Rigged

The left liberal media never ceases to astound in how they twist everything in their favor. They all know that elections are rigged.  They are the ones doing it!  Good thunder, Hillary Clinton didn't even win the primary election against crazy Bernie.  That's well documented that she rigged it. 

Now they are feigning shock that Donald Trump would have the audacity to claim that elections are rigged.  Here's more proof that they are all in cahoots-- They all said the exact same thing.  You can't tell me that didn't come straight from the Clinton campaign.

From Rush Limbaugh.com today:

"RUSH: Here's the media's latest effort to poison the water, muddy the water, and keep us in the sewer and the gutter to which they have taken us. We have a montage of Drive-Bys and Democrats reacting to the horrible, the just untenable, the unacceptable allegation that the election is rigged, by Donald Trump. 

BILL MAHER: I read 65% of his followers already believe it is a rigged election. This is dangerous talk. 

TIMOTHY O'BRIEN: It's a destructive and dangerous thing to do, questioning important institutions, and it’s very dangerous. 

RON BROWNSTEIN: Is this wrong? It is dangerous rhetoric.  

RYAN LIZZA: Trump is stirring up some really dangerous ideas in the electorate. 

BRET BAIER: Some people who’d say that the rigged talk is dangerous.

CHRIS STIREWALT: Dangerous energy that is out there when people feel like the system is rigged.

MATT LEWIS: It's very dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric. 

JULIE PACE: Incredibly dangerous.

HALLIE JACKSON: Dangerous to democracy. 

MARTHA RADDATZ: Trump has been ramping up the rhetoric about how the election is rigged. How dangerous is this? 

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: It’s dangerous feeling this election is going to be rigged. 

DAN BALZ: It’s dangerous strategy.

RUSH: Isn't it amazing how every one of them has the same exact take. Well, how about the danger posed to the Constitution by the Democrat Party? They want to take Trump's comment that the election is rigged, and he's talking about the media being unfair, he's talking about 95% of the media being in the tank for the Democrats, he's talking about the powerful rigging things so that they don't lose their power, the powerful do this in every walk of life. He's treating this with the reality he think exists.

They react in mock horror, "Oh my, What's happening to our precious institution?" You people who are destroying institution after institution are worried what Donald Trump is doing when he hasn't done anything. His fingerprints aren't on anything. You've destroyed the health care system. You've got open borders and destroy the very makeup of this country. You want to attack the founding of this country and transform this country into things it was never intended to be. And you say that Trump poses a danger?

Trump is the solution! Somebody like Trump is the solution. Somebody that's gonna put the brakes on the real danger that we are already in. This is incredible to me. (imitating media) "This is dangerous. Why, this is very dangerous. Why, the shocking attack on our institution." Shocking attack? What have you people done to marriage, for crying out loud! What are you doing to religion, for crying out loud! You attack virtually everything that identifies this country in its traditional, founding way. And Trump poses the danger?

The American Republican base isn't falling for this anymore. And as long as Trump keeps punching back, as long as Trump keeps fighting for what they believe, he's gonna continue to get their support. They're not gonna abandon him. And that's what all this is, is an attempt to shame people into abandoning Trump. "Oh, what a danger, why, he's a suggesting a rigged election." The dead elected JFK, for crying out loud, in Chicago and West Virginia. What do you mean, elections aren't rigged? Of course they are!" -- Rush Limbaugh, October 17, 2016

Rush Limbaugh went on to talk about how the Democrats would not give up in recount after recount in Florida trying to get Al Gore elected.  Finally the Supreme Court had to step in and say Florida went above and beyond and it was over.  They just wouldn't accept the will of the people.

Rush also went on to talk about how the Democrats go into slums and get busloads of people to take to the polls, tell them how to vote and take them home.

He also talked about Democrats making it unnecessary to show photo ID when you vote.  Good thunder, you have to show photo ID to pick up your mail at the post office.  But any illegal alien can vote.  Dead people vote. And they all vote Democrat. 

Here's another quote from Rush today: 

"But there's a guy out there with an account on social media. By the way, I need to add social media into this top 1% of deceit, this intricately woven web of deceit, you have the Democrats, Wall Street, media, and social media. I would throw them in. That's the top 1% that everybody needs to be concerned about. There is an account on social media from a guy claiming to work for the post office who is bragging about how he is destroying Trump absentee ballots."

