water is bad for you! They serve and drink hot water! Everyone has a hot water dispenser in their house for water to drink. Yuck, I can’t imagine! 2- The walls are made of cement. No wood, no gypsum board, cement. His wife can’t help tapping on walls that are not cement because they seem so flimsy to her. 3- No carpets. No floor coverings in China. They are seen as unclean. 4- No bathtubs nor shower curtains in China. There is just a drain in the floor at the bottom of the shower and they can spray off the toilet and sink all at the same time. The bathroom floor is almost always wet from showers. 5- Foreigners can get away with murder. They are thought of as dumb and unable to understand the language and the rules/ laws. 6- No world wide internet access. Everything is from within the country. They have their own Facebook and Twitter and Youtube but all with different names. Insular country. 7- I watch at 1.5 or 1.25 speed so the videos seem quick and interesting. This guy has talent. His wife has the biggest prettiest white toothy smile, dimples and pretty lips. Her family speaks cantonese which he understands but can’t speak. What an interesting relationship. @@ Did you know the biggest greatest artifact left by the anasazi is Chaco Canyon? The weather was moist in the 4 corners area for 250 years around 1,000 AD. So the nomadic anasazi settled down and grew crops and built a huge religious city! Kivas are circular worship chapels dug underground with alcoves in the walls. The biggest one could fit a chapel/ whole church inside it. An east window up in the top would shine on a certain alcove at the summer solstice.

The descendants are the apache, hopi and other southern tribes. Not the navajo, they came later and have a different language. I grew up in SLC so finding indian artifacts in St. George area has been a novelty to me. I have wanted to understand the anasazi for decades. @@@ Geronimo is a famous apache chief from 1890 that ended up in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains to escape US soldiers. I watched a documentary on him last night. I sat at the library browsing books and skimmed one called Native American Myths from South, Central and North America. The pictures of the chiefs intrigued me. I have never much cared about their personalities but in my old age I try to imagine their personalities from their faces. You may remember my foray into languages. I am still amazed at how many languages there are. I can’t believe that the Book of Mormon will ever be printed in every language. Perhaps when the scriptures say every man will hear the gospel in his own language it is not referring to the Book of Mormon. @Wiki: Central America and Mexico[edit]\In Central America the Mayan languages are among those used today. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name, and Mexico recognizes eight more. The Mayan language family is one of the best documented and most studied in the Americas. Modern Mayan languages descend from Proto-Mayan, a language thought to have been spoken at least 5,000 years ago; it has been partially reconstructed using the comparative method.\1-Alagüilac (Guatemala) †\Chibchan (Central America & South America) (22)\Coahuilteco †\Comecrudan (Texas & Mexico) (3) †\Cotoname †

Cuitlatec (Mexico: Guerrero) †\Epi-Olmec (Mexico: language of undeciphered inscriptions) †\Guaicurian (8)\Huave\Jicaquean\Lencan\Maratino (northeastern Mexico) †\Mayan (31)\Miskito\Misumalpan\Mixe–Zoquean (19)\Naolan (Mexico: Tamaulipas) †\Oto-Manguean (27)\Purépecha\Quinigua (northeast Mexico) †\Seri\Solano †\Tequistlatecan (3)\Totonacan (2)\Uto-Aztecan (United States & Mexico) (33)\Xincan

