College Football Picks Week 4

1. Rex -16 tiebreaker 41
2. Juliet-17 tie breaker 42
3. Tammy-18 tiebreaker 56
4. Lisa -19 tiebreaker 42
5. Mom -20 tiebreaker 56
6. Kingston -24 tiebreaker 32
7. Dad -25 tiebreaker 42
8. Mercedes -28 tiebreaker 44

actual tiebreaker 65

Scripture of the Day

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." --Doctrine and Covenants 18:10

CFP Week Three

1. Rex  -12   TB 54
2. Dad  -14  TB 52
3. Tammy  -14  TB 39
4. Mercedes -15  TB  57
5. Lisa  -16  TB  39
6. Mom  -19  TB  56

Actual Tiebreaker:  46

Interesting Bunch

Apostates are an interesting bunch.  I know apostates come from all walks of life but I am specifically referring to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who have chosen to willfully rebel against God and turn away from the Church.

I will mention a few observations.  First of all, most apostates become atheists.  I find there are two reasons for this.  1 -- when you have been taught the truth, you understand the truth, and you embrace the truth, then nothing else can compare.  Most apostates tend to explore other religions, but are never satisfied because they had the complete truth and threw it away.  When you turn away from "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth" (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30), nothing else can even come close.  So, they tend to turn to atheism.

2 -- when you willfully rebel against God's commandments and embrace sin, it's a lot easier to pretend like there is no God, therefore no consequences.  Apostates, of all people, understand the gospel.  They have been taught the consequences of sin.  So in order to make themselves feel better about willfully rebelling against God and sinning in the most vile manner, they just pretend there is no God.  If there is no God, there is no Satan and there are no consequences.  Very convenient.  Except for one thing.  It doesn't matter if you believe in God or not.  It doesn't matter if you believe there are consequences or not.  God does live and is real.  And there most certainly are consequences to breaking His commandments. Whether you believe in Him or not. God is no respecter of persons.  He treats all of His children equally.  There are laws and there are consequences. If you break God's laws, there are specific consequences.  It's quite simple.

My next observation is that apostates are always angry.  They tend to take their anger out on the Church and those closest to them. I have often wondered why, when apostates leave the Church, they can't leave the Church alone.  They find every excuse to badmouth the Church and bring it up when it has nothing to do with the topic of conversation.  Then I had an epiphany that the reason apostates can't leave the Church alone is the same reason they constantly spew anger and badmouth others -- they are trying to make themselves feel better about their bad choices and the subsequent consequences.

Deep down in their subconscious mind they know that what they're doing is wrong.  But to appease their conscious mind and try to make themselves feel better about turning away from God and sinning, they rip the Church apart every chance they get. To anyone and everyone. It's been done by apostates and antichrists for millennia.

They also tend to persecute members of the Church who are trying to do what's right.  They tend to spew anger about those they've wronged to try to make them appear bad in others eyes so that they may appear better.  Even though their tactics often backfire and are ridiculous and very transparent to those of us who are not manipulated by them. By always cutting others down, apostates just make themselves look foolish.

There is one particular person who comes to mind who I still apparently have much control and power over because he still, many years later, cannot quit speaking ill of me.  I was never buffaloed by him and could see through him.  I saw his true character from the beginning and never liked him.  And he knew it.  He is still angry about it.  :-)  All these years later and he's still gives me credit for controlling his life.  Apparently he thinks about me all the time. It's very flattering and amusing considering he never crosses my mind.

Another interesting observation about apostates is that their philosophy never changes.  They all think the same.  I guess when Satan finds something that works, he sticks to it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?  The funny thing is, apostates think they are progressive thinkers and are finally "thinking for themselves".  When in reality they are Satan's puppets.

Korihor, an antichrist about 75 BC, pretty much summed up all apostate philosophy recorded in the following scripture (Alma 30:12-18):

12 And this Anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor, (and the law could have no hold upon him) began to preach unto the people that there should be no Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying:

13 O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.

14 Behold, these things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers.

15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ.

16 Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so.

17 And many more such things did he say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime.

18 And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms—telling them that when a man was dead, that was the end thereof.

To sum up the apostate philosophy: There is no Christ. Hope in Christ is foolish and vain.  Believers blindly believe the foolish traditions of their ancestors.  In other words, they don't think for themselves. If you don't see it, you can't believe it i.e. there's no such thing as faith.  Anyone who believes in Christ and/or religion is crazy and deranged.  There is no atonement (because there is no Christ).  Man must rely upon his own strength. In other words, religion is a crutch for the weak.  Every man prospers according to his own genius.  In other words, don't listen to the wisdom of others, think for yourself.  There is no such thing as sin.  When you die, that's it.  There is no afterlife.

Pretty convenient philosophy for those who wish to willfully rebel against God and sin at their leisure.  Except for the fact that it's all completely false and living that philosophy will bring you nothing but heartache and sorrow.    Yes, you can find temporary happiness, i.e. fun, in sin.  But it is just that, temporary.  "...but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin."  (Mormon 2:13)  Consequences eventually catch up with everybody.  They alway do.