If he were destroying Hillary ballots instead, the media would hunt him down and destroy him.

Fraud, deceit, immorality, lies, these are what make up the core of the Democratic Party and all liberals.  You can bet your bottom dollar that this election will be rigged in their favor.

That's my two cents.

CFP Week Seven

1. Tammy -14 tiebreaker 43
2. Rex -14 tie breaker 47
3. Kingston-14 Tiebreaker: 65
4. Lisa -16 tie breaker 27
5. Brandon -18 tiebreaker 27
6. Dad -19 Tiebreaker 54
7. Chanelle -20 tie breaker 32
8. Juliet-23 Tiebreaker: 63
9. Derrinda -23 tiebreaker 78
10. Mercedes -24 tie breaker 43
11. Mom -24 tiebreaker 56
12. Cody -30 tiebreaker 72
13. Elijah -31 tiebreaker 53

Actual tiebreaker 27

Ignorance Is Bliss?

Is ignorance really bliss?  Apparently many Americans think so.  Either that or they're just too ignorant to know that they're ignorant.  Many Americans are so buffaloed by the liberals and mainstream media that they don't understand that the Liberals and their anti-American anti-freedom anti-opposition agenda is what's causing all the problems in our country today.  It's so frustrating that so many people are hoodwinked.

From Rush Limbaugh.com:

"One of the most frustrating things about life in America today is how seemingly ignorant so many Americans seem to be about what's happening to them. I mean, they're living their lives, they're encountering obstacle after obstacle after obstacle -- be it student loan debt, be it no jobs, be it the rising cost of health care, be it cultural rot -- and they, for some reason, don't have the ability or understanding to understand why.

"And even when they're told, oftentimes they reject it. But most of what's happening in this country today that you would consider harder, an additional obstacle in your life? It's the result of policies that have been implemented over the years by people that believe in Big Government. There's some Republicans in this mix, too. But it's predominantly Democrats, it's predominantly liberalism, and it's predominantly done by people who want you and need you less productive, less self-reliant, less individualistic.

"They want you dependent on them. It's their key to holding on to power. But it goes beyond that. They don't just want power for the sake of it. They want power to transform and change. These are people who have never appreciated the miracle that is the United States of America. They've always resented it for whatever social injustice reason that they manufacture or come up with.

"Everybody knows something's not right. ...But for the most part there is a giant sense of unease, a giant sense that things are out of whack, that the nation's in decline. It's just that so many millions don't seem to be able to understand why.

"And that is probably one of the most frustrating things, 'cause I've spent 28 years behind this microphone trying to inform people of that, and it's very difficult. If they're committed leftists, they're not gonna believe it anyway. They're gonna believe some distorted version. They're gonna believe the country's in decline because of racism, or the country's in decline because of bigotry or the country's in decline because we never deserved to be a country anyway because of what we did to Indians, or some stupid explanation they have for feeling negative about things and the country.

"And there's no turning them. I mean, there's no persuading them. There's a lot of people out there in the middle who are not political. That's another thing I wish I could change. The Democrats have politicized everything.

"... My point is they politicize everything. Everything. They politicize virtually everything. Kindergarten's politicized. 

"...They just don't understand that it's the Democrats politicizing everything. So in not conforming with the Regime -- and that's what our presidency today is. It is a Regime, and the media has become the defenders and protectors of the Regime, and you can see it in who they choose to go after. They go after anybody who disagrees, anybody prominent who might be successful in turning people away from the Regime. That's who the media targets.

"So Trump is the current target. He's the GOP presidential nominee. These people on the left are not interested in debate; they're not interested in being coequals in the arena of ideas. They want to eliminate all opposition. They shouldn't have to suffer any opposition. Their arrogant and conceit is such that there is nothing else; there are no opposing views, and no matter how bad things are, "We're still the best. We're the only ones! Conservatism's a disease. It's a plague, and it has to be dealt with."

"...They exist to promote frauds. They exist to invest in fraudulent beliefs and policies. I keep hoping that the American people are gonna experience a great backlash over all this.