Yuman (United States & Mexico) (11)\ bps Did you count? 27 Mayan related languages. @ The US had 58 original languages. SA had 138. Interesting isn’t it! @ Remember that only Central America had written language. Codex/ book. That is how we suspect they Jaredites and then Nephites lived there. @@@ Fri 12/15/17 Good morning Brandon, A new day. “10 movies the critics panned but shouldn’t have”, was a video I watched last night and then I picked a couple of them to go see. I ended up watching most of one about a self appointed superhero who chooses a pipe wrench for his weapon. His wife leaves him for a drug dealer and he tries to get her back but can’t. He sees a Jesus commercial fighting Satan at a High School and dreams he is chosen, touched by God to fight crime. At one point it shows him reconsidering and praying for a sign that he should continue fighting crime or give it up. A cute little woman wants to be his sidekick helper and it is quite satisfying to watch them beat the criminals one at a time. I would never have watched it without that 10 panned movies video I watched to begin with. It sort of prepared me for the obnoxious stuff. So, one more way of adventuring. @ Elder SLC Chenney came in to FS at 5 last night. I so wanted to touch base with him. He is so inspiring. I love updates on what is happening in the foreign language indexing world. One of the bylines used to encourage foreign language indexing is: “Did you know there are 20 times more records available in English than all other languages put together?” Doesn’t that sound like a compelling reason to help? It sure makes me feel needed! Well, in past years the indexing done has been 5% foreign, 95% english. This year is different: 20% foreign, 80% english. That is headway! Next, we were 1.8million behind in Spanish last year. Currently only 35k behind. Next, he said that arbitrators/ reviewers are encouraged to find a project, index it until they understand all the ins and outs, then start reviewing and stick to that project until it is all done. That way they become experts. This was a relief to hear because it means it is OK for my to push a project ahead! I have been indexing 50 morti and reviewing 1k Paraguay each day. Next, I dared to ask if our indexed records are used to find the originals. The answer was yes. The index is not an original source. Thank heavens! So that means it does not have to be perfect! Those are not the names nor information that will be taken to the temple, although I did not ask that question specifically. I should have. It is just used to give hints to those seeking records of ancestors. On family search program it shows the hints in a blue button. Peru has started calling them Celestial blue hints. Fun huh! By following the hint you can follow it back to the original record and see what the clerk really wrote! This is so extremely important to me because I have been checking the indexer when I review and not every record. I see my most important responsibility as seeing if the indexer did it right, not checking every single record/ entry. It is the same way I used to grade papers. I found a mistake that was common to make and then focused on that specific question and answer. If they got that one right they probably got the rest right, so it was just spot checking for full credit. I found it way too boring trying to find a mistake on every line! The old arbitrating program compared Key A’s indexing with Key B’s indexing and all the differences were highlighted in red and needed arbitration. Elder Chenney will probably discover in time that we are a dozen times faster with reviewing than we were with arbitrating. Arbitrating Spanish records was tedious. Some indexers used accents, some didn’t etc. etc.. Reveiwing Spanish records works great. My biggest issue is when the indexer can’t find the information because it is split on two pages. My second biggest issue is having them skip people/ records. There might be 2 or 3 records on a page and they just do the top one. Those are the ones we send back for reindexing. @@ The brother who died multiple times and was brought back by his indexed buddies from Chicago was here last night. He has a chip on his shoulder. He feels angry at those who try to run up their numbers by indexing wrong. Once he starts reviewing he will see that you don’t get credit for ones done wrong. In fact I believe the people who index them incorrectly just don’t understand yet, they haven’t figured it out yet, they haven’t been taught enough yet. I know, I have been there. And how many people are there like me who actually index for hours and hours each day? No one! And how can you understand it all unless you do? You can’t. In fact, I only understand one type of Italian indexing after all these months and years: forms. I do understand more Spanish indexing because I know the language. Elder Chenney said the Italians were extremely apprehensive about Americans indexing their records. He rubbed/wrung his hands to show their worry. And he is in charge of all the foreign indexing so he got the brunt of that worry and concern. Evidently we have succeeded because we have many additional languages now. @@ I know this indexing world makes little sense to you and may be of little interest but it is the Lord’s work and we are pushing it along. @@@Serious us vern jensen <phonev6@gmail.com>8:21 AM (14 hours ago)to Spot

Firstly, Why was I abandoned by all my brothers and sisters to sociopaths and murderers? At least you had siblings growing up around you. At times, many times ( I know this from having Gayelinn there until I was 12, then she went to University ) it was a liability, something that our parents used against us. But, at least you had each other, and I know you watched out for each other. This is the sentence I'm referring too, sentence as in prison sentence.

