I'm not entirely sure where to even begin with this chapter.  So many good stories are found in this one, which can easily be likened to our own lives and our own times.  Various lessons come to mind.... For example, verses 1 through 3 are a magnificent litmus test of personal righteousness.  When someone comes at you and truthfull...

Ya know... Chatting with good friends has its benefits.  Just like think-tanks and collegeate consortiums are good for concerted cognation, a good conversation with a concerned cohort can be just as contenting. I think I've mentioned this before in my journal, but in talking with a good friend of mine, I hadn't made the connection with just...

After reading this chapter for no more than 30 seconds, I simply must type. I love verse 3. Many, many times have I been in a doctrinal discussion with someone and the other person just can't "get" what a scripture or principle means.  Verse 3 could explain why that happens to us. Some things we just can't understand without th...

When I sit and think about what I just read, the 14th chapter of 1st Nephi is pretty crazy. Just a few points... The majority of the chapter is all about the "mother of abominations" and the "whore of all the earth". I believe it's written here to clarify the impact this (these) church(es) has (have) had upon the plain and...

No, seriously, people...  Microsoft really does care....  loads and loads of caring! They care so much ABOUT MONEY it makes me sick. I just got done reading this article and I'm left with a feeling of sickening "awe" at how greedy Microsoft really is. Lately, I've been following a story about a group of people in a project...

Where do I even begin with this chapter? I remember reading it and understanding it for the first time during my mission.  It was really cool realizing that all of this stuff in this chapter is written about in history books!  It talks about Christopher Columbus discovering America, the Revolutionary War, the Bible, the coming of the Bo...

I had forgotten that in this chapter, Nephi sees the Lord descend from heaven to the people who would be born from Nephi. I put myself in his situation, and quite honestly , I have no idea how I would react.  It would be so supremely surreal - seeing your kids' kids' kids' kids, and then seeing the Savior of the world show himself unto them....

As soon as the angel of God knew Nephi's purpose and desire, the first question he asked him was "Do you believe?". I think that's a fairly important question, which we should ask ourselves each day.  If we are being tempted and we ask ourselves that question, to which we already know the answer, I can promise you the tempter's pow...

First Nephi Ten... I'm not really in a spiritual mood right now, which really is unfortunate because I know this chapter has some spiritual meat to it. One thing I can write, is when I read this chapter during my mission, and even before, I always found myself focusing on Nephi's desire to see the things his father did (in verse 17). He didn'...

Two things for tonight's study: I believe the purpose of this chapter is the same as chapter 6:  To give purpose behind the Book of Mormon.  The things Nephi is writing are things of God - things pertaining to the ministry of the people in those days. I love verse 5.  It reminds me of when Adam was commanded to build an alter and...

When I sit and think about what I just read, the 14th chapter of 1st Nephi is pretty crazy. Just a few points... The majority of the chapter is all about the "mother of abominations" and the "whore of all the earth". I believe it's written here to clarify the impact this (these) church(es) has (have) had upon the plain and...

I've gotta ask.  Well, before I do, let me preface the question with the scripture found in 1st Nephi 19.  Nephi says he won't write anything unless he thinks it's sacred.  Assuming that the prophets after Mosiah thought the same thing, I've gotta ask.  Why are verses 1 through 19 even here?  I know the Book of Mormon is tr...

For some reason, I love the commandment of paying tithing.  It's probably one of the top 10 commandments of which I have a burning testimony. I love this quote (as well as Jacob 2:19) "President Heber J. Grant stated, “I want to say to you, if you will be honest with the Lord, paying your tithing and keeping His commandments, He...

Okay people.... Today at work was great, and everything.... But I've just gotta tell ya... Well.. before I get ahead of myself, let me rewind a bit... The commute to my new job requires me to drive by a new Ford Dealership, and darnit.. They have a great selection of a certain car I'd really like to own someday. Well.... (yes.. the story gets wo...

Okay...    Ever since Nvidia came out with their Geforce series, I've been hooked.  I've built upwards of 100 systems in my life (family / friends / work) and out of those, about 90% of them use Nvidia video cards.  I also highly prefer AMD.  In fact, the very first computer I built was an AMD K6-2 250MHZ machine with ...

