Bloggernacle Choir

Our Thoughts recently received the distinction of being a Bloggernacle Choir blog over at David Sundwall's LDS and Mormon Blogs.

Bloggernacle Choirs are group LDS blogs that are prone to cover many diverse topics and defy categorization. Bloggernacle Choirs are among the best blogs and are good place to start for those new to the Bloggernacle (but please check out us solo bloggers too).

Thanks for the recognition, David. Thanks to all the great posters on Our Thoughts.

Regina Bloggersnacker?

We'll be in Regina, Saskatchewan, next week. I don't suppose anyone in the bloggernacle will be there at the same time, eh?

Anyone?

Hello?

Just Do It

"...and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them." Mosiah 4:10

Don't you think the last part is the biblical version of Just Do It? There is some advertising agency out there that stumbled across this truth and found a way to market it and in some bizarre way, that sold running shoes.

Yet, this scripture isn't trying to sell us a thing. Instead, it is trying to guide us and pull us out of our apathy by letting our belief be our motivator. Belief that we can repent and be forgiven. That humility is powerful and life changing.

And if you want to run on a lonely road while you ponder this truth...I'm sure Nike wouldn't mind.

Prayer

Most members of the Church I know (and some other Christians I know) take time out before eating meals to say a prayer. Generally, the prayer asks for God to bestow a blessing upon the food. Often the prayer will include elements not related to the food (bless the less fortunate, keep someone safe, etc).

These same people, at least from what I have witnessed, normally do not pray over snacks. This is interesting because sometimes the snacks they eat are the same amount of food they eat for some of their meals. For example, they may have some toast with peanut butter and jam for breakfast, and they may also have the same thing for a snack at some point. They may have a BLT sandwich for dinner, and a future snack may also be a BLT sandwich.

It would seem then that saying a food prayer doesn't have anything to do with the amount of food one is eating. One would think it must be something about the way we formalise our meals that gives them the weight of requiring a prayer. Yet when we have friends over for a party (a more formal snack than one a single person enjoys), it is rare for a prayer to be said over the snacks.

So why do people say prayer over meals and not snacks?

Smoky Smith Died

Smoky Smith died yesterday. He was the last suriving recipient of the Victoria Cross.

A true hero has died.

Boss

My boss was fired today.

I have no details. I just know it was because of something he allegedly did. He was there when I arrived and an hour later he was up in the dean's office talking to her and the head of human resources. That was the last I saw of him. He apparently never saw it coming.

He was a good boss. In fact, he was the best boss I ever had. He was always open to any new ideas I had for the website. He was always willing to buy me a new book to learn new skills. He almost always took my side in issues. He always was willing to accommodate any time off I needed. He challenged me and it was because of him I now know JavaScript and ColdFusion.

I am still in shock and was nauseous all day. I could not focus and was quite unmotivated.

Things are so up in the air. I am in a union, so things seem to be secure for me at this point, but who knows.

Government Stay Out of Marriage

I have heard several people both in and out of the Church that have suggested in response to gay marriage to have the government stay out of marriage. They have suggested that it churches should define marriage and governments should perform only civil unions.

I used to agree with this position. After thinking about this some last night, I am not so sure it is that easy.

Even if churches defined marriage, the government would still need to recognise those marriages as being legal unions. This would be necessary in order to recognise spousal rights and benefits (health care, insurance, access to information, and so forth). That would mean the state would need to recognise any definition the individual churches would decide. Granted, most would determine that marriage is between a man and a woman. There are others, however, that would define it as between two persons, and others that would define it as between two or more persons. This would mean the state would need to define unions between two men, a father and daughter, a man and three women, and the other endless combinations.

Is that something we are willing to accept just so the government stayed out of marriage?

In addition, if the churches defined marriage, would they also be responsible for exercising divorce? If so, we must recognise that some churches may be patriarchal in nature, and potentially would not grant divorce to a woman who is in a physically abusive marriage or would not recognise the rights to property of a wife. As well, some churches may not grant divorce in any case.

Taking defining marriage away from the state can open up a huge assortment of problems, and I am not so sure I want to go there.