Another interesting fact about apostates is that they tend to develop narcissistic personality disorder.  They all become narcissists.  It's a defense mechanism.  I could write a whole dissertation on this but I will try to sum it up concisely.  Apostates know the truth.  They are not ignorant to God's laws or the consequences of disobeying those laws.  When people willfully rebel against God and against truth, their self-esteem tanks.  To compensate, they develop narcissism.  They constantly seek the praise of men.  They live for it.  That's how they can keep rebelling against God and keep a false sense of self-worth.  They can fool the conscious mind with rationalization and by feeding the ego with the praise of men.  But, the subconscious mind knows the truth.  That's why apostates must continually rationalize their behavior and bad choices and continually seek the praise of men.

Narcissists tend to live in their own reality. According to Psychology Today, narcissists "are frequently described as arrogant, self-centered, manipulative, and demanding." ¹  Narcissists also put themselves up on a pedestal and project themselves as superior to others. They convince themselves that they are more gifted and unique than others. For instance, believing they are rock stars or allowing others to believe they are doctors when they are unknown average musicians or medical technicians.

Narcissists are extremely sensitive to criticism.  If you call them out on their delusions of grandeur or refuse to be manipulated by them, they become extremely angry.  As I mentioned before, the development of narcissism is a defense mechanism developed by apostates to compensate for their lack of self-worth.  "You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible!" ²   I've seen it time and time again.  It is easily recognizable.  Unfortunately, narcissists are very difficult to deal with which makes relationships with them strained at best.

Because they live in Lala land, they lack common sense.  Just listen to an apostate narcissistic rant.  They behave as two-year-olds pulling a temper tantrum.  If it wasn't so sad it would be comical. 

Unfortunately for apostates, despite their claims of thinking for themselves and relying on their own genius, they are just Satan's puppets.  They subscribe to the philosophies Satan has taught them -- which have not changed in millennia. Like good little puppets they spew that philosophy-- almost verbatim -- to anyone who will listen, and even to those who don't want to hear it.

Despite apostates thinking they are unique individuals thinking for themselves, they are very cookie-cutter.  It is very easy to predict their behavior.  If you listen to or read one comment by an apostate, you have heard it from 1000 apostates.  They are just sheep blindly following Satan and his philosophies. Ironically, they fulfill prophecy every time they open their mouths and spew Satan's philosophy by persecuting believers.

Yes, apostates are certainly an interesting bunch. Devoid of hope, devoid of truth.  Always angry.  Constantly compensating for what they've chosen to throw away.  Always rationalizing their behavior.  Always trying to convince themselves that willfully rebelling against God is a good choice.  Knowing full well -- at least subconsciously -- that they are wrong.  It's a very conflicted life.  It's no wonder they are angry all the time.  It's no wonder they must develop narcissistic personality disorder as a defense mechanism.  It's a sad existence.

Thankfully, the truth will prevail one day. As the apostle Paul told the Philippians (Philippians 2:10-11):

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

One day all will know the truth.  At the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ.  There will be no denying that.  No, not even apostates.  It will not be a pretty day for them if they choose not to repent before that day.

"... and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence."  (Alma 12:14)

So hopefully for their sakes, they will repent and come back to the truth before it's too late.

That's my two cents.


Works cited:
1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder
2.  Ezra Taft Benson, A Message to the Rising Generation, October 1977 General Conference

CFP Week 2

1. Rex -  9 tiebreaker 49
2. Dad -12 tiebreaker 52
3. Tammy -14 tiebreaker 60
4. Kingston -15 tie breaker 32
5. Juliet -17 tie breaker 42
6. Lisa -19 tiebreaker 57
7. Mom -21 tiebreaker 49
8. Mercedes -24 tiebreaker 49

actual tiebreaker 32

Relief Society Lesson -- Continue in the Great Process of Learning

“When I was a boy we lived in a large old house. One room was called the library. It had a solid table and a good lamp, three or four comfortable chairs with good light, and books in cases that lined the walls. There were many volumes-the acquisitions of my father and mother over a period of many years.

“We were never forced to read them, but they were placed where they were handy and where we could get at them whenever we wished.

“There was quiet in that room. It was understood that it was a place to study.

“There were also magazines-the Church magazines and two or three other good magazines. There were books of history and literature, books on technical subjects, dictionaries, a set of encyclopedias, and an atlas of the world. There was no television, of course, at that time. Radio came along while I was growing up. But there was an environment, an environment of learning. I would not have you believe that we were great scholars. But we were exposed to great literature, great ideas from great thinkers, and the language of men and women who thought deeply and wrote beautifully.”

my handout:

RIP Troy Gentry

I just read that Troy Gentry, half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, died in a helicopter crash today.  Montgomery Gentry was the last concert I saw before my accident.  I saw them at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth Texas with my residency peeps.  It was fun!  Juliet and I used to like to sing along to Montgomery Gentry back in the day when we lived in California.  Troy Gentry was only a few years older than me. I was a little shocked to hear he was dead.

Time to play my Montgomery Gentry albums on iTunes.  :-)

RIP Troy Gentry!

Raw footage of Troy Gentry that I took at Billy Bob's in 2002.

Picture I took at the Montgomery Gentry concert at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth Texas August or September 2002

*addendum* I just barely read that Don Williams "the gentle giant" also died today at age 78. RIP Gentle Giant!

College Football Picks 2017 Week One

1. Rex -9  TB 44
2. Mercedes -13  TB 67
3. Dad  -13  TB 45
4. Lisa  -16  TB  47
5. Tammy  -16  TB 43
6. Brandon -21  TB 21

Actual Tiebreaker: 69