CLASSED AMONG THE WICKED CITIES OF THE WORLD

Well, two Christmases ago, I was contacted through facebook about the first family that I had the privilege of teaching and baptizing in Brazil.  The oldest girl, who at the time of the parents' baptism, was just three years old and who used to climb on me like a jungle jim, was now a beautiful young woman and a recent new mother who had married a BYU law student, finishing up their last few years at school.  The mother, whom I had baptized years ago was in town to visit her new grand child.  So - not wanting to miss this opportunity for the world - I asked my kids who was up for a winter Christmas break adventure and we started off into some very bad weather the day after Christmas.  We eventually made it to Provo, UT after some harrowing driving and had a wonderful reunion - although I have to admit, my Portuguese was definitely in need of some shoring up.....

While driving from Ogden to SLC and further down into Provo, my 15 year old daughter could not help but notice the number of billboards involving plastic surgery and "body alterations".  I had to say she was onto something - and I could not dismiss it as a bunch of plastic surgeons who were really hurting at the time (we were in a recession - and that kind of thing is typically funded by discretionary income....).  It really left an impression on me - I am married to a gal who has tons of natural beauty and that may put makeup on just a couple of times a week on average - and not much at that.  So this phenomenon left an impression on me and reminded me of the prophecy of how SLC would be classed among the wicked (vain/homosexual) cities of the world.  According to Wikipedia, this is actually the case:

Less than 50% of Salt Lake City's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a much lower proportion than in Utah's more rural municipalities; altogether, LDS members make up about 62% of Utah's population.^[59]

Salt Lake City has been considered one of the top 51 "gay-friendly places to live" in the U.S.^[64] The city is home to a large, business savvy, organized, and politically supported homosexual community. Leaders of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Utah,^[65][66] as well as leaders of Utah's largest Jewish congregation, the Salt Lake Kol Ami,^[67] along with three elected representatives of the city identify themselves as gay. These developments have attracted controversy from socially conservative officials representing other regions of the state. A 2006 study by UCLA estimates that approximately 7.6% of the city's population, or almost 14,000 people, are openly homosexual or bisexual, compared to just 3.7%, or just over 60,000 people, for the metropolitan area as a whole.^[68]
In 2007 Salt Lake City was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the most vain city in America based on the number of plastic surgeons per 100,000 and their spending habits on cosmetics, which exceed that of cities of similar size.^[69] However, this likely reflects a concentration of plastic surgeons within the city limits but whose client base includes the entire metropolitan area. Forbes Magazine also found the city to be the 8th most stressful. In contrast to the 2007 ranking by Forbes, a 2010 study conducted by Portfolio.com and bizjournals concluded Salt Lake City was the least stressful city in the United States.^[70]

Now, I have nothing against anyone who is homosexual - they should be loved with an extra measure in order to ensure that they know where they can find a haven when they are ready to repent - but the practice and creeping/slide of morality should not be tolerated in the least.  I just saw a  great (wholesome) movie called Shunned and it illustrated the example of how a lack of love can lead to unwanted consequences in someone who has gone astray.

THE CLEANSING OF AMERICA - IS IT ALL JUST A BAD DREAM?

Well, I just awoke from a bad dream about something I have been writing about and pondering over for years - why the 'over the top' stuff written in the Book of Mormon and how does it apply to us in our day. The over riding theme is how a people were continuously cleansed/held at bay by an outside power until they had crossed a line and then they were virtually wiped out; forever. How did they get themselves into that mess, how did they not see the warning signs - what was so intoxicatingly powerful that they would continue that self-destructive trajectory knowing what the end result would be? What diverted their gaze from their Savior and then held it as they were carefully pulled from the true path to one that was irrecoverable; lost in the mists of darkness as it were.

About the dream I just had (it was not necessarily inspired - but informative); I was sitting down to a lecture in a lecture hall at some worldly university and the professor was speaking about astronomy. I was enjoying the lecture when the topic came very close to what happened (astronomically speaking) at the Savior's first coming. I called out, "It will happen again". Before I could get the full phrase out, I was drowned out completely with catcalls and very disapproving glares were directed at me from virtually all in the room - and those that were not glaring at me were too afraid to speak out in favor of what I was saying. The battle of public opinion had been lost and political correctness had won out. The professor then went on to talk about some topic that appeased the telestial masses in the room (it had something to do with a scientific study on how many sexual partners one could have before one was at risk, statistically speaking, for STDs using the latest contraceptives).

