Know your faith!

Impressive!

Know what you believe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/03/mormon_tv_harva.html

http://vimeo.com/2120177

Mormon Temples

You may have heard a lot in the news recently about the Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and their belief in temple worship. Like Frank Moore Cross, professor of Ancient History at Harvard, states in the following video:

"Someone who does not know much about temples, and Mormons building temples, should be directed to the Bible."

The Old and New Testament are full of descriptions of temples and their purpose. Of course, since the coming of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law, temples serve a different, although identical, or parallel purpose: providing a sacred place where we can go to make an offering to the Lord.

The Savior asks us to come unto him and live as He does. His joy is fulfilled in our desire to seek others' welfare as we commhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifit ourselves to God's work and glory: "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." - Moses 1:39

Primary resources on temples:

The purpose of temples and see temples around the world.
More questions? See the FAQ page.

The power of Women

I received an e-mail recently that had an article on the correlation between the safety/security of women and the relative peacefulness of the nations in which they live.

I quote from the BYU news release:

The researchers spent seven years building a new database that covers 260 factors regarding the treatment of women in 174 countries. Then they used that data to show a statistically significant relationship between the security of women and peacefulness of nations.

This research is available at http://womanstats.org and boasts that is has "the most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of women in the world."

Valerie Hudson is the project's lead.

I further quote from the article:

"We suggest that the root of what we call national security may actually lie in a very unusual or unexpected place, and that is the treatment of women in society," says lead author Valerie Hudson, BYU professor of political science. "We offer what we consider to be fairly strong preliminary empirical evidence based on our new database that this is a viable alternative hypothesis."

The researchers compared their findings regarding the treatment of women with commonly held explanations for peacefulness: levels of democracy, levels of wealth and identity of the civilization. The association with peace was strongest with the treatment of women.

"If you used all four variables to try to predict state peacefulness, the one that would give you the best predictions of the four would be violence against women," Hudson found.

Hudson and her co-authors acknowledge that the relationship they observed can operate in the other direction, that is, state insecurity and violence can exaggerate the insecurity of women. And they say much further research is necessary before their results can be considered authoritative.

Of course this is stating the obvious, but think about it- the nation who values and seeks the security of womanhood is the most peaceful... why would it not be so? Seek the security of women, and the family, and the security of the nation will follow.

So, when we're told to be especially nice to girls, we'd better listen...


But what about the men? What effect do they have on a nation? How about this article, entitled "Bare Branches" compiled by the same team, that is forecasting major problems for China, a nation with a culture that values male children over female. They will apparently be faced with 30 million surplus men in about 10 years...

Chinese leader Hu Jintao, reviews the troops... this will be quite a task in about 10 years...

Get out of the car!

This one is self-explanatory...


How many times have you approached the wrong car in the parking lot, thinking it was yours?

Survey for Scott

I have a friend that is conducting a survey for his M.B.A. at Utah State. Visit the following link if you'd like to answer his 10 questions on preferences for computer operating systems:

I am conducting a research for a class and wondering if you may be able to take a 10-question survey. Go to this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=rK9SFol2HQWufhDkq9Ie4g_3d_3d to complete the survey. Once you're done, do you think you can forward this survey's link to people that might be interested? Thanks.
--
Fei "Scott" Jiang

Utah's Economy

Utah is not an island, and the economy has caught up to us a little more as we've gone into 2009, but here is a map showing what the unemployment rate was in October:

I was sent this article in November published in "The Economist" that discusses the reasons why Utah's economy hasn't suffered as much as other states' have as of late. I found it interesting:

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12480476

It is true that Gov. Huntsman and Mayor Godfrey (Ogden) have been very aggressive in attempting to grow business here in Utah. Lots of tax breaks and incentives for the companies that have chosen to either relocate or expand in Utah recently.

"Hundreds attend Global Warming Protest"

"Hundreds attend Global Warming Protest"

A co-worker sent this to me. I thought it was funny.

It causes me to reflect on caring for our earth. My thoughts on this are, global warming or not, we need to care for our earth. It is our home. It deserves the best and I feel that there is a lot we can do to improve our use and investment into renewable energy sources.

To me the idea of "energy independence" goes far beyond drilling for our own oil and independence from oil-producing nations. It means every family having a simple solar system on their homes, being able to be independent from the grid when the power goes out, thanks to a battery that can run furnaces and several florescent bulbs inside, that recharges each day when the sun comes up.

It also means that during really sunny days that the electrical meters on homes are turning backwards, generating more power than their home needs and putting it back into the power grid. That is the way things ought to work.

This same principle applies to finances, food, and so on... ever heard of a garden and food storage?

"And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?" - Moses 7:48

What a lovely name!

A friend, Scott, showed me a little website a few days ago that will help you to learn a little more about names. It is called "What a Lovely Name." I looked up my name and found out a little more about it:

Loren

Americanization of the German name Lorenz, a variant of the Latin name Laurence. Ultimately taken from the Latin word "laurus," meaning "laurels".

Alternates: Lorin

Tags: American, calm, gentle, independent


That was nice, but I took a few minutes and looked a little further:

Meaning of "Loren"
English name
In English, the name Loren means- Variant of Lorin: Variant of Laurence: From the place of laurel trees. Famous Bearer: conductor Lorin Maazel (born 1930). Other origins for the name Loren include - English, American. The name Loren is a unisex name and can be used for a boy or girl name (male or female).

English Meaning - Variant of Lorin: Variant of Laurence: From the place of laurel trees. Famous Bearer: conductor Lorin Maazel (born 1930).

Origin - English

Scouting Monument

Ambitious Eagle Scout Project in Woods Cross:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705273328,00.html

Anyone wanting more information about the project can contact Ron Smith, Tommy's father, at (801) 688-2633.