I have written quite a bit about this chapter during previous years' studies.  To begin, I noticed this time that it is by the "spirit of prophecy" that Zeezrom's thoughts are made known to Alma and Amulek. I also noticed that during the buffeting these prophets delivered to Zeezrom, not one attack was personal.  They were sim...

I've just got to put this somewhere so I don't forget it.  I just finished installing postfix / dovecot using postgres on my home server by following this wonderful tutorial. I followed it almost to the tee, and ... it just works.  I have no other information other than that.  For all I know, as you read this, it may be interpret...

Man alive.... I don't deal well with politics in the workplace AT ALL. Why in the world aren't we using gentoo? Who knows. Probably because of the "support" that we don't get because we have PHP 5 installed on a SLES9 server. augh..... Can I just tell you how much I hate it when people make snide remarks about something the know absolutely not...

Last spring, I modified my car - and then modified it again. The 2nd modifications entailed me re-programming (or flashing, or tuning) my car's computer.  One thing I didn't realize at the time was that evidently, a standard protocol for most tuners out there is to turn off the O2 sensors which monitor emissions after the catalytic converter...

Day Two.... I woke up this morning to a wonderful sore-throat.  Nothing too bad, and I felt that it's one of those that will go away as the hours pass by.  Turns up I was right. I rolled around in bed (after getting probably like.... 2-3 hours of sleep on Friday night) this morning for a good 2 hours, trying to go back to sleep. When I...

This talk was wonderful!  It brought many memories of my adolescence to mind, along with quite a few ponderous questions which I had never before contemplated. I'm not sure if it's my current mood, or the Spirit or what, but this talk was wonderful. It brought back memories of my own childhood, when I made decisions which would bring on ma...

Wow... Three entries in a matter of a couple of hours.  I guess I've got a lot to write. A couple months back, I wrote about a pet-peeve of mine.  Has to do with a phenomenon whereby people claim something doctrinal which really has very little, if any, doctrinal basis at all. Well... I believe I remembered something else which just might...

My wife and I got into a discussion a couple of nights ago which has stayed with me enough for me to mull over the questions at least a couple of times.  I'm not 100% sure of the correct answer yet, so I thought I'd blog about it. The topic at hand is a quite sacred one, so I'll treat it with as much respect as is possible. The discussio...

This might be the only "current events" post I ever do, but something has been puzzling me for the past 6-12 months. Last night, I watched the last half of the democratic candidates' debate on TV, and although it wasn't mentioned much, there were still a couple of references to a "downward economy", and the need for "job...

Beginning this chapter, another testament to the correlation between peace and keeping God's commandments is apparent.  Giving "strict" heed to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel undoubtedly brings peace. Now, on a totally different note, I wonder where Korihor came from?  It just says that he came into the land.  Was ...

It seems to me like this chapter has a very deep meaning, but I couldn't quite get it this time. The whole chapter is about making covenants, and becoming a child of Christ. It's interesting that after verses 2, 3, and 4, the last word on verse 4 is "joy".  After they had heard the word of God, had their hearts changed through ...

Ya know...  The explanations of the strategy of war really is interesting to me.  But when I come across verses like these, I simply can't help but get chills. I actually tear up when reading these verses.  I guess it's kind of the whole underdog syndrome.  Ya know... When there's a conflict, or a competition, and the odds are...

Amazing.  A couple of chapters ago, I was commenting on the sad state which Nephi found himself in, and the amazing faith he must have had to remain in a state of faithfulness to God, when everyone around him was wicked. I guess that's the way it goes.  God tries us to our breaking point, careful not to give us trials beyond our capabil...

I'm kind of distracted now due to external crud, but one of the verses jumped out at me.  Verses 7 and 8... I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the Spanish conquest, as it came to the Americas.  I have combating feelings toward the whole history of what happened. The "Indians" found here in America were the posterity...

Well...  Our pumpkins this year were just so darned cute, I had to blog about em' - I mean, after all, this is my journal! So, without further ado, here are a few photos of the 2007 Jones Family Halloween Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza! ...