Beach Haven

Adjustment. Flexibility. Willingness to change. These and similar phrases are becoming more familiar than ever before. I’m impressed with how so many people have been able not only to adjust to restrictions, but have found ways to be at least as productive, if not more so, then before. At work I am interacting with more people than usual. For example, in the past we would put on a meeting we call a ‘brown bag’. The idea is some specific topic gets discussed over whatever lunch you bring with you, like in a (figurative) brown paper bag. Pre-pandemic, we tended to do them about once a month in our division. We might get something like 50% attendance. Since the pandemic, we’ve moved these meetings to every two weeks (remote of course), and our attendance went up to something like 80%, holding there pretty much every meeting.

A similar phenomena is happening in our church priesthood quorum meetings. Every two weeks on Sunday our ward holds this meeting over Zoom. When we met face-to-face it would be normal for maybe 10 brethren to attend. Now we routinely see something like double that. Granted, some of those brothers are normally acting in callings that keep them from attending, but even accounting for that we see the improvement.

Family history work is an obvious church-related activity that can benefit from more people at home on their computers. Recently, my wife and I participated in a new way. There is an Internet site called Billion Graves where you go to a cemetery not yet uploaded, snap a picture of each headstone linked to your GPS position, then go online and transcribe the information into a form. Most of the popular family history apps (including the church sites) have access to the picture and transcribed data. It was fun. We were able to upload pictures of 75 grave markers from Peoples Union Baptist Church in King George, VA.

The other church-related activity that has to be done different is missionary work. I have been thinking about my days as a full-time missionary in 1982 and 1983. Like many others, until lately, missionary work for us involved being among people. Whether in a home, at church, or on the street, missionary work was all about direct contact with others. I’ve been watching the missionaries assigned here in our ward. They are frustrated, I’m sure, with having to exercise social distancing. Despite that, they are not letting it get in the way of fishers-of-men work. The mission has established a Facebook site, Followers of Christ in Stafford, which invites engagement with people who show an interest in the topic. Members of the stake are adding testimonies, videos, and other kinds of info to assist the missionaries to share content with those investigating. Our ward is having success with it. The teaching pool, though remote, continues to stay full, and investigators are joining the church in our ward. I know that had similar circumstances come about when I was a young missionary back in the day, this adjustment would likely have been discouraging to me. If our elders are feeling discouraged, they don’t show it. They are certainly exercising faith and succeeding at finding the elect of God who are ready now to accept the Gospel.

I hope whatever approach our life’s work is employing, we are able to avoid discouragement and continue to exercise faith.

​Events continue to change as you are quite aware, both on the global and the local. In the area known as the DMV (DC, MD, VA) a combination of escalating orders have come from government officials and employers as the threat of COVID infections grows. As a result, my wife and I are both home. I work remotely, but I have a 24/7 operations center that cannot run fully remote without serious impact to distribution of public radio content throughout America. The DMV by-and-large have closed schools for the rest of the school year (though online assignments continue for students). Non-essential businesses are by-and-large closed putting lots of people out of work. Stay-at-home orders have been issued. For us that means we should stay home as much as possible, but it is fine to go to the store, order takeout food, pick up medications, etc. In VA there is not any real enforcement. Nobody is getting arrested or fined that I have heard of. So I work remote, get inside and outside projects done around the house, and dress more comfortably.

Early in April was General Conference for the church. It was certainly memorable as had been promised by the prophet six months ago. Everything was remote. There were no congregates onsite where the discourses were given. Everyone attended virtually, at home, through technology. That said, the Spirit was still strong. Because of the 200th anniversary of the first vision, when Joseph the prophet first saw God the Father, and His son Jesus Christ, we all participated in a solemn assembly which included the hosanna shout, usually reserved for temple dedicatory services. As seems so common these days, more temple construction notices were given. Michelle and I discussed a number of the messages we heard, and shared times when we each particularly felt the Spirit touch our hearts.

The next day, was my birthday. I got some birthday fun when I could open and install a new docking station for my Surface tablet. The tablet only has one USB port. With the docking station I can attach multiple devices through the single port. So far I have added my digital microphone/headset, and an external hard drive. Eventually I’ll add a keyboard/mouse, and large monitor. The other desk in our little home office has been cleared away and I’m able to actually use it for work, while I use the smaller desk with our old tower computer set up for things like typing this posting. Thanks to all of you who were able to reach out with birthday well wishes.

Other than setting up the new toy, the rest of my birthday was pretty heavily booked with meetings, including several that I played a leadership role in. My evening was taken up attending a class I’m enrolled in as part of my post-graduate work at Virginia Tech. There were two groups presenting last night, and my group was one of those. No rest for the weary I guess.

As the prophet asked, we participated in a global fast the Sunday before general conference. He asked us to do it again the following Friday (10 Apr), so we did. I’ve always found fasting a strengthening process. Aside from the standard approach of monthly fasting on the first Sunday of the month, I have found fasting at additional times for specific reasons a fruitful tool for me.

​I hope you are able to bring some good out of the challenging times we live in. Let go of any fear and have confidence in Heavenly Father.
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The arrival of March brought with it more comfortable weather. For the first time in a long time I was able to wander around outside without a sweater or jacket. Flowers were up. The frogs in the swamp at the bottom of our road got very loud. Our fruit trees had small leaves emerging. I became ready mentally to get some outside work done around the house. You might think it strange, but I consider that sort of thing as my therapy. It’s much cheaper than the professional sort, and probably more effective.

This spring has brought something new with it in the form of the COVID-19 (corona) virus. Our son Matthew lives in northern Italy. His area was quarantined early. He could still go to work each day, and make some trips around the area (shopping, etc.), but he couldn't, and still can’t, leave the country, or even drive to other parts of Italy. Jacob, and his family live in Bellingham, WA. That’s just north of Seattle, another hotspot for the virus. So far there have not be so drastic actions there as Matthew has experienced in Italy. Here in DC cases have been diagnosed so we’ll see what sort of effects it will make in our life. The main effect for us so far has just been policy changes at my work. Several trips I had planned are now cancelled, and we are prepping for the possibility of a significant portion of our staff being unavailable to work. Many can work from home, but others can’t. If they are sick they can’t work even if work from home is an option.

Before stay-at-home orders came to our area I was busy with a lot of church obligations. Stake High Council meetings, ward activities, and the like. One Saturday night in March I helped set up the sound system for the youth dance, conducted the Stake AP and YW Committee meeting, and then chaperoned at the dance. That’s a late night for an old guy like me. That same Saturday night was  the shift to daylight savings time so we lost an hour of sleep. Next morning I had to get up early to participate in the King George ward conference. On the way home from that event I pulled off the side of the rode to snap some picks of an old house that is slowly succumbing to encroaching nature. The day didn’t end there. In the afternoon I attended the Rising Generation meeting at Bishop Johnson’s house. That’s a monthly meeting the stake sponsors during the school year for graduating high school seniors. Finally my wife and I finished up our evening with a ministering visit to one of our families. It makes me tired just thinking about it all. This is how people get gray hair and bad knees!

Prior to general conference President Nelson challenged us all to consider the words of Heavenly Father when he encouraged Joseph Smith, and others in the scriptures, to ‘Hear Him’. He was of course referring to the Savior. This has been a topic I’ve been considering for some time now. How does one have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? I felt for some time this was a puzzle. For example I pray to Heavenly Father and receive answers through the Holy Ghost. In this way I felt like I can have a direct relationship through direct interaction with two members of the Godhead. The role of Jesus Christ as my mediator is of course important, even critical, but that would make my relationship with him more indirect. Back then, after a few months of focused study I came to the conclusion, and felt a confirmation through the Spirit, that I have a direct relationship with Him when I repent and feel the healing power of the Atonement. That really helped and has built my testimony.
Fast forward to President Nelson’s challenge. How do I ‘hear Him’?