Alot of people would not believe that the above scenario could happen, but I can emphatically state that this very kind of scenario plays out at least every other week in a work forum. I do not talk about religious or political topics directly with co-workers, but rather deal in principles so that the wicked that I am forced to deal with, do not full-on rebel. For example, I can no longer say something like "Bill Clinton was a pervert who brought complete and humiliating shame on the office of the President.", but instead have to couch it in terms of "I would never vote for someone who would steal the innocence of someone his own daughter's age." On topic of abortion, I cannot say "Abortion is a moral evil whose effects will collectively be brought down upon the heads of the people of this nation.", I have to say something more along the lines of "People expect to be able to participate in something that is forbidden and then have no consequences of the outfall. We are a 'something for nothing' generation.".
Directness and boldness is more often met with a slap-down than with approval - especially from the younger, hipper, SNL crowd. So, we have lost the battle of political correctness, moral high ground, etc. and we have 20 years, or less, before we are where the Nephites were; having crossed over the line to the point of no return. Where the redemptive grace no longer covers our shortcomings and we are left to fend for ourselves.

What does that mean for members of the Church who do not cower and lurk in the shadows saying and doing nothing? It means that we will endure ever-increasing amounts of persecution until it becomes politically correct to persecute us again. We are headed beyond Prop8 levels of rhetoric to where the early Latter-day Saints were, then beyond to where the ancient Saints found themselves, then beyond to a whole new level. The Saints will have their last purge. There will be a convenient out for those who want to take it - but it will come at a cost; personal salvation. The rest will have to sacrifice all for the truth.

Just as it reaches the most intense point, there will be a physical salvation in the form of I am not sure what (at least enough to put hand to keyboard) but I do know that "mens' hearts will fail them..." because it will not be pretty. The purge will then move from the Lord's house (the inner vessel) to that without - or to those who have brought the intense persecution before the 'winding up scene', as Joseph Smith describes it. Those who were just skimming along with little or no oil in their proverbial lamps will wither in the heat of the furnace of affliction and not abide the day.

Which leads to what has gotten me so excited the last few days. I have written about the purging of (the Church first, then) America due to wickedness and abominations in the same (and if this phrase just made anger well up within you, you just failed the litmus test of which side you are on....), but just got a confirmation in the form of Cleon Skousen. I had known that there was some book he had worked on for the decade before he died that was not released (for what reason I am not sure) until now: "The Cleansing of America". It is for sale pre-release for an April 1st date. If I am reading my wife right, I have a Father's Day gift coming..... :)

Anyway, if you have enjoyed any of the previous posts on what will happen to America, you will be certain to enjoy his book. I have a feeling that he told his sons of what to wait for before publishing it - and the time is right now.

Enjoy!

MATERIALISM AND PSYCHOLOGY - THE ROOT OF THE PRIDE CYCLE

So you purchase a new gadget and get that high and maybe even a feeling that you are somehow superior to the guy next to you that is minus said gadget.

Here is a great article that sums up the experience and how we work:

Downturn Spurs 'Survival Panic' for Some in the US

16 Dec 2008 | 07:58 AM ET Text Size A paralegal, recently laid off, wanted to get back at the "establishment" that he felt was to blame for his lost job. So when he craved an expensive new tie, he went out and stole one.

The story, relayed by psychiatrist Timothy Fong at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, is an example of the rash behaviors exhibited by more Americans as a recession undermines a lifestyle built on spending.

In the coming months, mental health experts expect a rise in theft, depression, drug use, anxiety and even violence as consumers confront a harsh new reality and must live within diminished means.

"People start seeing their economic situation change, and it stimulates a sort of survival panic," said Gaetano Vaccaro, deputy clinical director of Moonview Sanctuary, which treats patients for emotional and behavioral disorders. "When we are in a survival panic, we are prone to really extreme behaviors."

