Saturday, October 17, 2015

Throw the Rascals Out - How and When?



These people do spend way too much time as professional politicians. We need to return the having citizen legislators.  People who go to DC to serve the people, not to feed at the public trough for decades.  Spending years in DC they get totally out of touch with the realities of life in America.  That is part of the reason they do so many stupid things and enact such dopey laws.

We don't really need term limits on Congress.  Aside from being almost impossible to get enacted, they aren't necessary if we do a few simple things:

1) Eliminate, immediately and retroactively any and all retirement plans for Federally elected officials.  Instead, the only retirement plan they get is Social Security.

2) Eliminate immediately any employer provided health plans for Federally elected officials.  Instead, they have to buy health plans on the open market, and use their own paychecks to buy it.  No more Rolls Royce Health Plans for these guys.  Make them live with ObamaCare too.

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Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

 (c) Copyright 2015 A+ Results LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

Your comments are welcome... Please observe some ground rules. No profanity, vulgarity, or personal attacks. Profanity, vulgarity and personal attacks not only betray a lack of vocabulary and imagination, they also are the hallmarks of bigotry, and bigotry is the hallmark of someone who is fundamentally insecure in their views. Facts are always welcome.

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Friday, October 16, 2015

Paradise and the Pit

Suppose that you were woke up one day in the midst of a maze, a labyrinth.

When you wake up you see a sign that tells you the following:

This maze has exactly two exits.   
One exit will drop you into an inescapable pit of spikes that will wound you and cause you excruciating pain.   
The other exist will admit you into a place where all your physical needs will be met and you can spend your days learning and growing without the distraction of having to provide for your needs. 
At the end of the day, the maze will be emptied.  All maze occupants who have not reached an exit by the end of the day will be ushered through the exit nearest to them. 
At various places in the maze, starting here, you can find guide books prepared by some who have successfully navigated the maze.  You can use these guide books or disregard them, as you choose.  Some who have passed through the maze have disregarded the guide books and written their observations on the walls.  You may ignore or heed these as you choose. 
You can also make verbal appeals for guidance from the creator of the maze.  But you may not agree with or understand all his answers.  Instructions for making appeals to the maze creator are found in the Guide Book.

On the wall beside the sign, someone has scrawled the words, "The guidebook is a fantasy."  Another says, "The maze never ends."  And a third hand has written the words, "There is no pit. There is no maze creator.  Do what feels good."

So, here you are, stuck in the maze.  What do you do?  Do you heed the writing on the walls?  Do you follow the guide book?  Or, do you ignore both and strike out on your own?

While this may seem like an academic exercise, it is actually a pretty close analogy to the life we are in. We are born into this world with no memory of what went before and how we came to be here.

While all of us aspire to be happy and have our lives reach a pleasant end, we are confronted with a variety of advocates who try to tell us what we need to do to be happy and to have a good end to our journey.  Also, when our day is done, whether we want to leave the maze or not, we will be removed (we die) and face a conclusion to this journey.

The Bible, The Book of Mormon and The Doctrine and Covenants all contain accounts of people who have died and returned to visit mortals and instruct them in what lies beyond and what they need to do to have a happy ending.  

In the Talmud and the Old Testament, Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Jacob and Moses all had face-to-face conversations with the Creator, which they characterized as a man speaking with his friend.  

In the New Testament, Peter, James and John saw Jesus conversing with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9).  And after his crucifixion Jesus appeared to the Apostles and other disciples, and upwards of 500 people in an incident that is referenced, but not recorded (1 Corinthians 15:5-6).  In addition, the Bible records that after the resurrection of Jesus, the graves of many were opened and saints who had "slept" arose and went into Jerusalem and ministered to many.  

In The Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 11), Jesus descends from heaven in the sight of a multitude in the Americas and they are allowed to feel the prints of the nails in his hands and feet and the wound from the spear in his side and they testify that he appeared as a resurrected person to them.  In addition, they mention that after the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem, people in the Americas rose from the dead and ministered to the living.

Lastly, in The Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were ministered to by a resurrected John the Baptist, and later by Peter, James and John (D&C 128:20).  This is in addition to Joseph Smith having stated that he had dealings with Moroni, a resurrected  man who had died some where around 400 AD and had seen the resurrected Jesus (Joseph Smith History).  And in Section 76 of this book, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon assert that they also saw the resurrected Jesus.

In spite of having evidence and solemn testimony of various people spanning more than 6,000 years of  written history recorded in our "Guide Book" we have those who write on the wall that, "The Guide Book is a fantasy."  And the basis for their cavalier dismissal of the information in the Guide Book?  

Their dismissal of more than sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction in court stems from:

1) The fact that the Guide Book contains some accounts of extraordinary events which, given the few facts around the events, cannot be adequately explained or understood with today's technology or man's reasoning.  And,
2) the dismissers have not personally experienced an acquaintance with a resurrected person or with the Creator.

And, the bases for dismissal are ardently defended in spite of the fact that Guide Book gives pretty clear instructions on the exact steps needed to find out the truth or falsity of the instructions of the Guide Book (see Alma Chapter 32 in The Book of Mormon for the clearest version of the steps of the experiment).