"When I stop and think how many Americans I know who readily know something is wrong, something's not right, this is not how America's supposed to be. There's supposed to be economic progress. You're not supposed to get older and things get harder. You're supposed to earn more money. You're supposed to be more successful as you get older. The economy is supposed to grow. Innovation is supposed to take place. None of that is happening. And the reason why is now completing his eighth year in the Oval Office. And somehow...he escapes all accountability." -- Rush Limbaugh October 14, 2016

The Scriptures even back up Rush Limbaugh: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." --2 Nephi 2:11.   It's obvious who is running the Democratic Party and controlling all liberals.  Satan's plan does not include opposition.  His plan does not include agency.  Everything the Democrats and liberals stand for is what Satan stands for.  Satan wants complete control of us as do the Democrats/liberals. 

Ignorance is not bliss.  Lack of knowledge is lack of power and lack of control.  "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" -- Hosea 4:6.  I echo the words of the great prophet Nephi who said, " I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be." --2 Nephi 32:7 

Ignorance is certainly not bliss. Wake up America and see the wolf in the sheep's clothing.

That's my two cents.

Bottom Dwellers

Why do the Democrats always try to dig up dirt and sling mud?  Because they have no intrinsic redeeming value and the best they can do to try to win is to try to make their opponents look worse than they do.  Which would be a pretty tall order if people were smart enough to see through their lies.  But unfortunately a lot of people are ignorant and believe everything they hear in the media as gospel truth. They are blinded by the craftiness of the corrupt liberal media and their operatives.

Here's Rush Limbaugh today explaining why the Democrats are always slinging mud:

"You've got to remember, you've got to understand that they do this to every Republican nominee. They did it to John McCain. The New York Times ran a story about how he had an affair with somebody way back. I don't even remember the details. They did it to Newt Gingrich in the 2012 primaries.

"My point is, they did it to Mitt Romney, and I'm gonna keep saying this until some of you lug heads get the picture. Mitt Romney? You will not find a finer human being no matter how you define "fine human being" -- morality, virtue, manners, nice guy, harmless -- than Mitt Romney. And look what they did to him!

"They had people believing that he was cruel to animals. They had people believing that Mitt Romney didn't care when the wives of people who worked for him got cancer, that he didn't run in to help. He didn't increase their health benefits. He had no compassion for the families of people that worked for him whatsoever. Then they ran a story how he bullied some kid and pulled his hair or whatever in prep school, for crying out loud, if you remember that.

"They are going to do what they're doing to Trump to every Republican nominee, particularly now, when they have nothing to promote Hillary Clinton on. They can't promote her on the basis that people love her, that people love her ideas and her policies. This is a campaign that the media has to make Trump more disliked than Hillary is. That's why this looks like a race to the bottom, and that's because the media, the best way that they know to get Hillary elected is to make Trump a bigger negative that she than she is because there aren't any positives.

"I watched Obama this morning before the program. He's out there in Cleveland, and he's doing a rally trying to get everybody all focused on Hillary. But instead of doing that, he's running down Trump. He's denigrating Trump." -- Rush Limbaugh, October 14, 2016

The Democrats have no redeeming qualities.  There are no positives to the Democrat party. Hillary Clinton is not a likable person.  Even Joe Biden is out there campaigning for Hillary saying things like, "we know nobody likes Hillary, but we need to look past that".  Even Democrats don't like her. Hillary Clinton is a wet fish.  Not only is she not likable but she's a criminal.  They certainly can't campaign on the issues because they have a horrible record.  Things are much worse now in this country than they were before the Clinton's and Obama's came into power.  Even Bill Clinton called Obamacare crazy. Hillary Clinton is not campaigning because when she does, her numbers go down.  She's having other people campaign for her.

The Democrats, media, and especially the Hillary campaign are grasping at straws.  They know their only hope of winning is to try to destroy their opponent and make Trump look worse than Hillary because they have no redeeming qualities. If people in this country really knew what the liberal agenda was, Hillary wouldn't stand a chance in this election.

What's baffling is that their tactics work. Look what they did to Mitt Romney.  They had no dirt on him because there was none.  Yet they managed to convince people that he was cruel and uncaring.  It just goes to show you the power of the media and the ignorance of people.

It proves that the Liberals will do anything to gain power and promote their evil agenda to destroy our great nation. The Liberals, Democrats, Clinton's, media, etc. are bottom dwellers, scum of the earth.  The only chance they have of winning is to make their opponents look worse than they are by dragging them through the mud.  There is no depth that they will not descend below.  They are below bottom dwellers.

