Intolerance

Intolerance is..."a reflection upon the one who had exhibited it rather than upon the one toward whom it was directed. Not only a reflection upon good manners, but upon one's basic knowledge. There can be nothing quite so stupid as intolerance."
Clifford Simak
"The Goblin Reservation", 1968

It Seems to Me

A conversation yesterday struck me as most curious.
In that conversation, two individuals were not sympathetic with the policies of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
They expressed a desire that he be much more in tune with their secular political viewpoints.
It seems obvious to me, that if you believe in God, but don't believe that the Pope is God's spokesperson, then perhaps the Roman Catholic Church just is not for you.
It also seems obvious to me that anyone who believes in a loving God and the Bible should believe that He would continue to speak and provide additional direction through revelations to us through His spokespersons (i.e., Prophets and Apostles) as well as individually, here and now, just as He previously did in former times.
Let all follow their hearts and worship (or not worship) as seems best to them, but that, in a nutshell, is the basis of my personal religious conversion and my simple faith.

The Puissant Power of Personal Prayer

Two Sundays previous to today, our local ward (congregation) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) Sacrament (worship service) speakers spoke on a topic suggested to them by our inspired lay leadership (Bishopric).
Their topic was how to prepare for this weekend's LDS Church General Conference meetings, which were broadcast worldwide via satellite to homes, cable television networks, and LDS Meetinghouses.
In these sacrament meeting talks, we then were encouraged to prepare for the conference broadcasts by praying on behalf of the conference speakers and also that our hearts and minds would be prepared to receive and understand counsel given to us that would be especially meaningful in meeting our individual and family needs.
Although by nature an impatient and contumacious soul, I nevertheless took these speakers' guidance to heart and applied it every day during the last two weeks in my private and personal prayers.
And so it was that each and every LDS Church General Conference speaker this weekend provided me with an abundance of mentoring that was poignantly appropriate and uplifting for me, so much so that I could scarce take it all in.

From Long Ago & Far Away (shared with an old friend)

When I joined the Church, you were just a little tyke - about 4 years old or so.
The first thing I remember about you is your Mom & Dad telling me that you would pitch a hissy fit at even the very thought of missing out on Family Home Evening.
They also told me that you often would ask if it was Monday yet, because you so enjoyed that time with your family.
Therein perhaps was the acorn that grew up into the mighty Oak tree of your spiritual strength.

Footnote: For more about Family Home Evenings and lots of other family friendly information, call 1-800-438-7557 or visit www.mormon.org