As part of my normal routine, while riding the train into Washington DC every day I spend some time praying, then reading for school. As I approach the city I put up my reading, put on my ear buds, and listen to a chapter of the Book of Mormon, followed by other audio. A few weeks into the invitation by the prophet I was listening to 2 Nephi 27. I heard the following in verse 23: “For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.” It quickly came to me that in this verse were the words of the Savior being quoted to us by the prophet Nephi. Because I was listening to the words through technology, I was literally hearing Him. My direct relationship with Jesus Christ could come, at least, through listening (literally or figuratively) to His words as they come to us in the scriptures. What a blessing!

There are so many competing ideas in the world. I am deeply studying many topics around the disciplines of science and technology. This semester approaches these topics from the angle of philosophy. I’m thankful for a measure of truth I can use with which to gauge other ideas. Confirmation by the Spirit trumps all logical debate, especially since most of the debate finds no real agreement even among the scholars who advance their respective areas of study.
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As the world begins to consider and fear an advancing virus, we can find peace knowing such challenges, though concerning, are but temporary. Despite quarantines and travel restrictions, we can find joy in the positives of life. Believe me, I have seen some of the worst this world has to offer. I understand how so many people can despair, or at least feel discouraged. I encourage each of us to follow the words of the prophet and ‘hear Him.’
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I find the psychology of what things stand firm in my mind from my time growing up as a kid puzzling some days. Back in early February I was particularly reminded of the classic Bugs Bunny episode when Elmer Fudd was out hunting. Bugs and Daffy Duck tried to point Elmer toward each other. Over and over Daffy would claim it was ‘wabbit season’, then Bugs would say ‘duck season’. As the pace of the argument grew, Bugs would shift sides. Daffy would follow suit yelling “Duck season! Fire!” Then Elmer would give Daffy a face full of buckshot. Daffy then looked at Bugs, and with his classic lisp would say, “You’re despicable!”

Why did this silly Saturday morning cartoon come to mind? In February we celebrated the birthday of our son, Matt. We also celebrated Groundhog’s Day when Punxsutawney Phil decided spring was just around the corner. After Phil made his annual prediction another season showed up… TAX season! I sort of see this season much like Daffy sees duck season. I spent much of an entire Saturday filling out forms online, digging out the pertinent documents, and sifting through a full year’s worth of receipts. All that effort left me with about half-a-trash-bag-full of paper that required shredding. The shredding effort took several weeks here and there.

Aside from tax season, February is the time of year when it’s still too cold to get much enjoyment outside without snow to play in. I was quite ready to get going on yard work, jogging on the ground instead of the treadmill, getting back into a boat of some kind, and riding on bike paths. Don’t get me wrong. Winter is a good reading season, but I’d much rather read next to a fire in our fire pit in the yard than be sitting on the couch inside. I also ride my motorcycle to DC once a week because of an evening class I’m taking. I have the right gear to stay warm as I ride, but it’s just extra work to put it all on before leaving, then taking it all off when arriving that makes the experience less enticing.

I do have some saving graces in late winter. As I mentioned it was Matt’s birthday in Feb. It was also the birthday of our twins, Jake and Emily. Our son-in-law Ryan is also a birthday boy this month. I’m likely missing someone else. I haven’t gotten them all on my calendar. In addition, I’m in charge of the stake Aaronic Priesthood (young men age 11-18) encampment this summer, so worked with others as we planned (and continue to) for a week-long fun time in June for about 200 people. It’s got me thinking about (and buying gear for) summer activities. My faithful old .22 rifle is laying on the floor next to me in our home office, even as I am typing this. I got it out recently to check out its condition for use in June.

One Sunday in mid-February I noticed a few of the earliest forest wildflowers beginning to poke out of the ground, and there were small green buds forming on the lilac bushes on either side of our driveway. Although it was chilly outside, the sun was bright, and the sky was blue after a week of mostly gray and rain.

Although my nature in late winter is to be a little gloomy, I decided to actively push myself to look for the positives. Even if spring had not yet sprung, the warm months were just around the corner. As much as I don’t like tax season, I do look forward to the tax return that eventually came our way in just a few weeks after the pain was over.
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I suppose a little pain, some negativity, in life is required to make the sweet that much better. Just as Adam and Eve gained understanding through transgression and expulsion from Eden, we all need to recognize and appreciate our own Edens by feeling some distance from them at times. 
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This year my wife and I traveled to Utah to spend time with family for Christmas. It was fun opening presents, eating too much food, playing games, and getting in a ski day with our son Jacob. We also saw two movies, the next installments of Star Wars and Jumanji.

Before we left for Utah the wonderful missionaries serving in our congregation here in Virginia shared this year’s nativity video. This is a powerful tool to convey the Spirit. I was particularly peaked by the Spirit at the moment of His birth, again as the shepherds saw the angels, and one last time as one of the wise men first sees the star appearing in the sky. I shared the link to the video on my Facebook page. I hope it helped someone.

An interesting note, I have a particular interest in navigation. In the video the wise men use a specific tool to check their position relative to the north star. At first I erroneously thought they were using the device in reference to the new star. I didn’t recognize it so I consulted Google. The device is called a Kamal. In the video the Magi put one end of the chain in his mouth. He held up a rectangular card attached to the other end of the chain to gain a position. How it is used is explained on the website Online Star Register:

The Kamal was composed of a wood or horn parallelogram one inch by two inches long. Strings were inserted through the center. The string composed of knots at different points along its length. Each knot, called an isba, equaled one degree 36 minutes. The knots ranged from 1 to 16 isba. The navigator would put one of the knots between his teeth and hold the Kamal at arm’s length. When the upper and lower edges of the device became coincident with the pole star and the horizon, the navigator knew his latitude was correct. The latitude of different ports corresponded to the position of particular knots on the string.

One other point that came out as my wife and I discussed the Come, Follow Me topic in the car on the way to Utah. Although the star was a sign the Messiah was born and helped guide them to Jerusalem, it did not light directly over the manger in Bethlehem (contrary to popular depictions). The wise men had to seek out Harod’s scholars who in turn had to dig around through the records to find the name of the town. The video points out that their visit was much later, after Christ was more of a toddler than a baby. By that point they were no longer living in a barn. So the wise men first had to have studied over years to know the sign and to understand basic astronomy. Then they had to be diligent in watching for the sign. Then they had to be willing to follow the sign. Despite that, they still had to consult scripture to know of his location. Then once close they had to ask the townspeople to point to the specific house. Is that not unlike our efforts to seek Him as well?

One final note. This year was the first we celebrated Christmas without our mothers. They both passed away last year within three weeks of each other. As we were traveling home we noted how this year just didn’t feel like Christmas. Not all of our family could be there, but that is always true. However, of our parents, only her father is still with us. Despite the games, presents, family and all the rest, without our mothers it just wasn’t the same.
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For Christmas we visited family in Utah. Our daughter Kyra and her family weren’t able to be there so we took the time at Thanksgiving to visit them.