That's my two cents.

Democrat Summation

This quote from Rush Limbaugh today pretty much sums up the Democratic Party:

"The truth is that the modern Democrat Party is not the Democrat Party even JFK from the 1960s, not even the party of LBJ, not even George McGovern. So I mean, this Democrat Party today is an anti-American party in terms of the founding, anti-Constitution.  They don't believe the government should be limited.  They don't believe that people should have wanton freedom.  They want as many dependent people as possible.  

"But this is about transforming the country, and the easiest way to do it is to flood this country with people who don't speak the language and are not gonna learn it and can't assimilate and are not gonna have jobs and are not gonna have careers and are gonna thus be totally dependent on government.  Taxes are gonna go way up.  Jobs and wages are gonna go way down.  And, as such, the Democrats are gonna become empowered and wealthier and richer and walled off from the America they are creating.  

"Because none of what they're importing and creating is gonna reside anywhere near Washington or Manhattan or the Hamptons or Vail or Beaver Creek or Lake Tahoe or Seattle or wherever they hole up. Atherton, California, wherever they are, those places are not going to be subjected to the America that will result from all of this that Mrs. Clinton and Barack Obama want to do.  And convincing people that is one of the toughest sells.   

"It's one of the toughest sales jobs, because people can't get their arms around that. Why would anybody want to do that?  Why would anybody want to destroy America? "Rush, they're not saying that.  They want America to be better.  They want America to be more fair.  They want it to be equal."  No, no. That's just how they're getting you to not pay attention to what they're doing or to actually agree with it and facilitate it. But if they get away with it, you're not gonna recognize the country.  

"There's always gonna be an America. It's just that it's not gonna be the America that was founded.  They can't coexist with the America that was founded.  The America that was founded has a Constitution which limits the power, limits the freedom, limits the role of government.  Their whole agenda is controlling government, expanding it.  It's just the acquisition of more and more power.  It's a tough thing to convince people of.  But that's what this set of emails is about." -- Rush Limbaugh, October 13, 2016

 Hillary Clinton, the Obama regime, the Democratic Party and all liberal leftists all have the same agenda: to acquire more power by destroying the United States of America which was founded on a Constitution which limits government power.  They want to take away our freedoms and grow the government thereby increasing their own power.  That's what it boils down to.

What's unfathomable to me is that the American people actually believe the ridiculous lies told by the corrupt media, Democratic Party, Clinton, the Obama regime, and all liberals. Wake up to reality people.  Neither Hillary, Barack, nor anyone in the Democratic Party have your best interests at heart.  They are all just power hungry liberals who want to destroy this great nation of ours. And will do whatever it takes to destroy it.

That's my two cents.

Unparalleled Hypocrisy

The media, democrats, and liberals feigning outrage over immorality is the epitome of hypocrisy.  It is precisely the democrat liberal media who have been promoting immorality since long before I was born.  It's not difficult to see the decline in morality in our society in my short lifetime and in history.  It's no secret that the democratic leftist liberal agenda has been to steadily eat away at morality and the media has been their biggest ally.

Let's just look at the past few years as an example.  A decade or two ago homosexual marriage would have been unthinkable.  Homosexuality was something people kept in the closet.  Now it is something that is not only tolerated and accepted, but it is celebrated. A decade ago transgenders were considered deviants, abnormal.  Now, in the name of equality, full grown men dressed as women are able to go inside women's restrooms and are not considered perverts but are celebrated for being true to who they are.  Stories about live birth babies being born in abortion clinics and slaughtered in cold blood are not even blinked at. Stories about aborted (murdered) babies body parts being sold don't even make the mainstream media news and are left on the cutting room floor or swept under the rug.

Television programming has been in the gutter for a long time.  Even Jeopardy! is now blatantly promoting liberal democrat propaganda.  Yesterday's show had a whole category dedicated to F. Chuck Todd -- one of the most biased liberals masquerading as news media.  And a day or two ago the final Jeopardy answer was Hillary Clinton!  The other day they had a category entitled, "Make America Grate Again"-- it was all about cheese.  Mocking Donald Trump.  This is how bad it's getting.  The media is not even trying to hide their obvious bias anymore.

