True.
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Over the past four years much has been said about Mitt Romney and how his Mormonism will negatively affect his campaign for the Presidency.  As a Mormon, myself, I understand these arguments,  allow me to share a few arguments how his Mormonism may help him.  The question isn't whether you think Mormonism is true or not.  That doesn't matter.  The question is how does a persons religion (in this case, Mormonism) color a persons perspective on the world.
  1. Mormonism is uniquely American - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a church with uniquely American roots.  Not only was it founded in 1830 in upstate New York; the book of scripture that gives members of the church their nickname, The Book of Mormon, takes place within the boundaries of today's United States.  Even as Mormons were driven out of the United States, they understood American Exceptionalism before this wonderful phrase was coined.  The Constitution is a divinely-inspired document and the United States is the Promised Land, whose only king is Christ, the Lord.  
  2. Mormonism is optimistic about America's future - There are many people, left, right and center, who are pessimistic about America's future.  They feel our best days are behind us.  Mormons feel quite the opposite.  Mormons believe that America's role in God's plan is to be the home of the New Jerusalem and the constitution will continue to be the supreme law of the land.  This means America's future is bright - however her present is rocky.
  3. Romney's service as a Bishop and Stake President will "humanize" him - Romney is seen, I think unfairly, as a calculating and some-what aloof rich guy  who cannot relate to the average Joe.  I think his role as a Bishop (someone who presides over a congregation) and Stake President (someone who presides over 8-13 congregations) uniquely prepared him for the Presidency.  Every week Mitt Romney, the rich Bain Capital guy with the "perfect" family, met one on one with people struggling with financial difficulties, single moms who are struggling with despair, families broken by affairs and abuse, teenagers dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, children who lost a parent due to death, neighbors who are not getting along, and he list goes on and on.  Mitt Romney understands the "common man" and their real problems in a much more intimate way than B. Hussain Obama could ever imagine.  As impressive as his leadership with the Olympics, or his success in the private sector is; the volunteer service he performed in leading a congregation gives him insight into "the real world" that a college professor in the ivory towers will never understand.  This is one of Mitt Romney's great advantageous and I hope someone says it.
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Easter is the celebration of the greatest day in all history.  It is the day when Jesus Christ fulfilled the promise to Adam and Eve that the serpents head would be crushed and the path made straight for all of Heavenly Father’s children to regain His presence.  It is in that spirit of Holiness that I hope to share my testimony of the Savior of the World.

Names are important; Matthew, Sarah, David.  It defines who we are;  Father, Mother, Son, Daughter; or what we do; firefighter, dentist, homemaker; and identifies our unique role in our Heavenly Father’s plan.

Jesus of Nazareth was known by many names – Son of God, Creator, Jehovah, The Prince of Peace, The Good Shepherd, Redeemer.  I will focus today on only five of His roles that bless our lives today.  That of Prophet, Priest, King, Savior and Messiah

 Prophet

With all a prophet does, His primary roles are to testify of Jesus, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, and to call everyone to repentance and receive the healing joy of Christ’s atonement.  Christ did both.  He was bold in claiming that He was the Son of God and that it was only His way that would bring souls back to our Heavenly Father.  There is no other way.
Christ also courageously pointed out sin and called out for everyone to repent and be baptized.  He correctly responded to wickedness with harsh language such as “hypocrite” and “viper."  He also taught the sweet fruit of forgiveness.  He forgave many afflicted by sin and gave them hope.  He begins the beautiful parable of The Prodigal Son with the words, “…I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”  We turn our hearts towards God, we put off the natural man and our Father rejoices. 

Priest

One of the roles of a Priest is to represent God and minister to those in need.  Think of Jesus on the day He raised his beloved Lazurus from the dead.  The name Lazarus means “God Has Helped” and he lived in Bethany, which means “The House of the Afflicted.”  Jesus set the perfect example and through the priesthood today we have the privilege of walking in “The House of the Afflicted” and raising those “God Has Helped” from temperal and spiritual affliction.