The weather in Georgia was much nicer than here in Virginia, a good ten degrees warmer. We did all the normal holiday things. We all ate too much. The grandchildren played in the fallen leaves. Friday night we put up a tent, sat around the large fire pit and camped out for the night. I brought along some fireworks like I sometimes do. The kids always like the racket that makes. There were some minor home repairs to take care of. It’s an old house so there is always something to do to it. Watching the Macy’s parade was fun too. It was apparently windy in New York City so they were not sure if the big character balloons would fly. In the end they just held the balloons closer to the ground to better keep them under control.

On Sunday we were able to attend church in our old ward, the Stockbridge Ward. It was fun to see some of our friends who we’ve known for years. We lived in Georgia for eight years. We’ve now been in Virginia for five and a half years. Every time we visit we get the question about when we are moving back to Georgia. I suppose they ask because we still own our home there. That will only be true for another three years or so. Our plan is to retire when I turn 60, then go serve a church mission as a couple. We’ll see how that all works out. For us to do that we will need to sell our Georgia home.

Earlier in November I had an unusual church assignment. I was the High Council speaker at the Stafford Branch. What is unusual about it is that it is an all-Spanish unit. I was able to meet with branch leaders before church, then speak and attend meetings using my Spanish. I hope the members were able to understand my message, and more importantly, feel the Spirit.

The theme, of course, was about being thankful. One of the references was a talk by President Monson in the October 2010 conference, The Devine Gift of Gratitude. The other reference was Luke 17 and the story of the ten lepers. I thought about what to say all week. The main ideas finally came on Saturday, while I was jogging on the treadmill in our basement. The word “distance” was front and center.

You may remember the story. There were ten lepers who approached Jesus and from a distance they cried to him asking to be healed. Keeping distance was the traditional requirement for lepers in that part of the world at that time, a reasonable approach to allay fear and spreading disease. They were healed. He told them to go to the priests to follow the Law of Moses and be “cleansed”. There was one, however who approached him giving thanks, even falling at his feet.

Here are the two thoughts. The nine were about doing their traditional life, their routine. Seeking help, they left their tradition in part and approached Jesus in part. Once they received their help they followed his council and returned to their tradition, their routine. The one who gave thanks did not just immediately slip back into a routine, but cried and gave thanks.

How often do we tend to approach God when we need help, but upon finding relief from whatever pains us, fall back into our normal life, even our normal church life? He who returned and gave thanks was told to go his way, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” He did not just blindly follow tradition by keeping distance and seeking ritual cleansing.

The other idea, the distance idea also felt important to me. All ten drew somewhat nearer to Jesus while asking for help. The one got even closer when praising and giving thanks. I would submit that seeking guidance or help from God will bring us to a point close to him. However, thanking God for what he has already given will bring us closer still. As we recognize his hand we are acknowledging what he has already done. When we seek a blessing we are asking for something yet to be done. Both require faith, yet recognizing builds a stronger recognition. I hope that I am able to show more gratitude for things both asked for, and not asked for, but yet are expressions of his love for me.

I hope you had a great Christmas season, wherever you are. Like many, I have been away from family over the holidays in past years as a missionary, in the military, and because of work. I encourage each of us to consider what he has done perhaps you will miss your loved ones a little less, and in the years to come, when we are with them, will be that much sweeter.

De-centering the ‘Big Picture’: The Origins of Modern Science and the Modern Origins of Science
By Adrew Cunningham and Perry Williams
 
In this article, the authors look at historical approaches to science. They divide scientific histories into two sorts, those that seek a macro story, and those that focus on more personal experience. The macro version of history attempts to paint broad patterns. Patterns and major milestones dominate the depictions. The micro version of history tends to focus on individual scientist experience and resultant breakthroughs.
 
The origins of modern science refers to the period of time in seventeenth century Europe commonly referred to as the scientific revolution. The authors note at the macro level historians in general consider areas of:

• Philosophical - particular method of inquiry to produce general causal laws - mathematical
• Moral - basic values of freedom and rationality, truth and goodness, social and material progress
• Universal human enterprise - human curiosity - new humanism - science as human civilization

 
In the area of modern origins of science focus is more about a plurality of ways to know the world. The is an expression of a transition from considering nature as created by God, to an attempt to understand natural processes.
 
When the authors speak to de-centering the big picture histories, they note how these histories are often confided to the last 250 years and are Europe and North-America-centric. As opposed to seeking only scientific process knowledge, Cunningham and Williams also stress other sorts of knowledge such as knowledge of fact, technical knowledge, relational knowledge and moral knowledge.
 
In terms of de-centering, the article does not go on to speak to other scientific, or knowledge centers geographically such as Asia, Africa or South America. The authors also don’t speak to traditional local forms of knowledge such as non-western approaches to medicine. Cunningham and Williams depict science as an invention, or perhaps they might have better stated it as a convention. If this is true, then why only focus on one conventional approach?

In November, I had the assignment to speak in the Garrisonville, Virginia Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of my assignment as a member of the Stafford, Virginia  Stake High Council. The theme was “Be still and know I am God”. Among the ideas and stories I shared there were two that was the focus. I spoke of the peace that comes from serving in the temple.

I also shared a story about one of our family spring-break trips when we visited Mount Rushmore. When you go, there are two highways approaching from the south. The first is a modern multi-lane nearly straight freeway. We used that one to visit the giant stone sculpture. Once there we were all impressed with the scale of the work, and we gained some appreciation for how much effort it must have taken. We saw many people there from different states and countries. I’d say that part of the visit was worth the effort.

It was after we left, though, that we had a unique Black Hills experience. The other highway is not modern. It is two-lane, twisty-turny, and sometimes passes through drilled out portions of rock. As we left Mount Rushmore and headed south on this road, a few miles south of the monument we found a little turn-off, so we stopped and got out of the car to stretch our legs. Unlike at the monument, there were no other people but us. We found a set of boulders that rimmed a small cliff-edge from where we could look back the few miles we had traversed and see the sculptures from afar.

We decided to just be silent for five minutes and see what we noticed. You might note, this is no small task when you have small children in the mix. As we talked after, there were some common themes. Looking back at the sculpture that seems so impressive up close, now was sort of like a scratching on the side of one mountain. At the same time we were surrounded by many mountains of various shapes, sizes and colors. It was a sunny day with light puffy clouds that moved with the cool breeze. As the clouds moved the colors around us shifted. We could hear small birds and other animals, and see a few of them flying or scurrying about. There was a heavy scent of pine in the air. We could hear the blowing of the breezes at different volumes as it sifted through the trees. We could feel the changing flow of the air on our faces as it passed by us.

The message we all seemed to get in our discussion was how great man’s artistic talent is, but that talent comes from God. Then when one contrasts man’s art with the art of God’s creation, man’s effort pales in comparison.

Over the few weeks following my talk to the Garrisonville Ward, I took my own advice and made some time. My wife and I drove to Philadelphia on a Friday after work. We spent the night in a hotel and on Saturday morning we put in a few hours of service in the temple. As always, we were both uplifted and inspired. The next Saturday morning we helped clean the Courthouse chapel. When we were done I took my camera and went for a hike in The Crow’s Nest nature preserve near our home in Stafford. I walked down to a backwater bog known as The Birding Pond. I only sat there for 30 minutes. With the hike on either side it took me just over an hour. It was worth the effort. I’ll share a few pictures with you that resulted.

I hope each of us will make time to be still. In those moments of stillness, look for the comfort that reminds us of our loving Heavenly Father.

