What Is Good About Us?

Luke 18:18-19 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

This rebuke by the Master may seem off putting to some well-wishers, who just was searching (albeit with less thought than the situated merited) for some amiable way to find entrance into a conversation with the Lord. However, Christ found it the perfect time to teach a valuable lesson.

We should not expect to find ourselves very good disciples of His, if we are not willing to walk the path He followed.

Why do we look for the good things that we do and like to praise ourselves for them when that is not what He sought?

Anything good (culturally speaking) that the church (as defined in D&C 10:67) produces derives from trying to apply the teachings of Jesus. All of the negative aspects produced by the church come from our inability to live the teachings that Jesus gave. These include but are not limited to the side effects of depression, issues surrounding human sexuality, unrighteous judgement, oppressive government in LDS areas, etc.

I have heard some people say not to blame the rank and file of the church (same definition as before) for these issues, because they are caused by the Shepherds of Israel. (see Ezekiel 33:23-34:31) To this I reply, the segregated perception of leaders and rank-and-file is a fallacy. It is similar to how I often hear people refer to 'The Church' (i.e. 'The Church doesn't like -fill in the blank-' or 'The Church teaches...' and 'That's not what The Church teaches') as if it were some real person or tangible thing that they were referring to. The Church is -as Christ, Himself explained it- everyone who repents and comes unto Christ. (see again D&C 10:67) In my belief that includes Jerald Tanner and Thomas Monson. Therefore anything that is produced within a culture in which 'The Church' exists, is negative only because some group of people, who have identified themselves with the church, have failed to live some part of the teachings of Christ. If we have anything good about us, it is purely because Christ's teachings are being lived (whether cognitively or merely as an automatic reaction stimulated by our social conditioning, the reward is the same.)

Double, Double Toil And Trouble

428 years ago, The (presumed undefeatable) Spanish Armada sailed from Spain to the coasts of Kent to land and deploy a devastating blow to English defiance against the Vatican, that had become so prevalent under the reign of Queen Elizabeth.  With the promise of blessing from the Vatican and the assurance of pillaging whatever riches might remain in merry ol' (albeit nearly bankrupt) England.

For 9 days, the navy of the Queen engaged the Armada in much futility.  Everyone predicted complete and utter destruction, not only of the Tudor line, but of all English prominence in the world at large.

Only 6 Spanish ships had been destroyed, in those 9 days, as a result of directly engaged battle.  Decades of English financial improvidence had depleted their navy and left them directly exposed the one type of battle that would always need be waged, should anyone ever choose to do so.

Most of the English militiamen could -financially speaking- only be equipped with bows and arrows instead of guns (which had nearly 50 years previously begun to be used as a deciding factor in war.)

These are just a few of the elements of the battle that were going to go VERY badly for England.  However, there are many more that should be detailed.  My point is that in no way should England have militarily won that war.

Rumor Has It

On the fatal 10th day of battle, the tides had turned (figuratively and literally) against Spain in a way that previously no body had thought possible.  There are rumors that Queen Elizabeth's consultant John Dee (a subject with whom that I believe many readers of this blog should familiarize themselves) gathered a quorum of consultants and were able to convince nature to fight England's battle.

In any case, the weather changed and forced the Spanish Armada to retreat.  Over 50 ships were lost in the weather driven return and over 13,500 sailors went down with them.  

June 23rd, 2016: A Day Of Change

Today, Briton's did what hardly anybody (including myself) thought possible.  I know there will be those who decry that a conspiracy was behind this because they are achieving some end result in this thing...and they may be right.  However, this day is still absolutely astonishing: It appears, at least by the time of this writing, that that majority of Briton's have voted to leave the European Union, for financial sovereignty.

Now I am not so naive as to believe that any man, let alone any country is a completely isolated island (pun intended.)  Especially financially.  I fully believe that the repercussions of this act will bring about greater widespread instability than anything else that any mortal on this earth has seen.

However, truth is truth, and kicking a can down the road can only go so far, before you have to give up kicking it down the road or face the realty that you can't kick it forever.  What Briton's have voted to do today, is to at least take the first step away from kicking the stupid, banged-up can down the road.

In the wake of that decision, we and they will now receive the incipient repercussions of bad monetary policy.  If you thought the financial recession of 8 years ago was bad, you better hang onto your hat, because you ain't seen nothin' yet!

The Point Of This Post

What intrigued me most about this story was the news, that one of the biggest reasons that those who voted to 'leave' the European Union won, was because of absolutely crazy weather systems that flooded (to the point, that some polling stations were forced to close) most of the bastions of supporters to 'stay' resided.

Depending on your point of view, one could make the argument that twice England has been saved by weather.