Secondly, why did you feel I needed "a seed of self honesty, to spark his understanding of our parents, and prompt the end of deceit in his own mind, and the beginning of self acceptance and humility on his own part." I strived from my earliest memories to have self honesty at all times. I went out of my way to go back to people minutes, hours, days, years later in order to pay reparations for things my parents did that I witnessed. I didn't have to do that, I was compelled to do it. I have always strived for introspection, self improvement and self acceptance.

I'm wonder what made you feel I did not have self honesty or self acceptance.

When the State of Utah did their official interrogation on me, 4 hours long, no adult present, at age 13 ( I think ) did they ask anything about child abuse? Or nieces and nephews being abused? Did they give me and opportunity to say anything. NO. They ask 5 questions over and over and over, that I only realized later in my live, was them fishing to see if our parents did the temple ceremony in our home and if I had witnessed any part. I hadn't and I knew nothing about it. Why would the STATE care about RELIGION? That is not their jurisdiction.

No one asked me to stay with our parents. No one asked me if I wanted to defend them. No one asked me if I had been abused. I was alone and scared and abandoned by the only ones that actually showed me love. Water under the bridge, but yet, still questions in my head.

I love you very much and cherish our relationship now and before. As you can see questions I may never have answers to, and I might have to learn to just accept and move on. Abandonment was and is still hard for me.

bps, I took spot on a long inner child therapy session by email (not included) and then sent this:For understanding only: vern jensen <phonev6@gmail.com>8:58 AM (14 hours ago)toSpot