Below are a few pictures I took at The Birding Pond that Saturday.
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The Newest History: Science and Technology
By Melvin Kranzberg
May 1962
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In this article, Melvin Kranzberg argues for a new approach to history through the lens of science and technology. Old history is about politics and the state. Democratizing history adds society (the people) to history. A few of his arguments in favor of a focus on science and technology in history include:

• History is incomplete without including science and Technology
• Regular citizens make decisions based on science and technology
• No single group has a monopoly
• Science and technology add a fun factor
• One can gain solace in human potential through science and technology when civilization seems to fall backwards
• Science and technology progress even if society doesn’t

Kranzberg points out that interest has been increasing in the topic. The Cold War drove increased focus on science and technology, and that focus also drove interest in the study of its history, processes, social influences, etc. He also notes interest I stories about scientists and their ideas, human use of technology, and how understanding the history helps make modern science and technology decisions more informed.
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The original article was published in 1962. As it turns out much of his predictions have panned out in that there are whole disciplines related to science and technology that is academically concerned with history, philosophy, sociology and policy for example. Despite that, his point about using history to make better decisions about modern employment of science and technology may be overstated. Most college graduates today completing a degree in a STEM field have likely not taken any courses in any of the liberal arts areas that focus on STEM areas. Despite the fact that most “soft science” programs consider it important for “hard science” majors to have some understanding of such topics, perhaps the hard science program directors are not yet sold on the idea.

The idea of progress as linked with the most recent version of the idea of technology implies change. It also implies that the change is supportive of the goals or preferences of whoever is designating the change as progress. In Modernity and Technology by Thomas J. Misa, the author argues that as some see modernity and technological advancement as progress, other philosophers see these ideas linked as a negative. Among his proposals the author states “Technology may be the truly distinctive feature of modernity” as proposal 2. Misa posits that those who argue for technological determinism of social norms (modernists), and those who prefer a focus on societal change independent of technology (post-modernists) are both thinking too macro. He argues, “To constructively confront technology and modernity, we must look more closely at individual technologies and inquire more carefully into social and cultural processes.”

As Misa offers “proposals” in his article, likewise Melvin Kranzberg offers “laws” in his article Technology and History: “Kranzberg’s Laws”. His sixth law states, “Technology is a very human activity – and so is the history of technology.” In this section of the article Kranzberg argues “man the thinker” is also simultaneously “man the maker.” In fact, he is saying that what man the thinker is thinking about is what to make and how to make it. Like Misa, he questions the technological imperative. Although we often shape our lives around technology such as the clock or the automobile, “this does not necessarily mean that the ‘technological imperative’… necessarily directs all our thoughts and actions.”

As Misa states that the concepts around technology should look more at the specifics, the micro instead of the macro, Kranzberg actually gives some specific examples. In speaking of “technical devices that would make life simpler or easier for us but which our social values and human sensibilities simply reject”, he shares how we, in America at least, do not accept the use of communal kitchens. “Our adherence to the concept of the home has made that technical solution unworkable,” he adds. Where some might take advantage of the shared benefit of a communal kitchen, including better equipment with pooled resources and less work in cleaning and maintaining through shared effort, American culture does not see the technical advantage as a form of progress.

​The Misa writing helps to see some linkages between various aspects of technology that are not so obvious. For example, under his proposal 4 comparing modernism and postmodernism he speaks to architecture as a technology. Modernists, he states, follow the idea that less is more, while postmodernists would argue less is bore. Another example of a strength is linking the concepts of reason and freedom. He shares both arguments of freedom through reason, and concern that it can lead to domination by reason, hence the opposite idea that reason usurps freedom. Similar examples through the work point to both the strength and weakness of the writing. Helping present multiple sides of the questions is helpful to arriving at a better understanding of the questions, but the author generally does not take a side. He frames the questions and shares the answers of others that disagree. He also generally only shares two sides to each of the posed questions. I am sure there are many more than two sides that could be understood.

​Sustainable Design: Beyond the Innovation-Driven Business Model
By Hartmut Esslinger
IEEE Engineering Management Review, Vol. 41, No. 2, Second Quarter, June 2013
 
This article considers what the role for design engineers might play in ‘greening’ industry. Although I’m not sure I buy all the dire predictions about how quickly things will get in the immediate, yet I’m also all for being wise stewards of our planet. I hear all the messaging about scientific prediction and am reminded that it is just that, prediction. Such predictions are based on modeling using available data, and making probabilistic assumptions.
 
That said, I’m with Esslinger on part of the approach he espouses. “Designers have a unique opportunity to drive the development of sustainable products by virtue of our role in the early stages of the product lifecycle process.” Esslinger assumes “some radical change” is required, but also advocates “evolving our industrial processes” by taking advantage of opportunities to “apply technologies, or products, or practices that are currently available, or can be easily adapted from existing models or practices.” The more evolutionary portion of his proposal seems more realistic. Radical change can easily bring unintended consequences, making some things better, and other things worse. 

Recently I posted some thoughts on the natural man, and separately considering the position of King David from the Old Testament of The Holy Bible. I now believe these two to be the same topic.

The first I shared was about the idea of putting off the natural man. My focus on the ideas yielded a basic view in three short statements:

• I do my will because it is my will.
• I do His will because it is His will.
• I do His will because it is my will.

The first I see as the natural man. The second I see as one who is repentant and working on becoming more Christ-like. The third I see as reaching a Godly, Christ-like, or celestial character.

The second area has been more of a combined discussion with my wife. As we read in the Old Testament about kings who followed David and Solomon, they were often compared to David in terms of their standing with Jehovah. Specifically, those who did not follow Jehovah were said to be not like unto David whose heart was right with God all his life. In the earlier post I noted the issue of his committing adultery with Bathsheba. Later he tried to cover it up by having her husband, Uriah, return home and be with her. When Uriah refused to cooperate, David had him sent to where he would be killed in battle. So how could the scripture later claim his heart was with God all the days of his life?

The context of the Old Testament scriptures with such a comparative statement are about the keeping of the Mosaic Law while later kings did not. Many even allowed or participated in the worship of other gods, including Solomon. So it is likely Jehovah refers to this aspect of David’s character. He did marry Bathsheba and it is through her line that both Solomon and later Jesus was born. D&C 132:39 affirms the following:

39 David’s wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.

So he was not forgiven, or did not fully repent of those sins. Yet he may have been repentant, even if beyond forgiveness in the combination of adultery and shedding of innocent blood. He may have been repentant, but in terms of the question of whether his lifetime of following the law was sufficient to overcome these two grievous sins the answer is no. It would appear David was not repentant sufficiently to receive the full cleansing power of the atonement.

Back then to the question of putting off the natural man. In my mind, I had often wondered in the past that in order to achieve this goal one had to reach the third saying, to become fully Christ-like. Lately I think maybe the answer is to move along the continuum. At one end of the continuum is the absolute of the natural man. At the other the absolute of being Godly. We all likely fall somewhere along the gradation line between the two extremes. I’ve come to believe that if we have moved along the continuum to any degree away from the natural man and toward being Christ-like then we have put off the natural man. At that point, so long as we are repentant and move along the line we are cleansed and perfected through the sacrifice of the Savior. It is not our change that cleanses us, or makes us Godly, but rather it is the power of the atonement that gets us to the celestial. Since we never can be perfected without the atonement, then we are cleansed and perfected throughout our lives.

​I’m comfortable that repenting is the same as putting off the natural man. We don’t have to reach perfection all at once, but over time as we rely on, have faith in, the power of Jesus Christ. Reaching the goal of losing the natural man and becoming Christ-like in this way does not seem overwhelming or impossible. In fact, the gospel, in this way, becomes its namesake good news.

My wife and I have been working on a question. To keep up our Spanish-speaking skills we have been reading scriptures in that language together for many years. Over the past month or so we wrapped up the part of the Old Testament that covers the period of King David, King Solomon, and those that followed immediately after them when the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were divided. We were struck by the profound negative affect David had through his poor choices concerning Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah. Despite these deeply sinful acts many of the later scriptures reprimand his descendants saying something along the lines of their heart was not right before God as His servant David all the days of his life. Of course, we were puzzled by this expression knowing his choice of adultery followed by deceit in trying to have Uriah spend time with Bathsheba so the resulting child would be thought to be Uriah’s. When that approach failed he had Uriah sent to the front lines where the battle was the hottest. The desired result was achieved. Uriah was killed, and David took the widow as another of his long line of wives.

These acts don’t sit well with the idea of David’s heart being 'right' before God. Then over the past few weeks in Come Follow Me we have been studying the life of the apostle Paul (originally Saul). Here again is another example of one who assisted in the stoning of Christians only to repent through miraculous means to become a great missionary to the gentiles. This leads to other examples such as Alma the elder and Alma the younger, as well as the sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. In a few future posts I’ll attempt to share just a few of the small insights conversations between my wife and I have brought about. Do good deeds and a repentant heart somehow counteract former grievous acts and attitudes? How does the Atonement apply under such stark circumstances? I doubt I have many answers, but maybe a simple thought or two.

While at church a few weeks ago I listened to the sacrament talks. They were about freedom and agency. It so happens that I have also been reading some sociological theory. In particular I read some writings of Herbert Marcuse. He argues society is ‘higher’ with more freedom, but his notion of freedom is troubling. He says choice between limited options (socially constructed options) is really not freedom. He also says evidence of ‘higher’ culture is when more diverse forms of sexuality are public, and publicly accepted.

It seems to me like Satan always argues down this path. He cries ‘No boundaries’ and suggests when boundaries are in place they are motivated by power (slave/master) relationships. Yet as I have written in the past, good and evil can be best understood (maybe only understood) by comparison with each other. To understand right from wrong a boundary is necessary.

Book of Mormon apostates inevitably refer to the gospel as a ‘foolish tradition’ or a tool for leaders to exercise power over others (see Alma 30 for example). Unfortunately there have been examples of power hungry religious and civic leaders throughout history willing to compromise ethics, but painting all leaders with this sort of brush is disingenuous at best. It’s another way Satan fights dirty. He inspires such action by some leaders then points to it as an excuse for other, just as bad, behavior.

One of the arguments Marcuse uses is that total freedom to choose any option is a must. If options are somehow limited than one is not really free to choose, only to choose from limited options filtered, or narrowed, by someone with power. The options, goes his position, are intended to control behavior to keep or increase power for those in charge of the options. For example capitalists narrow options to increase profits under the guise of efficiency. Yet if there were an infinite number of purchasing options from any company then the business of providing a commodity is not sustainable. The result would likely be business collapse causing even the limited number of options to be lost. A friend of mine recently read a paper about ketchup. Some stores offered a large number of ketchup options assuming it would cause an increase in ketchup purchases. Instead the study found overall purchases decreased. Once the ketchup options were limited sales increased. The understanding was lowering options helped people to make selections.

​Religion, Marcuse argues, inhibits sexual choice in order to repress people through feelings of guilt. I think straying from Heavenly Father’s description of the law of chastity is less about who or how people love, and more about the effect on family and, by extension, society. 

Over the past few months my thoughts have been focused on the idea of putting off the natural man. A number of scriptures jump out at me from the church website:

Natural Man

See also Born Again, Born of God; Carnal; Fall of Adam and Eve

A person who chooses to be influenced by the passions, desires, appetites, and senses of the flesh rather than by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Such a person can comprehend physical things but not spiritual things. All people are carnal, or mortal, because of the Fall of Adam and Eve. Each person must be born again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ to cease being a natural man.

• The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit, 1 Cor. 2:14.
• The natural man is an enemy to God and should be put off, Mosiah 3:19.
• He that persists in his own carnal nature remaineth in his fallen state, Mosiah 16:5 (Alma 42:7–24; D&C 20:20).
• What natural man is there that knoweth these things, Alma 26:19–22.
• Natural or carnal men are without God in the world, Alma 41:11.
• Because of his transgression, man became spiritually dead, D&C 29:41.
• Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, D&C 67:12.
• And man began to be carnal, sensual, and devilish, Moses 5:13 (Moses 6:49).

I’ve been thinking about this area to try to understand the carnal nature and natural man to see what else I can do to put my life more in alignment with Heavenly Father. It comes to me that man has a nature, but so too does God. The list of scriptures describing His nature is long. So putting off the natural man does not mean not having a nature, but rather exchanging our carnal nature for His eternal nature.

I tend to think simply, and so I try to wrap big ideas up into simple ways to think about them. As a result the following thoughts are my simple way of considering how I need to transition to put off man’s nature in favor of God’s nature.

• I do my will because it is my will.
• I do His will because it is His will.
• I do His will because it is my will.

​I think from day to day I find myself living a mix of these three statements, but my task is to try to supplant the first more and more with the second. Then I need to continue toward the third. In the first I put little thought into my decisions. In the second I actively (consciously) work to bend my will to His. In the third, I again need little work since my will and His are the same. In the first my nature is carnal. In the third, it is Christ-like. 
​

You may or may not be aware that I’m foolish enough to be embarked on another post-graduate program. I’m not sure why I’m doing this as an old guy at the end of my working career, but it’s what happening. The degree is in Science, Technology and Society. Fall semester was about the history of technology. Spring semester is about sociological issues in science. In both semesters there was reference to a period in American history when industrial machinery moved from human or animal power, to water power, to steam power, then to electrical and petroleum-based power. There was a lot more on this during the technology class, but still some interesting effects in the look at social issues.

Why this is coming up is that while sitting in the temple, listening to general conference, and during down times in my work travel I was thinking about Beach Haven. It’s a town in Pennsylvania that was founded by one of our ancestors who we named our son Nathan after. I grew up in Berwick, a small blue collar town along the Susquehanna River. Beach Haven is just a few miles upstream from Berwick on the same side of the river, and is more like a small village, a sort of hamlet.

Growing up I remembered Beach Haven for two things. Fishing, and the steam-powered laundry that belonged to “Uncle Morris”. His actual name was Morris Kemmerer. By the time I had any sort of understanding he would have been in his 80s. I looked him up in the Family Tree software. I get these notes from them on occasion letting me know about one relative or other that could have temple work done. Now that my mother has passed away I’m paying a little more attention to family history. I had always thought Morris was my dad’s uncle (a sibling to my Grammy Beach – Violet Kemmerer Beach), but as it turns out he was his great uncle (sibling to my Grammy Beach’s father - Alfred).

Fishing in Beach Haven in those days was either done in one of many eddies that form along the bank, or in the remnants of the old 19th century canal system that still existed in pieces. When the water was high there was good fishing in the canals. When it was low there was not. That’s when we’d fish the main river.

The steam laundry was another thing altogether. For a young boy like me at the time it was an enticing maze of machinery, large conveyor belts driving the machinery, and the sound of hissing steam everywhere in the hot damp atmosphere. My dad told me how he used to help work there when he was a kid. I learned through my academic work that such businesses were common in the days when laundry machinery in homes was uncommon. By the time I came along they were not really doing laundry for families anymore, but were doing more industrial cleaning like for restaurants, hospitals and hotels.

In Beach Haven there really was nothing else. You could count the total number of homes on your fingers and toes, and there were no other businesses but Uncle Morris’ laundry. Today the landscape has drastically changed. The laundry closed after Morris died. Just before we moved away in the mid-1970s construction was started on a nuclear power plant that now stands on a hill overlooking (overshadowing) the town. The last time we visited there were still a few homes and an old cemetery where some of our ancestors are buried. We couldn’t see any remnants of the old canals anymore.

What was the same was the river. It flows continuously at varying heights depending on the time of the year. The water still looks the same as it did when I was young, as does the countryside of rolling, tree-covered Appalachia. Looking closely the downstream pointing ‘V’ shape of the old eel walls are visible just under the surface of the water. From Beach Haven you can look across the river and see the cliff face of Council Cup. It’s a promontory that gets its name from the fact that it served as a place where the old Indian tribes that lived in the area held their councils before the whites moved in, or at least that’s the story I heard back in the day. When I was young we used to go up to the back side of the cliffs at Council Cup and pick wild blackberries in the summer.

I felt inspired to consider how in some ways our times are changing. Like the town, human society shifts with successive generations, but only within limits. There really are no new ideas at the macro level of society. We humans just keep rotating and combining ideas that have been around throughout history. Some ideas are adopted to the detriment and suffering of millions of people. Others bring more or less stability.

What stays constant are the basic principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can choose to align ourselves with them and find more joy in life, or not and find less of it. 
​

I know there is a posted headline version of this story on the BHP page, but I wanted to make some additional comment here.

After attending Mom's funeral, we returned to Utah a few weeks later. This time there were two reasons for our visit. The first and most important was to attend the wedding of our oldest son, Nathan, to Vicky Summerville. They were sealed in the Ogden, Utah temple. The weekend included all sorts of family activities. After the wedding, the happy couple took advantage of the week of Nate’s college spring break for their honeymoon to Portland, Oregon. We are so pleased to see them both happy, and to see them start their life together under the strength of eternal covenants.
 
The other reason for the trip was to help finalize the closing of my mother’s home after her passing. There were some larger items that needed to come back to Virginia with us. My wife, Michelle, took a friend from our church with her, and the two of them drove to Utah pulling a near-empty trailer. I flew out for the wedding. After all the wedding festivities, Michelle and I drove the car and full trailer back to Virginia. There are still a few items awaiting us in Utah to haul back, but they will wait where they are until summer time when we will go back out due to the impending birth of our ninth grandchild, John Coates.
 
In clearing out all my mother’s things there was one in particular that had some real monetary value. It was one of those high-end motorized wheelchairs. When we looked online it seemed to be worth several thousand dollars. We posted it online for sale and waited to see what would happen.

What actually happened? In a word, nothing. Despite the need and the value it was clear the two were not matching up. It became obvious that those who could afford to buy one likely already had, and were not in the market for another. Those who needed but could not afford it, continued to make do with whatever arrangement they already had. Basically, we had nobody interested in buying it.

So my sister, Lisa, asked around. The last few years of her life, my mother lived in a neighborhood where many other older folks lived. After asking around, Lisa was able to get a referral of a Vietnam veteran in the neighborhood, Leon Snow, that could really use the chair, but had no way to pay for it. We decided to donate the chair to him. Mom would have liked that. As it turns out, the fellow is a member of my other sister Crystal's church, and is good friends with Jerry, my brother-in-law.
 
It makes me think about how although life can be unfair at times, and it’s not intended to be, that there are little things here and there we can do to help in very specific positive ways. Although Christ taught to the multitudes, his miracles were almost always in service of the one.

As we see all the need around us, or have needs in our own lives, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. I see it every day on the street as I walk from Union Station in Washington DC, to my office only a few blocks away. Good news! We don’t have to help everyone we see with everything they need. We do what we can and have faith that God can have others help where we can’t. We also need faith enough to know that some won’t be helped in this life to the level that we (or they) believe they ‘ought to be’. We act in the present, as ineffective as our efforts may seem. We make a difference where we can. We do our best to try to keep an eternal view that this life is not meant to be fair. It’s meant to give us opportunity to learn and to help.
 
I know these ideas can sometimes sound like platitudes. I have seen firsthand when people have used the idea that they can’t do enough so they won’t do anything. They don’t even know what they are giving up when they focus on themselves, or only on the here-and-now. So with that here are a few phrases that have come to be my personal guiding thoughts:
 
“Wisdom through knowledge, integrity and service.”
A family motto we developed with our children when they were still young.
 
“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded”
1 Ne. 3:7
 
“My Father worketh hitherto, and I work”
John 5:17
 
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity”
1 Cor. 13:13

​Protests seem to be a regular event here in DC. The issues that inspire people to take to the streets are many and varied. Some of the protests involve people with a specific perspective, some involve multiple groups with opposing perspectives. Recently I noticed a picture on the web of a person holding a protest sign. The sign says, “the [sic] most violent element in society is IGNORANCE.”

This sign struck me as a reminder of many conversations I’ve either heard or participated in. The topic could be political, religious, cultural, or any other hot button. The sentiment might be stated in any number of ways. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “If you had to put up with what I do you’d understand.” “You’ve never had to deal with this.” “You are narrow minded.” I could keep going, but what seems to me is behind any of these variations on a theme is an idea that “I have information that you don’t. If you only knew what I do, you’d agree with me.”

I often hear the same sentiment being expressed by people holding opposing views on the same topic. It really doesn’t seem to strike me that either person in such a conversation has not heard what the other person has to say, meaning they both probably do have access to the same information. If ignorance is a lack of information, and presumably not a lack of intelligence, then neither side of such a debate is ignorant. They just genuinely disagree.

Any number of factors could cause disputing parties to stress some information and down play other information. There may be agendas involved. Either or both sides could be looking for a specific outcome so they argue the facts that support their goal. Values could differ. Depending on the atmosphere a person has lived in, words or ideals could be defined very differently from one person or group to another. For example if the disputants are considering some issue involving the word “freedom”, one side may be speaking of their freedom to… while the other may be speaking of their freedom from…

I take issue with people who take the stance that if someone does not agree with them it’s only because of their lack of information, their ignorance. It is just as likely that the person making such a claim has themselves an information shortage. It’s also just a likely that neither are making a decision in ignorance. The anger seems to well up when either or all sides of an issue begin to assume something even more sinister in a person’s motivation, or because either or all actually do have sinister motivations. Unfortunately, we humans don’t really know what a person is actually thinking or why they choose to do what they do. Likewise, to me, if a person assumes they know more than their opposition they may be part of a different destructive “element in society”; arrogance.

​Like many others these days, I listen to a selection of podcasts. One of my regulars by NPR is titled Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam. Recently he had an episode titled Creating God and featured an evolutionary scientist named Azim Shariff. In essence, the ideas the guest shared pointed to an evolutionary need in early human development for creating community. The result, says Shariff, was the invention of religion, the invention of God. Creating a belief system, goes the argument, helped small groups form a common ethos and a method of bonding. Toward the end of the episode Shariff affirmed he is an atheist. Here is the description of the episode on the Hidden Brain website:

If you've taken part in a religious service, have you ever stopped to think about how it all came to be? How did people become believers? Where did the rituals come from? And most of all, what purpose does it all serve? This week, we explore these questions with psychologist Azim Shariff, who argues that we can think of religion from a Darwinian perspective, as an innovation that helped human societies to survive and flourish.

https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain

I have made an argument many times about science and faith, but after listening to the podcast I feel a need to make it again. I firmly believe that human intellect has limits, and the amount of data available to human kind is limited as well. A limited reasoning ability coupled with a limited amount of information often leads to only a partial, or sometimes completely inaccurate, understanding of truth.