Another role of a Priest is being a proxy; to represent us to God and to represent God to us.  It is through the priesthood that we receive all the ordinances necessary for our salvation.  It is the priest- in the general sense – that administers those ordinances.  The World doesn’t understand this.  The World rejects His priesthood because they have their own glory called power and money.  Imagine Barabbus -  the wicked prisoner.  His  name means ”Son of Father” who was only set free because the sinless one willingly stood before the mob and accepted His role as the Savior – even for the worst of us.  Christ, as The Priest, was so rejected He was tortured and flailed with a whip, crafted to shred His body.  Just as, this day, our Priests reverently tear the bread at the sacrament table, Christ’s body - The Bread of Life was torn in initiatory for the Great and Last sacrifice.  In this terrible state He was forced to lift the heavy cross, made for Him by The World, and carry it to Calvary.  Step after agonizing step He made His way towards the execution of The World’s final judgment.  Yes The World rejected Him as it rejects Him today.  Conversely today, through the ordinance of the sacrament, we reject The World and covenant to remember Him always for we know that “with His stripes we are healed.”  Here’s the thing, though, the miracle of Christ’s atonement is broader and more universal than we, as mortals, could ever imagine.  Doesn’t the Book of Mormon describe the atonement as “infinite?”  Doesn’t the New Testament command us to “love our enemies?”  Why?  The sharp and elegant truth is this, as stated in the hymn, O Savior, Thou Who Wearest:  “The very foes that slay thee, have access to thy grace.”

Savior

“It is finished” were The Son of Man’s final words in mortality.  The earth groaned and the sun was dark as God’s own beloved hung limp and lifeless on a cross at Golgotha.  While His disciples mourned, their faith shaken, there was also great rejoicing.  In the Spirit World Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Esther, Isaiah, Lehi, Nephi, and the millions of other followers of Christ had waited many millennia for this eventful day.  Heavenly Father’s plan had always been to provide a Savior for all of his children and while we recognize the horrendous and terrible suffering Christ endured, we understand with all humility that only Jesus could perform that singular, necessary act and with the saints of old we rejoice in Him.  As we are hostages to the natural man He broke the bonds of sin.  As we are captives to sin He set the prisoners free.  As we are slaves to death He paid the ransoms price.  We are children of God and He is our Savior.

King

In ancient Rome the clarion call was “Kaiser Kyrie” - Caesar is Lord and Caesar was, indeed,  Lord of the entire known civilized world.   And “the world” hated Jesus.  They mocked Him for being the rightful King of the Jews.  He was nailed and raised before all The World to prove “Kaiser Kyria.” – Caesar IS Lord.  But in one last final act of quiet and definitive defiance against The World, Jesus rose on that third day.  He overcame all Caesar, with His trappings and power, could conjure against Him.  Today we may not say Caesar is Lord, but there is great temptation to claim money, or power, or pleasure is Lord.  These are our Caesars and like Paul we must resist and cry “Kaiser Kyria?  No!  “Jesu Kyria” – Jesus is Lord!

Messiah

Imagine you are in Jerusalem.  There are many people gathered and there is a strange and wonderful energy in the air.  A man with a  Galilean accent stands up to speak.  Everyone is astonished and even foreigners understand him.  His words prick the hearts of all who hear.  He doesn’t lay out new doctrine or religious tenants.  He, instead, testifies of a specific man, Jesus, who is well known because of his miracles and teachings and was humiliated and crucified publicly.  The man from Galilee makes the fantastic claim that Jesus is resurrected!  As impossible as that seemed something deep within swells and you believe this Galilean, Peter, when he proclaims that with His resurrection, Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies as well as completed the Law and therefore became The Christ – Greek for Messiah, or anointed one.  You asked Peter what you should do now.  With authority he says, “Repent and be baptized.”  That day you bury your old life in the waters of baptism and are re-born a Christian.

As we looked back, we also look forward to the day when Christ will return in His Glory.  Until that day, when all men will bow and confess of Jesus’ love we will add our testimonies to that of all prophets, living and dead; including the prophet Joseph Smith who was the first in this dispensation to authoritatively proclaim, “…He lives!”
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Read Ayn Rand's classic story "Anthem" free!
http://www.epubbooks.com/book/541/anthem
In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values.  Of course it's nothing like today's world.  We still have names!  Equality 7-2521 wants to control his own destiny, not be told what to do, believe, or think by the all powerful government.  Radical thought!  Find out what happens to this thought criminal!
I use ePub Reader for Firefox https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/45281
but you could use Stanza http://www.lexcycle.com/desktop
or Bookworm http://bookworm.oreilly.com/
or perhaps MobiPocket Reader http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/ProductDetailsReader.asp

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This is one of my favorite Christmas carols.  I love the strong melody and the march-like feel to the piece.... however, the lyrics are more than a little confusing.