I'm wonder what made you feel I did not have self honesty or self acceptance.

~~~ ~~~

First, of all let me admit that I make mistakes. I am stupid many times. There are so many things I don't understand.

I am also damaged. I will probably never be whole. I am walking wounded.

I deal with overwhelming feelings regularly. And they are not fun nor comfortable. I usually have at least one huge debilitating issue a week. I also have allergies that I test, and often end up being sick for a day or two each week. Last night they had candy canes, red and green frosted cupcakes and frosted sugar cookies for treats at BoM class. I ate none. I was sick 2 or 3 days after eating a Halloween sugar cookie at class. No way do I want to do that again.

I take 10mg paxil/paroxetine each day. I have a prescription for 4/day=80mg. I stock up/store them so I don't have to visit the doctor as often. I would love to get off it, but I don't trust myself. I don't dare. If I am this bad taking a half a pill each day, how bad would I be if I stopped taking them?

Secondly, I wrote the succeeding response yesterday. And when I got to the bottom I realized I hadn't even had you clarify which feelings you had. So this is for understanding only. It is not meant to defend or debate. Forgive me if anything seems adversarial. I do not intend to be adversarial, not like in a court of law.

1- Up until the church court time period I believed, "Jensen's are different". That dad was called and elected, soon to take on his full apostleship and die in Jerusalem and lay in the street for 3 days. I too honored them. I was obedient.

2- Their strange actions were aberrations to me. I did not know they were abusers, murders. I have pages and pages in my journal from a couple of years before the funeral where I defended them and recorded all their good deeds. It took me weeks to figure out that there might be some truth to Julie, the "liar's" accusations. Kathy couldn't stand them and knew something was wrong, but not me. They were my loving parents. Honor thy father and thy mother.

3- Why did I abandon you to them? I was abandoned to them as well. I didn't know I needed to be rescued. Why would I think you did? I was raised in that same household only some 20 years before you. Plus, my weird wife was all I could handle. She wouldn't even allow relatives to sleep in the house when they came in to town to visit. I thought that was absurd. But she had been abused and, didn't know it either.

4- Pre-judging. As I said in parentheses, I worried about revealing to you my projections of your intents/position. I don't mind if you are angry with me for not removing you from that situation. I am disappointed with me as well. But I did not have a clue.

“I sat near the middle and began to write Scott. I wanted him to have something to read and consider after it was all over and the memories of what was said have all become jumbled. I wanted to help him feel respected *[no issue, positive] and loved (accepted) *[no issue] and also to plant a seed of self honesty *[I couldn't be honest with myself until I understood the deception, if you already understood the deception you were way ahead of me at that age], to spark his understanding of our parents *[Did you already understand them? I hadn't] , and prompt the end of deceit in his own mind *[I am not saying you were deceitful, I was saying you were deceived, I had been. Why honor wicked parents? Defy wicked parents, honor righteous ones. ], and the beginning of self acceptance *[we have problems with this, we don't dare own our feelings, they are liabilities so we deny them, bury them when they come out, and in my case explode, geyser back then.] and humility on his own part.” [Scott, I hesitated to share the word humility with you. It turned out you already are. We have to be humble to make changes.]

5- I do not fault my desires to improve your life. I wanted to spark your understanding. Understanding is the first step. Then comes desire. Then comes action. Perhaps you were too young to dare to desire and act, if you understood.

6- You understand the label sociopath. Interesting. I still wonder. I find that label reassuring. I know a man without a conscience, same age as MichaelJ. I don't understand it all the way and some people can't even accept there are such things as conscience free people, sociopaths.

7- In my opinion I prejudged you in no unfair ways. I was reaching out to try and help in the only way I knew how. How could I write you if I did not have an intent? The letter is gone. But my intent is revealed.

8- So are you allowed to sorrow? Are you allowed to wish? Are you allowed to be angry? Absolutely!

9- Adrian's motivation was extinguished by his tax confrontation. The most productive years of his life, wasted! It wasn't fair. We have all been handicapped and wounded by our formative years in hell. I am so sorry for us and for you.

10- I have responded without having you even identify the parts that felt like a "harsh sentence passed" on your head.

Friday: Lastly, I hope this doesn't wipe you out, especially if you dare to go visit little Scott and feel with him. Big stuff. If it does wipe you out, it would make sense. Healing is hard work. I am intensely proud of us even having this conversation. What a treat! What a blessing! I love it and I appreciate it.\God bless you, Vern\
This is how he responded:Spot 9:09 AM (13 hours ago)\to me \My dear brother Vern,

Thank you so very much for responding. I was worried I overstepped myself in asking what I did. Thank you for caring and understanding. Thank you for your advice.