So, here you are in the maze of life.  God offers a Guide Book.  Do you follow it or do you ignore it and rely upon the limited views provided by your fellow maze travelers?

For my part, I can say that I know that the Guide Book is accurate.  I have tested it using the experiments that the book says will validate it.  I far prefer to have a map, a guide, and the advantage of having conversations with the Creator to guide me through the more murky parts of this life.

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Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein.

Visit Tom's Amazon.com Author's Page

(c) Copyright 2015 A+ Results LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

Your comments are welcome and invited. Please observe some ground rules. No profanity, vulgarity, or personal attacks. Profanity, vulgarity and personal attacks not only betray a lack of vocabulary and imagination, they also are the hallmarks of bigotry, and bigotry is the hallmark of someone who is fundamentally insecure in their views. Facts are always welcome, even ones that may unsettle me.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

You Have Done It Unto Me: The Lie of Liberal Altruism


In the 25th chapter of Matthew, the Savior speaks of the final judgment.  To those who have done well and to those who have not, he offers the same explanation for the reward they are offered.  He tells them all that, "... inasmuch as ye have done [or not done] it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

He is referring to how they did, or did not, take care of the poor, the sick, the destitute and the afflicted among them.

Today, much of our political debate and divide appears to be focused on how we, as a society, believe we should go about taking care of the least advantaged among us.

For many years, as I read or heard these words, I believed that Jesus was speaking metaphorically. I believed he was saying that he was holding us accountable for our treatment of our fellow human beings.  And, he is certainly saying that.  However, I am now convinced that Jesus was not speaking metaphorically in this matter.  Rather, he was being completely literal.

We learn elsewhere that in his atoning sacrifice he suffered all the pains of humanity (D&C 18:11), so that he could learn to succor those in need (Hebrews 2:18).  I suggest that in a very real way, he has actually shared and felt the very pains of the homeless, the hungry, the naked, those in prison and those who wash up on the edges of our society like flotsam washing up on a beach.  And, that he did not suffer those pains in some abstract way, or as a derivative of what those people suffer, rather, through some incomprehensible mechanism he is and was able to fully feel the actual pains that each of us has and will suffered.  And, feeling those actual pains, he then can understand completely our situation and can comfort us, or forgive us, in exact measure according to our pain and need.

Knowing then, that He feels the pains of others, when we help those in need, when we relieve the suffering of those in anguish or pain, when we feed the hungry, we directly reduce the amount of suffering and pain that Christ suffers.  Likewise, when we cause others to suffer, we add to pain He suffers.  And when we fail to act to alleviate the pain and suffering of others, we fail to alleviate His pain and suffering.

I believe that is true.

In the light of that belief, some would suppose that I would be driven to embrace the social welfare model of government (aka Socialism, Communism, Progressivism, Liberalism, Fascism).  In fact much of the social welfare model of government wraps itself in a mantle of altruism about caring for the less fortunate among us. But, nothing could be further from the truth.

Socialists like Bernie Sanders and Liberals like Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama, seek to destroy the rich (other than themselves) and even to destroy the middle class, and make us all equally poor together.

I despise their cries to destroy the wealthy in order to help the poor.  And there is no hypocrisy in my feelings.  You cannot lift anyone up by tearing someone else down.

When Bernie Sanders, Hilary Clinton, Barak Obama and their ilk talk about helping the poor and relieving suffering, they are not talking about digging deep into their own pockets and giving until it hurts themselves in order to help others.  They are content to keep their own wealth, gained by feeding at the trough of the taxpayers.  They will keep their wealth, and instead they will dig deep into the pockets of others and force them to give until it hurts.

Their hypocrisy in their failure to live the very principles they are espousing is as clear and horrendous as that of any Christian preacher who rails from the pulpit against the evils of the flesh, and then is caught in adultery and debauchery.  And their altruistic battle cries of "soak the rich" mask the brutal reality of their policies which actually soak everyone who is above the poverty line in order to make us all poor together and ensure that the only path to wealth and comfort is through service to the State.

We need to re-enshrine the notion of individual action and individual accountability in our nation, especially when it comes to the issues of caring for the poor and disadvantaged.  A thrust toward individual accountability is in direct opposition to the Socialist thrust of collective accountability.

Each individual should take personal action to help those who are less advantaged than they.  Each person should do according to their ability and means.  This does not mean that we cannot band together into charitable organizations to magnify our efforts.  But, we should not ever rely upon the power of taxation, which is nothing less than forcible redistribution of wealth, in order to take care of those who are disadvantaged.

I make a notable exception in this for military veterans.  Military veterans are the only organization which has earned the right to partake of a portion of the public treasury to support them in their times of trouble. Because they have literally offered their lives in the service of our country, they are actually entitled to support through taxation.

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Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein.

Visit Tom's Amazon.com Author's Page

(c) Copyright 2015 A+ Results LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

Your comments are welcome and invited. Please observe some ground rules. No profanity, vulgarity, or personal attacks. Profanity, vulgarity and personal attacks not only betray a lack of vocabulary and imagination, they also are the hallmarks of bigotry, and bigotry is the hallmark of someone who is fundamentally insecure in their views. Facts are always welcome, even ones that may unsettle me.