Most popular music now, including my beloved country music, is now so disgustingly immoral that I cringe when I have to listen to it.  If you want to talk about degrading women, choose any popular rap song and read the lyrics.  It is absolutely disgusting.  Yet the rap artists are celebrated and even worshiped.  Where is the outrage from the media or any liberals?  For the record, I haven't listened to any current music since around the turn of the century.

Movies, books, magazines, all other forms of media are included in their level of moral decline.  Pornography is available at the tip of anyone who owns a stupid cheap machine's (smartphone, tablet, etc.) fingers.  No longer is pornography considered a sexual deviation, something creepy old men sought after in dark corners of questionable bookstores.  Nor is even considered immoral any more.  It is now considered a normal sexual outlet thanks to the liberal agenda of degrading morality in our society.

So when the media and Hillary Clinton pull out of their back pocket a tape of Donald Trump saying disgustingly immoral things -- strategically saved by the way to have maximum effect in destroying his campaign -- and they feign outrage, I see nothing but hypocrisy.  Unparalleled hypocrisy.

Hillary Clinton and her posse of corrupt liberal media celebrate immorality and vulgarity.  None of them have any problem with what Donald Trump said.  The embrace it, they have been infiltrating immorality our into society for decades.  They will do anything to keep their power over the American people. Donald Trump is in their way so they must destroy him.  He's an outsider threatening to overturn the political establishment's apple cart.

I find it very ironic that those who are the most immoral and vulgar are those who are the most "outraged" over Donald Trump's vulgar immoral tape.  Sheer, utter, absolute, pure, unparalleled hypocrisy.

That's my two cents.

Never Hillary!

I have heard people say that they will never vote for Trump.  They just can't in good conscience vote for him.  They are called Never Trumpers. Their logic is flawed.  I will explain why.

I live in reality.  Or as Rush Limbaugh would call it, "Realville".  Reality is, there are only two viable choices for our next president.  With 100% certainty I guarantee you that either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will win the election next month.

Voting for a third-party candidate, writing in a name, or not voting at all is a vote for Hillary Clinton.

I personally am less than thrilled with our candidates.  I have never been a fan of Donald Trump precisely because of his immorality, egotism, and lack of respect for others.  But compared to Hillary Clinton with her leftist agenda of destroying the Constitution and our nation, the choice is obvious.

As I mentioned yesterday, Hillary Clinton is a pathological liar, murderer, defender of all things evil and destroyer of all things good and will do anything to gain power.  At the expense of everybody and everything around her.

The Obamas and The Clintons despise each other yet they pretend to be friends.  Why?  Why is it that Michelle Obama says that Hillary Clinton is the most qualified person ever to be president?  Michelle claims that Hillary is more qualified than Barack, Bill, or even Abraham Lincoln.  Why does she lie through her teeth to try to get Hillary elected?  Because Hillary will continue the liberal left socialistic communism agenda.  She will preserve Barack Hussein's evil legacy.  Hillary will be Barack Hussein's puppet and give him another four or eight years to destroy the Constitution and this great country.  That is their ultimate goal.  Barack Hussein Obama has said he will stay in Washington DC after his reign of terror.  If Hillary wins, it will be much easier for him to continue his evil regime through her.  But even if Trump wins, Obama will still run the media and be able to work his evil through them.

It is imperative that Hillary Clinton be defeated. If not, the evil regime of Barack Hussein Obama and the liberal left will continue unabated.

Donald Trump is the only person with any chance of defeating Hillary Clinton in this election.  If you can't bring yourself to vote for Donald Trump, then don't think of it as voting for Donald Trump but instead, think of a vote for Donald Trump as a vote to defeat Hillary and the liberal agenda.

Every vote is vitally important and there are only two viable choices.  I've heard it said that a vote for the lesser of two evils is still voting for evil. While that is certainly true, when one of the two is certain to win, it is better to vote for the lesser evil. Reality is that doing nothing by not voting or voting for anyone other than Donald Trump, is a vote for Hillary and the greater evil.

Hillary Clinton is the epitome of hypocrisy and all things evil.  She wants nothing more than to destroy this great nation of ours and its Constitution.  She will do everything -- including murder -- to gain power and further her, and the liberal left's, evil agenda. Anyone who doesn't believe that is buffaloed, hoodwinked, and blinded by the craftiness of men -- i.e. Hillary Clinton and the mainstream media's liberal cunning lies.