I understand things much better now. There is no need for you to follow up any further on this subject unless you feel the need to. I love you so much more, I didn't think loving you more was possible, but it is.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Love, Spot\Brandon, He hopes to try my advice, the inner child journey I led him on. It will be absolutely exhausting, devastatingly depleting, if he can go deep enough. He won't be able to respond for hours or days afterwards. So much healing is needed. It is like recuperating at a hospital after a serious operation. Hard to imagine isn't it? But Mark Clayton understood well. He encouraged us to treat our inner child after hard work like that.\

Kathy used to reward MichaelJ with a subway sandwich if he would do a therapy session with Mark. I couldn't see it. But Michael's therapy session eventually came to an end so I'm glad she was smarter than I was.

Sunday, 12/17 How big is Africa? Because the equator goes through Africa and makes it look smaller on a map. The countries away from the equator get expanded because the earth is round, not flat. Earlier I told you how many languages were in America and Central and South America. How many in Africa? [The whole continent of Africa with more than 30 million square kilometers and one billion inhabitants might be considered a very large linguistic area. About 1,500 languages (25 % of the world's total) are spoken across this vast territory. They are grouped in four phyla of very different magnitude: Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo and Khoisan.<v- I think this is more accurate than the earlier ones. For example it says: When the Europeans arrived to North America there were perhaps 300 to 400 languages spoken by several million native people. Due to continuous wars, disease, forced displacement and cultural marginalization, only 250,000 native Americans were still alive in the territory of the United States at the end of the 19th century, and only about half or less of the indigenous languages of North America survive today. Most of them are endangered and many have only a few speakers left.] So the scripture about every people hearing the gospel in their own tongue couldn’t mean the BoM will be translated into all of them.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

How much does it cost to raise a parent?

12/13 Good Wednesday morning Brandon, Momentous things have been happening. Spot’77 went and found 40+ minutes of vmails he left me last week: 12/1. [I gave him my password and he went and found them in my gmail.] His story is harrowing! Unimaginable. Dad died in ‘92. He turned 15 that year and got a job and supported Mom. She had a revelation to invite another family with 3 sons to live with them. They all lived off of Spot’s meager $660 a month. After 6 months Mom was at her wits end. Spot, will you please get them to move out. He is 15 and he is supposed to kick them out? @ The story is a good one and it didn’t end there. Mom invited another family to come live with them. Spot told them up front 6 months was it and how to get a great job using his skills. Paul, a convert and an experienced cook, got a job, saved his money and moved out. Success! @ Back to the funeral. Spot told me the letter I wrote him that day has always haunted him. 25 years ago Brandon! He was obedient to Mom and threw it away without reading it. He asked me if I could remember what I had written him. Are you kidding? I didn’t even remember writing him! :) I reassured him it was probably just more of the same. I have always loved him and our relationship right now is evidence of that. @He squirmed a bit when he heard his own voice on a vmail I returned to him. He said he sounded like a 13 year old. I squirm when I hear my voice too. @ I told him I keep good journals and I would go see if I mentioned anything about it and what might have been in that letter. I was not very hopeful. I pulled out my light blue journal for that year and started reading and hunting. I found 2 pages he might enjoy so I vmailed and read them to him. This morning he texted me that it made him cry. Woah! Cool! That is why I keep journals. Hoping they will be of use in the future. And if my brother who can’t feel anything, is going to cry over it. . . Is that a reward, a payoff, or what? So why not copy it and send it to him. I did and here it is:

Subject:
Silly me. I was inspired by how much those vmails meant to you. So I took an hour and dictated it out on Dragon speak.
vern jensen <phonev6@gmail.com>10:40AM (3 minutes ago)to Spot

7:20 AM January 16, 1992 I'm in room 127 the Thunderbird Motel in Spokane Washington. We drove back from Grangeville Idaho yesterday evening. At the Grangeville Ward house (LDS) the funeral was held. He (Louis – dad) was buried at the cemetery in Harpster. It was quite a long slow distance from Grangeville. It was a tiny cemetery up on a hill. It gave me the creeps to imagine satanic rituals taking place in that isolated place some night. The cemetery was 2 miles below their 20 acres and the roundhouse they have covered with a roof recently. We drove up and saw it.
I wasn't sure what to expect and how I would need to be able to respond. After writing yesterday I went to bed and still was busy in my mind with thoughts. I began to pray while laying on my bed, on my back, and I felt so at peace and in touch but not peaceful in my mind. I had chills run down my skin and body three or four times as I prayed and thought about my life and my family (children and wife). I felt like it was a calm confirmation (possibly) from the spirit of heavenly father saying he loves me and I am doing right and he approves of and loves me. And a new thought I valued was that the most valuable aspect and influence I can be in my life is the constancy, of me in my family. My home in St. George, my wife and children, my job and education, are the best possible influence I can be in my extended family. There is no action I need to take or words I need to say.