A few days after listening to the podcast I listened to a Ted Radio Hour that was focused on this issue of what science knows about truth. The episode is titled The Spirit of Inquiry. In particular, a recurring theme in the episode was about the trap of arrogance scientists often fall into by believing the conclusions science draws. Multiple presenters, scientists not religionists, spoke about how science really doesn’t prove anything, but gives us a reasonable framework to try to understand the world around us, and the worlds in the cosmos. Here is the description of the episode on the TED Radio Hour website:

The force behind scientific progress is the simple act of asking questions. This episode, TED speakers explore how a deeper and more humble style of inquiry may help achieve the next big breakthrough.

https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/archive

There is a danger in this approach as well. A follower of this line of thought can come to the conclusion that truth is not really knowable. In his epistle to Timothy, the apostle Paul describes people in the last days. One way he describes them (us?) is in 2 Timothy 3

7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

When atheistic scientists remove the possibility of the existence of God, and accept completely the ideas of evolution, I can understand how they, like Azim Shariff, come to the conclusions they do. That said, if you assume one possibility should be completely ruled out (the actual existence of God for example), and you assume another possibility as the only description of reality, then how can someone really put stock in such a one-sided perspective? Isn’t that the same argument such scientists use to discredit those who claim a belief in God?

Personally I put little hope in any version of truth that relies only on the logic arguments of human kind, be they scientific or religious. By my own experience through prayer, and seeing results in the lives of those who choose to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, I find reason to view any idea through the lens of how it does or does not align with truth revealed through ancient and modern prophets. Coming to know truth requires more than thought. The Savior puts it this way in John 7

17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

For me, faith is stronger than belief. Believing in something does not make it true, nor does belief imply action. Faith is doing His will (taking action). Doing His will increases faith. As faith increases, so does understanding. As understanding increases, a person comes closer to truth. As the scripture notes, doing His will discloses truth. Stated in the negative, if the doctrine is not from God, is not true, then doing the act will reveal to the doer it’s untruth, and faith does not increase.

I’m just fine that many do not accept my perspective. I’m also aware that when considering religion there is a great deal of variation and contradiction among belief systems. I wonder, though, how that is any different than the variation and contradiction among various scientific camps. Scientific evidence is just that, evidence. Scientific theory is just that, theory. So much of what gets represented as "fact" later proves not factual. Religions have come and gone throughout human history. So too have scientific theories.

I had an interesting philosophical conversation recently with a family member. They shared with me a thread of logic I’ve heard before, and even supported myself once upon a time. The argument goes something like this. "If you think about all the things that have to happen just right to sustain life on our planet there is no way this could all just be a result of randomness."  This perspective is why my conversant felt God must exist. They went on to reason that the fact that we humans have yet to find another similar world that shows even more how rare such an existence is, and further shows how randomness could not have brought about planet earth and life. 
 
On the first point I agree with my family member. From the almost infinite number of combinations of processes such as physics, chemistry, electro-magnetics, etc. that are required, and all the inter-dependencies among these combinations, the probability of random life is infinitesimally small.  
 
From The Book of Mormon
Alma 30 
 
43 And now Korihor said unto Alma: If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words. 
 
44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator. 
 
The second idea from my fellow philosopher in the family is where we differ. Again the thought was that since life outside this planet has not been discovered yet by science then it must be truly rare. It is this rarity, says the argument, that proves randomness alone could not cause life or we’d see more of it.  
 
Here’s why I differ with this thought. Scientists rightfully argue that if a God we’re so engaged in creative activity, then why don’t we see more of it? Essentially these folks interpret the same data to an opposite conclusion. My family member thinks the scarcity of life evidence means God must be actively causing life. Much of the scientific world thinks the scarcity of life evidence means there is no God, and life is a result of random unplanned events.  
 
Perhaps both are reach differing conclusions based on the same data because they both assume the data is correct. The premise of both positions is that there is no evidence of life beyond earth. I say that human kind has not discovered life beyond earth. Non-discovered life is not the same as non-existent life. Our ability to peer into the cosmos has been enhanced in recent decades, to be sure. At the same time, astronomers will still tell us how little we can see beyond the immediacy of our own solar system. 
 
From The Pearl of Great Price
Moses 1 
 
26 And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou shalt deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen. 
 
27 And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God. 
 
28 And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore. 
 
29 And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof. 
 
30 And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them? 
 
31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me. 
 
32 And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth. 
 
33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. 
 
34 And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many. 
 
35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them. 
 
36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content. 
 
37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine. 
 
38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. 
 
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. 
 
I believe that as our knowledge increases we will eventually find life in the cosmos either through technology, or because our "earth shall pass away... and another come". The low probability of random generation of life to me shows that life is created and not spontaneous. I also argue that an abundance of life in the cosmos would be more supportive of a purposeful creative God. Because the odds of randomness are so low that would bolster the argument that life should be rare without God. I believe life is abundant in the cosmos, but mankind has not been able to discover it yet through our advancing, but still limited technology. I believe the abundance of life is created by God. 
 ​

Last week was Father’s Day. It was nice to be able to speak with our children and grandchildren. In particular, one of adult children sent me a nice note. It was of the sort that makes parents feel they have done a good job. In particular the note was speaking about how the writer had learned the importance of service to others through my example. The note spoke about how I would likely point to God as the driving force to my part of our family’s service to others, but also pointed to the idea that my service was also about my own personal will and drive.

These intertwined ideas settled into my mind for the past week. Thinking, as I often do, in the form of a continuum, if we think about what drives us, one continuum could be bounded by complete inspiration (or God-guided) on one end, and by complete personal will (or agency) on the other. Each of us would fall somewhere along that line depending at some level on inspiration and at some level on agency.

I have often thought of this issue in the past like building a bridge. We are on one side of the intended span with some level of bridge-building supplies. These could be thought of as talents maybe. On the other end is the Savior with His supplies. He will dedicate for our bridge enough of His supplies (the Atonement) that it takes to cover the portion of the span where we will run out of supplies. If we do the work and use our talents as far as we can, then He completes the bridge. If we choose to not use all our talent then there will be a gap left in the end.

A few scriptures to consider:

From Doctrine and Covenants

D&C 58 
26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. 
27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; 
28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. 
 
From The Book of Mormon

Alma 60 
11 Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you? Behold, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain. 
 
Either 12 
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. 
28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me--the fountain of all righteousness. 
 
From The Holy Bible

Hebrews 11 
This chapter gives a long list of many famous biblical stories that were accomplished “by faith”.

To me, just as “faith without works is dead,” so too are human efforts fleeting without God. 
​

As I write, it’s Monday evening, Memorial Day, and I’m sitting in the DCA airport getting something to eat before a flight to Atlanta. Michelle dropped me off on her way home after we had an enjoyable day in and around Baltimore.

I was struck by two things in particular as we toured a few sites.
 
The first happened while we were at Fort McHenry. I’m sure you will remember that this is the site where a battle of the War of 1812 took place that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words to The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem. Before walking out to the fort, there is a small museum where you pay to enter the park. Aside from some artifacts and murals to look at, there is a small theater where visitors are encouraged to watch a short historical film about the battle and anthem author that makes the fort so famous. As you might guess, the film ends with a stirring rendition of the national anthem. Per tradition, all 40 or so of us who were in attendance stood and put our hand over our heart. About half way through the music, the screen we were watching the video on rose to expose the actual fort through the glass behind the screen. In that moment the work had its effect. I felt a patriotic chill on the back of my neck, and my eyes watered. I then noticed that Michelle was similarly affected. She even reached into her purse for a tissue to wipe her eyes.