The U.S. recession that took hold in December last year has threatened personal finances in many ways as home prices fall, investments sour, retirement funds shrink, access to credit diminishes and jobs evaporate.

It is also a rude awakening for a generation of shoppers who grew up on easy access to credit and have never had to limit purchases to simply what they needed or could afford.

Instead, buying and consuming have become part of the national culture, with many people using what is in their shopping bags to express their own identity, from the latest gadgets to designer handbags.


AP
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For those who need to abruptly curtail spending, that leaves a major void, said James Gottfurcht, clinical psychologist and president of "Psychology of Money Consultants," which coaches clients on money issues.

"People that have been ... identifying with and defining themselves by their material objects and expenditures are losing a definite piece of their identity and themselves," he said. "They have to learn how to replace that."

Depression Trigger

Beth Rosenberg, a New York freelance educator and self-professed bargain hunter, said she stopped shopping for herself after her husband lost his publishing job in June.

She is now buying her son toys from the popular movie Madagascar for $2 at McDonald's, and is wearing clothes that have hung untouched in her closet for years.

She said it has been stressful to stick to an austere budget after she used to easily splurge on $100 boots. "I miss it," she said of shopping.

Resisting temptation now could be even more difficult, as struggling retailers roll out massive discounts to lure shoppers during the holiday season.

Fueled by easy access to credit, a housing market boom and rising investments, U.S. household spending accelerated in much of the past decade while the savings rate declined.


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After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 killed thousands and shuttered U.S. financial markets, consumers were encouraged by politicians and business leaders to spend as a way of saving the economy and proving capitalism could not be crushed.

"We're getting these messages that it is, in effect, patriotic to spend money," said Stuart Vyse, a psychology professor and author of "Going Broke: Why Americans Can't Hold On To Their Money." The United States is deeply dependent on such spending, with consumption generating two-thirds of economic activity.

But problems arise when consumers become dependent on buying goods and services to cope with their emotions, Vaccaro said.

"We have difficulty handling our internal emotional state in other ways when we can't do that," he said, prompting some to seek out immediate gratification through drugs or alcohol.

Violent Behavior

Besides an increase in shoplifting, psychologists said retailers need to be prepared for more instances of violent behavior like that seen at a Wal-Mart store in Long Island, New York the day after Thanksgiving.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we see an uptick in crime, related to stealing," said UCLA's Fong. "I wouldn't be surprised if we see more workplace violence and more violence at the malls."

A throng of shoppers seeking rock bottom prices on flat-screen TVs and computers surged into the Wal-Mart [WMT 54.72 0.01 (+0.02%) ] store in predawn hours, trampling and killing a worker in the process. Fong said many shoppers have never stopped to think about why they were buying items, and it was easy to ignore looking deeper during a boom that support such spending.

But now, patients that can no longer shop to relieve stress have become anxious or depressed, he said. Others fume: "'I used to be able to afford that, I should be able to afford that now, I deserve that stuff,"' he said.

But Vaccaro said the downturn could be a time for shoppers to pause and study what they are attempting to achieve or what void they are attempting to fill by spending.

"We don't buy products, we buy feelings," Vaccaro said. "We're buying the anticipation of the feeling that we think that product or service is going to give us."

Gottfurcht said he encourages clients to take a walk or do some deep breathing before making a purchase to avoid an impulsive buy. He also recommended that clients keep a journal, noting how they felt when bought an item.

He said clients should then check the list a week later to see if the "glow" of that purchase has worn off, and it only satisfied an immediate want, not a true need.

The greater opportunity of the downturn, Vaccaro said, is that it represents a chance to move away from "irrational" and "careless" consumerism toward "a more discerning consumer."

PRIDE - THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

Few things are totally transformational in life that they cause a total course correction to happen. One of them for me was a talk on Pride by Ezra T. Benson back when I was seriously stuck on myself. This single talk really made me take a good look at myself and ask a few questions about what makes me tick. Here it is. I will probably add commentary to it as time goes along and I find more relevant material on it: