The world has lost another great man.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away around 11:30 p.m. last night. I will miss his talks that almost always included some sports story.

California's Proposition 8 IS a moral issue.

The big argument in California against Proposition 8 seems to be "It's not a moral issue, it's a civil issue." Yesterday I read an interesting argument against Proposition 8. In the argument, the author is trying to refute the claim that adoption agencies will be forced to adopt babies to same-sex couples. He uses an interesting comment. He says, "California already has on its books (and has for several years) laws granting domestic partners (homosexual and heterosexual) the same civil rights as married couples."

If "domestic partners" have the same civil rights in California, than why the big buzz about Proposition 8 taking away civil rights from homosexual couples? It seems to me (due to the comment above) that Proposition 8 is definitely a moral issue and not a civil issue at all.

My Job Location is Changing

Some of you may know that I work as a Unix/Linux Systems Engineer for the LDS Church. On September 23rd 2008, it was announced that our entire department will be moved to a new location at 3740 West 13400 South in Riverton. This will change my commute from currently living 8.2 miles to my parking lot to living 34.5 miles from my parking lot. This move will likely begin sometime in Q1 or Q2 2009.

I've been thinking lately about the impact this will have on my quality of life. There are several ways this will impact me and my family. First, my time away from my family will increase. It takes me usually about 15 minutes to drive to and from work. That will increase by about 30 minutes. That's an extra hour away from my family every day.

Second, with gas prices at their current rates, I figure it will cost me an additional $3,000 per year for the extra miles added to my commute. Would you want to take a $3,000 hit to your pocketbook?

Third, if I were to relocate my family to the Riverton/Herriman area to mitigate the above two issues, it would mean drastic changes in friendships, church, doctors, schools, etc. for me and all my family members.

I believe everyone takes their commute into account in deciding whether to accept a certain employment offer. If any of the readers of my blog (both of you) have experienced a similar change not of your choosing, I'd be interested in your thoughts. It will be interesting to see how this impact to my life will affect my job satisfaction.

New Missionary Catch Phrase?

There is a great post over at "The Cultural Hall" blog. (See here.) It deals with the phrase of "Every Member a Missionary" which is used in the LDS Church. The blog post makes an excellent point of noting that you need to be a friend.

My Village Re-Arranged

In a Mormon Times article, (see here) Orson Scott Card likens a LDS ward to a village of people where people are "groomed" by each other. Last Sunday night, my "village" had new boundaries created. This is the fourth ward boundary change we have been involved in while living in our current home. We were made part of the new ward that was created. This is also the fourth different ward that we have been in since we have lived here. Changes like this always bring challenges, both for myself and for my wife and children. We'll face these challenges the same way that we have faced other challenges in our lives, one day at a time.

LDS Church and Caucus Meetings

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has apparently issued a letter that was to be read in sacrament meetings last Sunday. I found out about this letter from the Deseret Morning News. The article says, 'church leaders said any ward or stake meetings should not conflict with the "important meetings."'

Apparently the statement says, "Precinct caucuses are the most fundamental grassroots level of political involvement in Utah. Those who attend caucuses not only play a critical role in nominating candidates, but also in setting the stage for party and public policy."

My ward has a Ward Temple Night planned for tonight. Now I have a dilemma, do I attend the Ward Temple Night, or my neighborhood caucus meetings? I guess it's not too much of a dilemma since I haven't been real good at attending Ward Temple Night in the past.

Don't Harbor Ill Feelings

Reading a post by Mike Ridgway (see March 18th, 2008, here) made me think of a great talk by President Thomas S. Monson. (see here) President Monson talks about harboring ill feelings toward others. He says, "There are hidden wedges in the lives of many whom we know—yes, perhaps in our own families."

In typical President Monson fashion, he tells a couple of stories to make his point. He then says, "Sometimes we can take offense so easily. On other occasions we are too stubborn to accept a sincere apology. Who will subordinate ego, pride, and hurt—then step forward with “I am truly sorry! Let’s be as we once were: friends. Let’s not pass to future generations the grievances, the anger of our time”? Let’s remove any hidden wedges that can do nothing but destroy."

I know very little about Mike Ridgway or Mark Towner, save what I have read in the press. I do, however, know that in my own life I've had to take a step back many times and realize that I was harboring ill feelings toward another. I know my life has gone a lot better when I have gotten rid of those ill feelings.

Perpetuating Rumors

A post on Mark Towner's blog (see here) made me think of the widespread problem of perpetuating rumors and falsehoods. With the advent of e-mail and the internet, it seems all too easy for people to pass on rumors and falsehoods without even checking if they are true. Mr. Towner has done that with his post. He says in part, "This is an actual job application that a 75 year old senior citizen submitted to Walmart in Arkansas." This statement is false and can easily be found on http://www.snopes.com. I frequently use Snopes to check on the truth of stories that seem pretty far-fetched to me.

Mr. Towner is not the only one to have this problem. A few weeks ago in my church meeting, an individual perpetuated the rumor that President Boyd K. Packer said "When you get to heaven, someone will ask you what prophet's time did you live in and when you say Gordon B. Hinckley, a hush will fall, and all present will bow at your presence." I had heard this before and knew it wasn't true because I had done research to see if it was something that President Packer had said. This past week, in the LDS Church News, it talks about the First Presidency of the Church releasing a statement that says in part "This is a false statement. It is not Church doctrine. At various times, this statement has been attributed erroneously to President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring, President Boyd K. Packer, and others. None of these Brethren made this statement." I have heard of several bishops where this was read over the pulpit because the false statement had been perpetuated over the pulpit.

The internet makes it easy to perpetuate these rumors, however, with a little effort, the internet also makes it easy to check on the truth of stories.

Be Positive!

One of the cultural beliefs of the department that I work in is titled "Be Positive." It goes on to say, "I contribute to a positive and optimistic work environment."

An article in Saturday's LDS Church News (see here, subscription and login required) made me think about this cultural belief in relation to my blog posts. Am I truly contributing to a positive on-line environment? The article says, "In this society, with its newfound high tech forms of media, there seems to be a new license to blast away at will, especially anonymously. Certainly authors of angry comments on the Internet can't be as hateful as they sound. Can they? Or are they more childish than children?"

I'm going to try and take this issue to heart and be more positive in my posts. A wise rabbit once said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."

Till We Meet Again...

President Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet to the World and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was re-united with his wife last night at 7:00 p.m. The world has lost a great leader. He inspired all who met and heard from him. He was respected by many individuals both inside and outside of the LDS Church. He will be greatly missed.

The official announcement from the Church can be found here:
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/beloved-church-president-gordon-b-hinckley-dies-at-97

Why is it always the Mormons fault?

I read a Deseret Morning News article (see here) about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposing the sale of so called "alco-pop" in grocery stores. The statement from a LDS Church spokesman says in part "To allow the sale of distilled spirits in grocery and convenience stores promotes underage drinking and undermines the state system of alcohol control."
I also read some of the comments associated with the article. One thing that I found interesting in the comments is the amount of people saying it's the Church's fault that liquor laws are so strict in Utah. One reason I find these comments so interesting comes from my frequent travels at my previous job. I found that Utah is not so different from many states in having strict liquor laws. For example, New Jersey has separate liquor stores that are closed earlier than grocery stores and are also closed on holidays. Last time I checked, New Jersey didn't have a majority of residents who are members of the LDS faith. So how come every time the Utah State Legislature looks at doing anything with regards to our liquor laws, people immediately scream that it's the Mormons fault?

My experience at my precinct caucus meeting

Two years ago I attended my Republican Party precinct caucus meeting. I had attended previous caucuses, but this was my first as part of the WX05 precinct. The meeting was held at Woods Cross Elementary School. The state party platform was read and then from there the meeting was completely different from any one that I had been to previously. The majority of the precinct members attend the same LDS Church Ward. Since I'm not a member of that ward, I can't say for sure what happened, but, it appeared to me that a lot of the campaigning for the chair and delegate positions had taken place in that LDS Ward meetings. Nominations were made, then votes were cast. No time was given for the candidates to give a speech about why they should be elected. Now, do you think I'm excited to participate in this year's precinct caucus meeting? Maybe I'll send spies to their church meetings Sunday to see what goes on.