"God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy"

Ok, if God is truly resting,  I don't know about you, but I will be full of dismay!!  I mean, how can Christ save us from Satan's power if he's resting???  I am neither merry, comforted, OR full of joy thinking about God resting.   

Anyway... a year ago my father gave us a little essay about this particular song which brought me BOTH comfort and joy. 

Turns out the meaning of certain words have changed over time.  For instance, the word "rest" used to mean "make" and the word "merry" actually meant "mighty."  So what sounded like God resting on His eternal laurels in our time of strife actually really meant, "God make ye mighty, gentlemen!"  Now that makes sense!!!

And so I want to wish everyone a mighty Christmas, for it IS Christ that makes us mighty and while Satan may have power to lead us astray, it is Christ's power to Save!

Mighty Christmas, everyone!!!
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I, admittedly,  have a "man-crush" on Milton Friedman.  I love his clarity of thought.  This clip includes Friedman and a young, whiny, Michael Moore (some things never change). 

There are some priceless moments here, so, enjoy!
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*** Ghostblogger ***
Last time I wrote on one of the stories highlighting Republican "gaffes" that really was not a mistake at all.  This time I want to expand on another from Yahoo! News:
"Church, State, and the First Amendment: What O'Donnell and Coons Need to Know"
This one revolved around Christine O'Donnell challenging her opponent to tell her where "separation of church and state" appear in the Constitution.

Of course, the words do NOT appear in the Constitution.  You can tell by watching the video that is exactly what she meant, and that the crowd understands this.  The (edited) video, with the unbiased title, appears here:

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*** Ghostblogger ***

As the 2010 election grows near, I notice more and more political stories popping up between celebrity gossip and lifestyle advice on  Yahoo! news and other internet "news" sites.

These mostly revolve around perceived Republican "gaffes", since we all know Democrats never really make mistakes or fabricate.  If a Democrat "misspeaks", the VAST majority of the time it is simply shrugged off.  Republican mistakes are clung to like lifelines.   Hell, I still find people quoting Ronald Reagan as saying "Facts are stupid things" 20 years or so later.  Never mind that it was part of a speech where he used "facts are stubborn things" as a refrain several times before the slip, and IMMEDIATELY corrected himself.

Two stories that caught my attention were:
"GOP Candidate Stephen Broden" Violent Overthrow 'On the Table' if no GOP Takeover in November", and
"Church, State, and the First Amendment: What O'Donnell and Coons Need to Know"

The first story is about a GOP candidate making the shocking statement that the founders provided a constitutional means of changing the government, but if that fails, then revolution is an option.  Of course, the reporter is appalled that in this enlightened age, anyone would consider overthrowing an oppressive and abusive government.  Not a surprise to me, since it seems that every thug dictator from Castro to Kim Jong-Il to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gets a pass.
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I think most people, even conservatives, fall into the trap of “proper” government regulation versus “liberal” government regulation.  I hope that my ideas are clear and maybe I can persuade you that these ideas make sense and are correct. 

While I am not an economist, I have worked in financial services for over a decade and I have, I think, a modicum of common sense that I try to infuse into the arguments economists make.  

I realize that this may be an unrealistic idea in today’s political climate, but it seems to me that while regulation enforcing transparency and disclosure in the financial markets are VITAL to a vibrant and open market, any regulation that regulates actual financial instruments hurts consumers and inventiveness in the market.

Here is my over-riding principle (dare I say “generalization”  :) )for any and all government policies.  The only governing factor in any economy that works every time is self-preservation.

Here is an example.  Many often use Canada as an example of a country which has weathered our economic  storm due to their rules and regulation regarding banks lending in mortgage loans.  Some of these rules include the inability for individuals to purchase homes without putting any money down.  Of course the implication is America should have the same sort of regulations.  I whole-heartedly disagree with that conclusion.  While it is true Canada seems to be doing better right now, there is a significant price for this sort of government interference that shouldn’t be overlooked.  

