Saturday, July 14, 2012

My thoughts on Mitt Romney

I have to ask myself what evidence I have seen that Mr Romney has taken a unpopular a stance on a position.  He is good at changeing his views to meet his audience.  That is a thing all politicians since time immemorial have done.  I cannot fault him for that.  I am sure George Washington pandered to a few audiences in his time.  I just wish to see him stand for something he really believed.  He was pro-life when he was a L.D.S Bishop and Counselor in the Boston Stake of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints;  He was pro-choice when he ran for office in Massachusetts. Now is the presumptive Republican Nominee he is pro-life again.  

His father George Romney was not afraid to promote what he believed.    He stood with and supported Martin Luther King Jr., in a time when that position angered an apostle of his church,  the  L.D.S. church.  He received a letter from Elder Delbert L. Stapley advising him not to pursue a civil rights agenda.   Elder  Stapley  even implied in his letter to George Romney that God might destroy him for his support of civil rights.


‘When I reflect upon the Prophet's statement and remember what happened to three of our nation's presidents who were very active in the Negro cause, I am sobered by their demise.  They went  contrary to the teachings of the Prophet  Joseph Smith—unwittingly , no doubt, but nevertheless, the prophecy of Joseph Smith ,  “… those who are determined to pursue a course, which shows an opposition, and a feverish restlessness against  the decrees of the Lord, will learn, when perhaps it is too late their own good, that God can do His work, without the aid of those who are dictated by His council, “ has and will be fulfilled.’  (Delbert L. Stapley letter to George Romney , January 23, 1964)  ...

.... I think time has shown that George Romney was right is taking his stand with Martin Luther King Jr.  



I would just like to see Mitt Romney to take a similar stand on something.  He  appears to be  unable or unwilling to take a stand that could risk his prominent position.

I here admit to a point of personal bias.  I did vote for Barack Obama in the last election.  I can remember standing in the voting booth and just staring at the ballot for the longest time.  I did not feel a strong inclination to vote for either candidate.  I  made my choice  hoping that Barack Obama would be able to reach across party lines.  Sadly my hopes were not realized.  I have seen no real leadership from the candidate I supported.

Is it too late for Mr. Romney to take a real stance for what he believes?  Does he now have too much to risk and lose?

Can I hope again that if Mr. Romney is elected, he may grow in office, into a man of real convictions.


As a side note Elder Stapley was wrong his is views on Joseph Smith.  Current historical studies show Joseph Smith supported the ordination of Negroes to the priesthood. 



http://www.boston.com/news/daily/24/delbert_stapley.pdf
http://reflectionsofashallowpond.blogspot.com/ ,THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012

Thursday, July 12, 2012

on being a sixpence richer

Then comes another discovery.


Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God.

If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.

So that when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God,

I will tell you what it is really like.



 It is like a small child going to its father and saying, “Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.” Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child’s present. It is all very nice 
and proper,…
 …but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction.

When a man has made these two discoveries God can really get to work. It is after this that real life begins. The man is awake now. We can now go on to talk of Faith in the second sense.

 (Mere Christianity Chapter 11, C.S. Lewis)

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

On being a small boy


I won't forget when Peter Pan came to my house, took my hand
I said I was a boy; I'm glad he didn't check.
I learned to fly, I learned to fight
I lived a whole life in one night
We saved each other's lives out on the pirate's deck.

And I remember that night
When I'm leaving a late night with some friends
And I hear somebody tell me it's not safe,
someone should help me
I need to find a nice man to walk me home.


When I was a boy, I scared the pants off of my mom,
Climbed what I could climb upon
And I don't know how I survived,
I guess I knew the tricks that all boys knew.

And you can walk me home, but I was a boy, too.

I was a kid that you would like, just a small boy on her bike
Riding topless, yeah, I never cared who saw.
My neighbor come outside to say, "Get your shirt,"
I said "No way, it's the last time I'm not breaking any law."

And now I'm in this clothing store, and the signs say less is more
More that's tight means more to see, more for them, not more for me
That can't help me climb a tree in ten seconds flat

When I was a boy, See that picture? That was me
Grass-stained shirt and dusty knees
And I know things have gotta change,
They got pills to sell, they've got implants to put in,
they've got implants to remove

But I am not forgetting...that I was a boy too

And like the woods where I would creep, it's a secret I can keep
Except when I'm tired, 'cept when I'm being caught off guard
And I've had a lonesome awful day, the conversation finds its way
To catching fire-flies out in the backyard.

And so I tell the man I'm with about the other life I lived
And I say, "Now you're top gun, I have lost and you have won"
And he says, "Oh no, no, can't you see


When I was a girl, my mom and I we always talked
And I picked flowers everywhere that I walked.
And I could always cry, now even when I'm alone I seldom do
And I have lost some kindness
But I was a girl too.
And you were just like me, and I was just like you"

"When I Was a Boy" as written by Dar Williams

Lyrics © BUG MUSIC





I remember Logan Jr. High in 1977 when small boys where not permitted to take Home Economics ...
 ... so I was assigned to a Wood Shop Class.


I had an uncle who loved to watch football while wearing a moo moo
 and knitting a pot holder. I use to laugh at him......
   ... now I wish I was a little more like him. 
He was a big man and was built like a football player
 but he never permitted the little girl in him to die.
 He worked as an orderly in a nursing home
 and all of the patients loved him.



Here is to all of the l little boys and girls in us.