Do the right thing and vote for Donald Trump! Never Hillary!

That's my two cents.

Where Is The Surprise?

In politics we always hear about the October surprise in presidential elections.  This is where opposing candidates bring out the dirt on their opponents -- usually something the campaign has kept in their back pocket until the weeks before the election, in hopes of swaying votes.

The October surprise that the Clinton campaign has just released is a tape of Donald Trump talking dirty to a reporter when he thought he was off mic. Apparently this recording was 11 years ago.

First of all, where's the surprise?  Every average American knows that Donald Trump is a serial adulterer.  Yet that is who the American public chose as the Republican candidate for president.  Knowing Donald Trump's history of immorality -- why would this tape be shocking to anyone?  It's no surprise to me that Donald Trump would speak that way.  There is no excusing the behavior.  It is terrible and immoral and degrading to women.  (I must clarify, I didn't actually listen to the tape.  I'm just going off of what I heard through the grapevine.)

I do believe though that the Donald has apologized for what he said -- which is more than Hillary Clinton has done. And she has a lot more to apologize for than the Donald.

Hillary Clinton epitomizes hypocrisy using morality to try to destroy her opponent.  Hillary is so power hungry that she will stop at nothing to reach her goal of becoming President of the United States which is the ultimate office of power in the world.

Hillary brags about defending a rapist, as a young lawyer, and getting him off knowing that he raped a young girl.  She just laughs about it with her evil cackle.

Hillary's own husband is an accused rapist and a serial adulterer.  Bill Clinton makes Donald Trump look like a choir boy. Yet Hillary is willing to be the most cheated on woman in America because of her thirst for power.  Hillary destroys every woman who dares speak out against her husband and accuses him of sexual exploitation and/or sexual misdoings.  What did she call it?  Bimbo eruptions, I think. Hillary is in charge of bimbo eruptions. Way to put the blame on the women instead of her adulterous predatory husband.

Hillary Clinton does not care about women.  There's only one woman she cares about and that is herself and how she can gain more power.  That's all that matters to her.

Hillary Clinton is a liar. I don't mean someone who occasionally tells a lie.  Lying is part of her core.  It's who she is.  Just look at her denial of the 33,000 e-mails or however many it was.  She continually lies about that.  For that alone she should be in jail.

But let's not forget her biggest moral flaw -- she is a murderer!  Remember Benghazi?  "What difference, at this point, does it make?"  And speaking of the wiki leaks guy, she said, "Can't we just drone him?".  She wasn't joking.  And who knows how many countless other people she has murdered or destroyed.

And she has the gall to jump on her high horse and call Donald Trump immoral and therefore unfit for the presidency?  That is really the epitome of hypocrisy.

We have two choices for president of the United States.  Either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be our next president.  Choose the lesser of two evils and vote for Donald Trump.  Because sometimes voting for the lesser of two evils is the correct moral choice.

That's my two cents.

College Football Picks Week 6

1. Mercedes -14 Tie Breaker 74
2. Tammy -17 tie breaker 47
3. Chanelle -17 Tie Breaker 62
4. Lisa -18 Tie Breaker 67
5. Rex -21 Tie Breaker 56
6. Derrinda -22 tiebreaker 50
7. Uncle Ron -22 Tiebreaker 38
8. Kingston-22 tiebreaker: 54
9. Juliet-23 tiebreaker: 54
10. Brandon -23 tiebreaker 27
11. Dad -26 Tiebreaker 43
12. Elijah -26 tiebreaker 34
13. Mom -28 Tiebreaker 38
14. Cody -29 tiebreaker 68

Actual tiebreaker 45

Relief Society Lesson -- Our Commitment to God

Approximately 586 years before Christ, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, marched against the city of Jerusalem and conquered it. So impressed was he with the qualities and learning of the children of Israel that he had several of them brought to the king’s court [in Babylon].

Trouble came to the Israelites the day Nebuchadnezzar made a golden idol and commanded all in the province of Babylon to worship it, a command that the three young Israelites—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego—quietly refused. The king was full of “rage and fury” and demanded that they be brought before him. (Dan. 3:13.) He informed them that if they did not fall down before the golden image at the appointed moment, “ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” Then with some self-satisfaction he asked, “And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” [Dan. 3:15.]