 By “protecting” consumers and home values, Canada has also stymied entrepreneurship and new inventiveness in a dynamic market.    Let’s say a private bank (or individual) discovers that people with an 800 credit score and $200,000 in a bank will pay back home loans 99.9995% of the time, even if the borrower puts no money down.   Shouldn’t this entrepreneur have the option to start a business offering zero down loans to people with 800 credit scores and $200,000 in the bank?  Under Canada’s system he would not be allowed to start such a business.  

Now, let us assume that this person is wrong.  It turns out that people with an 800 credit score and $200,000 in a bank only pay back their loans 30% of the time.  Ouch!  What happens?  This company declares bankruptcy and each of those loans are sold to another company at a major discount who is willing to take the risk of collecting on these loans.  The next time a bank or company wants to start a new “no money down” loan, they can look at this example and tweak it to make it less risky, or decide not to do it at all.  The market worked naturally without some law or rule or government official making a draconian regulation. 

Of course this only works in an environment where everyone is free to fail.  Destructive capitalism is the key to ALL growth!  Which brings me to the other side of the coin (which is rarely talked about).  This downturn CAN have a major upside that can set the stage for another 20 years of economic growth.  Despite the “help” from our Federal Government, the tide of the market is driving home prices lower and lower.  If we were talking about oil, we would be SO happy about this, while oil companies made less and less money.  But because we have an economic horse in this race (i.e. our home) we scream to the heavens (or our local representative) to DO SOMETHING to artificially keep home prices inflated.  This has, in effect, caused more foreclosures and slowed any sort of recovery to zero!  Why?  Because it has not solved the real problem of putting these loans into hands of individuals who can more effectively and efficiently service these loans.  Until natural prices come down to a point that smart individuals are willing to take that risk, no recovery can happen.  It would be like moving the moon to control the tides.

I use terms like “tides” purposefully.  I believe that most people believe that the economy is like a computer and if we just punch in the right code or have the right programmer, we can fix any mess we find ourselves in.  I think this idea is both wrong and limiting.  If one thinks that an economy is like a computer, then the conclusion that a central figure (a-la the President or Alan Greenspan) can “fix” the economy or we can experience continued growth forever.  The economy isn’t broken even as the tide isn’t broken when it heads out to sea.  Our problem is we are arrogant enough to think we can keep the economic  tide from going out through regulation, but eventually this great power will overcome all these restraints and a tsunami will hit because we didn’t allow the natural and gentle ebbs and flows occur. The idea of the economy as a computer is limiting because it also assumes that an economy can only grow within the controlled environment of humans.   I think economies are more like nature.  As powerful as a volcano or the tides.  We cannot control these great powers, but if we can understand them we can use natural law to harness them. 

So my question is this.  Are customers better served with an “iron fist” (no matter how soft the velvet covering it is) holding back the “invisible hand” of individual entrepreneurship and free markets?  Obviously, I don’t think so and this is the Trojan Horse of the government.  Once government can convince the majority of people (which they have) that they can “fix” the tides of the economy they are in our lives forever.  Hence the Road to Serfdom has begun.

-Think men, think!
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Many of you may have heard this on Mark Levin's radio show.  I, personally saw it on www.therightscoop.com . A website I highly recommend. 

Ronald Reagan was called "The Great Communicator."  His response to this title was "... it's because I communicated great things." And nobody did it so well. 

This is why speeches he gave as far back as 45 years ago his ideas are still applicable today.  If Obama and Reagan debated I don't think Reagan would say much different.  It is the principles that matter.  It is the principles and the ideas that made this country great and if we don't pass these principles on to our children, personal, individual freedom will be driven off the face of this earth.

One last point I must make.  There are no new arguments.  The agents of "change and hope" have played by the same playbook since the beginning of time.  Universal healthcare, education, unions, so called "positive government rights."  These are ideas that go back at least to the French Revolution.

There will always be a small group of people who will try to dominate the majority in the name of the "common good," security and peace.  They think they are smarter than we are.  They think everything should be micromanaged and controlled to create a "new man."  A "better world." They may be called Pharisees, Kings, Emperors, King-men, Nazi's, Communists, Democrats, Homeowner Associations, etc.  But their institutions eventually crumble to ash.  Why?  In my opinion it is because these institutions supplant our God-given moral agency for the servitude to the loud and obnoxious few. 

-Think men, think.
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