I had heard the story of Francis Scott Key before, but reviewing the history of the full battle made more sense of his experience. It feels clear to me that the man was inspired of Providence, stated in the vernacular of his day. Here we are, more than two centuries later, and his words set to music still inspire the rest of us. Though the rendition played in the film only shared the first verse, the one we are all most familiar with, I couldn’t help but think of a phrase from one of the later verses, “Let this be our motto, in God is our trust.” That phrase stuck in my head and heart as I walked around the battlements.
 
The second experience that struck me was when we were walking around on the USS Constellation. It was the last American Navy ship commissioned that used sail as it’s only propulsion. It is still a commissioned ship in the US Navy today. As Michelle and I walked around the different decks of the vessel we noted to each other some of the set up of the rigging, navigation systems, anchor and mooring systems, etc., that were similar to our own little sailboat. Of course the scale is hugely different. Michelle also asked me occasionally about how things worked as compared to the ship I was stationed on in the Navy back in the late 1980’s.

What stood out to me was how much of the human set up was the same. It was clear that the traditions of my days at sea were very similar to the traditions of those who sailed on the Constellation. Much of the equipment had the same names and uses. That is true. I was thinking more about how the ranks of men and the division of authority were real from both a responsibility perspective, and also in the physical layout of quarters, mess facilities, watch positions, battle positions and the like. It is clear that there is both a separation and an interdependence between the officer corps and enlisted ranks necessary to keep groups of people working together in a self-reliant and disciplined way. Without that organization and team approach to warfare, a ship like the Constellation, and later my ship the Duluth (LPD-6) could never successfully complete assigned missions.
 
On Memorial Day we remember those who died in war, who gave their life in service of our country. I never lost anyone I was personally close to during my short four years of service. I did participate in several operations where lives were lost. I did experience some of the fallout that comes in the immediate aftermath, and to a small degree the fallout that comes years after the fact.
 
When I think of these two experiences we had today, I hope that we can remember to keep God in our lives. I firmly believe that when we do personally, He will involve Himself with our personal lives. Likewise, so long as we in general stay close to our core values as a people, the same will be true for our nation. I also believe firmly if we distance ourselves from Him we are left more to our own recourses and the buffeting of an adversary that is firmly in our opposition regardless if we recognize it or not.
 
“He that seeketh his life shall lose it, but he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

I recently finished reading the book The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. You may recognize his name. He was famous for writing a series of pamphlets encouraging American colonist to revolt against England in the late 18th century. His rhetoric was fiery and inspiring to the revolutionaries.

Unfortunately, the work in question does anything but inspire. In The Age of Reason he examined The Holy Bible and made an argument ostensibly against all religion, but really and specifically against all forms of Christianity. It is a very good example of arguments I’ve heard plenty of times over the years. One of the biggest mistakes, in my mind, is a shallow study of the text. He argued over and over that he was “proving” the error of the scriptures by just using the text as presented. In looking only at the text he was ignoring the aspect of context. Like so many others, both proponents of and detractors from the Bible, he read much of his criticism based on the context of his own day, not of the time in which the words were written.

For example he often pointed to the fact that many of the books of the Old and New Testaments could not have been written by the person that Christendom has traditionally ascribed them to. He pointed out information in the text that makes it “clear” that the first five books of the Old Testament were not written by Moses. Given that “fact” he argued that it stands to reason that they are a lie. He could be right. They were likely written by later historians. That doesn’t make them less true. For example, much of early history was passed from one generation to another through oral tradition and are written down much later than the actual events depicted. He also misses the point that the books of the Bible are likely a compilation as opposed to a historical record written contemporary with events. Earlier writings were likely compiled or restated by later writers, the identity of whom is unknown. For example, they often reference events or location names that were not known, or were different from the times they are describing.

Paine gave many examples similar to this one. He also sited places of inconsistency such as the differences in the stated lineage of Jesus in the gospels. Scholars have come to understand these lineages as two types. One is a show of the rights of kingship. The other the priesthood line of authority. Had Paine done more than just apply reason to the writing from his personal context he might have been able to gain more from the scriptures than a way to make the argument in favor of a perspective he likely already had.

There is another interesting line of reason he gave I’d like to consider. The author questioned spiritual experiences such as revelation and prophecy. I get where he was coming from. His point was that if he himself has not had the revelation then he should not accept the experience of others as true, or even that the record of the claimed experience was accurate. This is a reasonable thought to me. Unfortunately he missed the second part of the argument. In fact, he, and we, should do exactly that. We should seek for revelatory experience for ourselves. Instead Paine argues that God does not offer revelation to men.

Much of Paine’s argument was a comparison of what Christians of his day, and those since the days of Jesus (specifically Catholics and Protestants), have said about what is in the scripture. His arguments were as much about how the doctrines of those churches differ from, or make confused, information in the Bible. I also agree with those arguments. However, his perspective of how “reason” trumps these religionists falters. He argued that their reasoning fails because it is not based on evidence like science is. What it seems he is really saying is though they might be based on some evidence, they are not based on enough evidence to justify their reasoning. I could use the same argument in questioning Paine’s perspective by saying it is based on some evidence, but not enough evidence to justify his reasoning. In other words, I question the ability for human kind in general to come to any real understanding of truth through reasoning alone. The arguments of philosophers of science such as Kuhn and Popper point to the faultiness of human reasoning specifically when it comes to science. They would argue that scientific theory and discovery are not an explanation of how things actually are so much as a method for humans to shape a paradigm that explains what limited evidence is available. At some point as more and more evidence is gathered by science there is a fundamental shift in the basis of prevailing scientific theory to cause a new way of looking at the larger explanation of how things in the universe “truly are”. Some philosophers of science believe that is because we are getting closer to truth as more evidence mounts. Others point that there is no assurance that we are getting closer to truth, but are only getting closer to a different way of describing what the evidence means.

In Paine’s defense, much of these philosophical ideas came to light after he wrote The Age of Reason, as did the restoration of the gospel as viewed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In full disclosure, I belong to that particular organization. Our church teaches not to rely on reason, but not reason alone. We are to seek light from the source of all truth. We are taught to seek confirmation of the truth of our reasoning from God directly through prayer, with an expectation of receiving direct revelation. Paine doubted the existence or availability of revelation. So he is sort of offering self-fulfilling prophesy. Since he believed revelation from God is impossible he would neither seek it, nor believe it if it were given to him.

How sad this all is to me. I am somewhat familiar with the general perspectives of science and engineering that Paine espouses as the only true way to understand God. I have made a partial focus of my studies to be about the philosophical views of science. I am currently researching topics about the effects of science and technology have on society, and the effects of society on science and technology. Like the apostle Thomas, the assumption of most scientific practitioners is that if you can’t measure something then it does not exist. Thomas, the apostle, meant that he would not believe the Lord had resurrected without seeing for himself. Science says an experiment has to be replicable. I say receiving a testimony by way of the Holy Ghost is very replicable. Millions of people have run the experiment and received their own measurement of the truth of the Gospel. By leaving out the experiment of seeking, asking and receiving, Paine and others like him are ignoring some of the available evidence that would take them to more truth than they can get on the evidence they self-limit to. How fitting that the author of The Age of Reason shares the name of the apostle famous for doubting.