The three young men responded courteously but without hesitation:

“If it be so,” they said, “[that you threaten us with death,] our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

“But if not [if for whatever reason he chooses not to save us from the fire], be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” [Dan. 3:17–18.]

Of course Nebuchadnezzar was more furious than ever and ordered that one of the furnaces be heated to seven times its normal temperature. Then he commanded that these three valiant young men be thrown fully clothed into the midst of the fire. Indeed, the king was so insistent and the flame so hot that the soldiers who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego fell dead from the heat of the furnace as they cast their captives forward.

Then transpired one of those great miracles to which the faithful are entitled according to the will of God. These three young men stood and walked about calmly in the midst of the furnace and were not burned. Indeed, when they were later called out of the furnace by the astonished king himself, their clothing was untarnished, their skin was free from any burn, not a hair of their head was singed. Not even the smell of smoke had come upon these courageous, committed young men.

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,” said the king, “who hath … delivered his servants that trusted in him, … [who] yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

“… Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.” (Dan. 3:28, 30.) 

When Joshua was directed to destroy the city of Jericho that lay before [the tribes of Israel], the great walls of the city stood as an imposing and physically impossible barrier to Israel’s success—or at least so it seemed. Not knowing the means, but assured as to the end, Joshua carried out the instructions he had been given by a messenger of the Lord. His commitment was to complete obedience. His concern was to do precisely as he was instructed, that the promise of the Lord would be fulfilled. The instructions no doubt seemed strange, but his faith in the outcome urged him on. The result, of course, was another in a long series of miracles experienced by the Israelites as they were led over many years by Moses, by Joshua, and by many other prophets who were committed to follow the commandments and the directives of the Lord.

As Joshua and his people approached Jericho, the instructions of the Lord were followed precisely, and according to the scriptural account, “the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” (Josh. 6:20.)

The record states that after Israel had rested from the wars with their enemies, Joshua, who was now very old, called all Israel together. In his farewell address he reminded them they had been victorious because God had fought for them, but if they now ceased to serve the Lord and keep his law they would be destroyed. …

This great military and spiritual leader then urged a commitment, and made one himself and for his family: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15.)

Here was a great statement of full commitment of a man to God; of a prophet to the desires of the Lord; of Joshua the man to his God, who had many times previously blessed his obedience. He was telling the Israelites that regardless of how they decided, he would do what he knew was right. He was saying that his decision to serve the Lord was independent of whatever they decided; that their actions would not affect his; that his commitment to do the Lord’s will would not be altered by anything they or anyone else would do. Joshua was firmly in control of his actions and had his eyes fixed on the commandments of the Lord. He was committed to obedience.

My handout:

Coach Mark Richt

Amidst all the negativity we hear in the news and especially from the mainstream media, it was nice to read a positive story today.  I will paraphrase the story I read in the Deseret News this morning.

Coach Mark Richt, head football coach of the Miami Hurricanes (I thought he still coached Georgia :-)), gave each of his players a personalized Bible.  He heard some of his player say they didn't have a Bible.  So being a good Christian, he bought a Bible for each of the players on the Miami Hurricanes football team and personalized each one with their name engraved on it.

At a team meeting he told the players they could keep the Bible, leave it in their chair, or give it to someone. Coach Richt later said that he tries to do what God would have him do on a daily basis.  And he knows if he does that then he is blessing the lives of the young men in his charge.

Several of the players were grateful for their coach's thoughtfulness and for the gift of the Bible.  A couple of players tweeted their appreciation.

It's nice to know there are still people out there, fellow Christians, who try to live a Christ centered life.  I admire Coach Richt for trying to live a Christ centered life and being a good example to his players.  He is also a good example of sharing his faith with others.  By doing so he is trying to elevate those around him by blessing their lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Kudos to Coach Richt!  I might have to start picking the Miami Hurricanes.  :-)

That's my two cents.

Corrupt Media

"...the media today has reached a new low, literally the bottom of the barrel, literally so low that when they look up they see the gutter.

"...everybody's known the media's biased. Everybody's known the media's a bunch of leftists, but never before, people are saying, have they seen the media so publicly throw away every pretense of journalism, in public, with smiles on their faces and with pride, just abandon all concepts of journalism, integrity, fairness, objectivity, to throw in with the Democrat candidate.