Thank you heavenly father for allowing me to keep this part of my life the same for the last 10 years. Perhaps it is been a blessing he has given me partially as an example of the possibility of “normalness” and steadiness to my siblings. This might sound like I think I meet and like I'm bragging but the thought came as an answer to “how Do I fit in the scheme of my family and what do I need to do to help them?” Answer: Nothing, perhaps,… Just live a good life.[Spot, can you detect the tentativeness? I'm never quite sure. (possibly), perhaps]
{Brandon, this is where I started my vmail to Spot, to tell him about his letter eventually.}
My number one goal was to be honest and true to myself during this funeral occasion. Not to be deceitful or false in any way, if possible.
My number two goal was to case things out and investigate. See where my mom is coming from, and what Louis' siblings thought, and how they were reacting and how he was excepted and thought of in his community.
My third desire, which began as top priority was to confirm that my father's death was real, and that it was safe to put my caution of him aside.
We arrived in Grangeville at 10 AM and after filling up with gas at the Maverick we arrived at church at about 10:15. I entered to write Spot a letter in the Chapel. Lloyd Wright, Junius Jensen, and Reggie Jensen were there at the front side bench talking. I shook hands. Junius introduced himself as did Reggie then Lloyd. (Junius was bearded – gray and curly). Reggie asked who came with me and I gave him the rundown and explained why Julie and Adrian wouldn't be here.
Reggie was preparing to give the “life sketch”. He did a good job. He was a brother just three years older than Louis. It was best to have someone dad's age give the perspective of his life.
I sat near the middle and began to write Spot. I wanted him to have something to read and consider after it was all over and the memories of what was said have all become jumbled. I wanted to help him feel respected and loved (accepted) and also to plant a seed of self honesty, to spark his understanding of our parents, and prompt the end of deceit in his own mind, and the beginning of self acceptance and humility on his own part.[Spot, I hesitated to share the word humility with you. It turned out you already are. We have to be humble to make changes.]
I gave mom a one armed hug when she entered the front of the Chapel for first time. Later she approached me from one bench behind me, and was alone in the Chapel with me. I turned to face her and we had this conversation. Of course one of my goals was to see if Dad might have left a letter of apology or if mom would admit and own up to to the cause of their isolation and move to Grangeville.
Mom – I hope you won't feel offended that I included you as a pallbearer. I called your house yesterday but you had left so I couldn't ask you.
Vern – No, I don't mind and it is what I was expecting from what Brent said. If there is anything else that needs to be done on the program I would be willing to help.
Mom – I hadn't talked to you so I didn't know, and I hope you won't feel bad that I have asked Brent to give the family prayer.
Vern – No, that's fine.
Mom – I hope we can go on and progress from here. I want to put the past behind us and be able to move on and progress. I love you and your dad loves you and if there is anything you ever want to talk about or need resolved I would be glad to talk with you about anything. I want to put the past behind us and if there is anything that is holding you or any of the other children back I am willing to talk with you anytime.
Vern – There needs to be some admission…(Pause)
Mom – Yes, there does.…
Vern – I feel like I have done my part in admitting.…
Mom – I feel like I have done my part two.
Vern – I wondered if you felt that way.
Mom – Yes!… Definitely!… Definitely!
[Spot, true to form, I wrote Louis and Myrna of letter, a confession, and invitation two years before at the excommunication. In that letter I confessed the most heinous sin of my life: masturbation. I can't tell you how difficult that was. In front of the stake presidency and the high Council I confessed that sin and invited Louis and Myrna to confess theirs. Looking back I can see that there is really no comparison. How could masturbation be compared with child abuse and murder.]
The façade is still on. The farce is still intact and being promulgated. Nothing has changed. The woman who raised her arm to the square and testify of no wrongdoing at the church disciplinary counsel on March 4, 1991 is still putting on the show. Sad. So sad. But she is living a lie of righteousness that she can't let go. Not even for the reward of an honest relationship with her own children. But ostracism is a tremendous driving force. Appearances must be maintained if one is to survive In peer pressured, social world.
I knew then (after that conversation) that the day would be a sham. It was, and it was extremely dry and slow and boring for me. Nice things were said; and the plan of salvation explained; touching words were sung; and thoughtful prayers were given, but it was all pretend. The honesty was not there. I could not be touched nor could I feel or respond because it was not real or sincere. I won't be untrue to my feelings by thinking the beautiful truths of the gospel applied to unrepentant, proud interlopers. The truth is not within them. Mom has lived a life of deceit and not having her US citizenship has been just one persistent evidence of that. How sad. How else can she act? Her world would fall apart if she tried to be honest, so she is locked in her pattern.
This one is to make you smile. You had to raise your Mom!