"All I know is I'm sick and tired of this kind of phony baloney, plastic banana, good-time rock 'n' roller obvious character assassination work. I'm tired of it working. I'm sick and tired of it working. I'm sick and tired of the corruption winning. I'm sick and tired of the fraudsters getting away with it because not enough of the American people know enough or care enough to react to it in the right way, or for whatever reason.

"Because this corruption is destroying every institution and every tradition that has defined this nation and its greatness. And it sets out to destroy anybody who wants to maintain those traditions and institutions or strengthen them. And I'm like you, I'm fed up with these people prevailing. But this is what the left has wrought."  -- Rush Limbaugh, October 3, 2016

Amen Rush! Well said.

That's my two cents.

College Football Picks 2016 Week 5

1. Juliet-20 tiebreaker: 58
2. Derrinda -21 tiebreaker 32
3. Rex -23 Tie breaker 66
4. Uncle Ron -24 tiebreaker 37
5. Mercedes -24 tie breaker 53
6. Cody -24 tiebreaker 63
7. Tammy -25 tiebreaker 59
8. Kingston-25 tiebreaker: 64
9. Dad -26 tiebreaker 56
10. Lisa -28 tie breaker 57
11. Chanelle -31 tie breaker 58
12. Mom -32 tie breaker 44
13. Elijah -33 tiebreaker 28
14. Brandon -36 tiebreaker 27

Actual tie breaker: 31

General Conference

I'm not going to do a recap like Lisa does but I do appreciate her blog.  I just wanted to mention a few things about conference this weekend and some of my impressions.

I absolutely love General Conference!  I look forward to it for six months until the next one.  Lisa and I were talking a few weeks ago and I mentioned that I think they should make it quarterly instead of semiannual.  :-) Especially in these perilous times in which we live.  I know it is a lot of work for the general authorities especially for the Prophet and apostles to prepare at least one talk every six months.  I guess I should be grateful that it's semiannual.

Anyway, some of my thoughts from this weekend's conference thus far are that each session seems to go by so quickly.  It seems like it just starts and we are already singing the intermediate hymn.  Some topics that stood out to me were the plan of salvation or great plan of happiness, missionary work, we don't do missionary work to increase Church numbers -- we do missionary work to bring joy into people's lives, Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon, Joy regardless of circumstances because of faithfulness in following Christ, staying close to Christ and not falling away even when we don't completely understand everything, repentance completely washes away any trace of sin, we live in perilous times -- stay close to the gospel of Christ.

I haven't seen the priesthood session yet but I did watch President Monson's talk from it.  Interestingly, he spoke of the Word of Wisdom and keeping our bodies healthy and clean.  He told a cool story about a young man in the Navy in World War II who I guess went overboard somehow and -- my volume is low on my computer so I couldn't hear very well :-) I hope I get the story right -- anyway they threw a rope down to the four people needing rescue and they had to climb the rope 40 feet up to the deck of the ship.  This particular young man started climbing and after getting about a third of the way up his arms were burning with pain and wasn't sure he could make it all the way.  He knew if he didn't keep climbing he would meet certain death in the cold ocean.  He said a prayer to Heavenly Father  and told him he had always tried to live right and kept the Word of Wisdom.  One of the promises in the Word of Wisdom is to have strength.  He told Heavenly Father he needed to receive the blessing from keeping the Word of Wisdom to have strength to finish climbing the rope.  After he finished his prayer he received the promised blessing of strength and made it up the rope without even breathing hard when he got to the top.  To me the story illustrates two things: first that the Lord will bless us when we keep His commandments.  Second that the blessing was always available but sometimes we have to ask.  Prayer is a form of work and work is an eternal principle.

There is still one more session but I wanted to put my thoughts down thus far.  I thought the MTC choir was exceptional on Saturday afternoon session.  I felt that the first song they sang was an extremely powerful testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I loved that all of the songs during a session were missionary songs.  It brought back memories of my own mission and my time in the MTC.

If you missed conference and didn't get a chance to see it yet, you can watch the individual talks on LDS.org now.  Within the next couple of days they will have the transcripts posted.  I highly recommend watching General Conference.  It is very inspiring and highly uplifting.

That's my two cents.

Some Fools Never Learn

I echo the sentiment of Steve Wariner: "Some fools never learn."

That's my two cents.