Yesterday at church, I had a couple of thoughts which I neglected to write down.  I think I'll write them down now. Something I might have written down in my previous scripture studies is my question as to why Lehi's family didn't think about getting the plates of brass / Ishmael's family before they left for the wilderness?  I would th...

I'm not in the mood to write much, but since it's a goal, I'll keep it. One thing I noticed and had a question about was why Nephi, Sariah, and Sam didn't know where to go in Lehi's dream.  Verse 14 lays it out quite plainly. The first thing that came to mind was Lehi was the leader of the family.  He was the director and it was his d...

Something I've never really ever thought of, and maybe simply because it's so obvious, but... When Nephi goes on in his rant toward those who were desirous to go to Jerusalem, he keeps saying "How could you forget?".  Things like "How have you forgotten the great things the Lord hath done for us" makes an incredible assum...

I just got done reading a wonderful article in which the author tries to describe the core differences between the "open source" mentality and the proprietary one.  He does a great job of being objective and is generally well-thought out. Since I began using Linux, being myself a capitalist, I've battled the idea that the open sour...

I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I lost the post I just wrote about chapter 6. I didn't realize how short it was, so I wrote about the importance of scriptures spoken of in verse 5.  If we didn't have scriptures, our kids would eventually lose the commandments of God (unless, of course, it was revealed again). Also, it's good to not...

I just got done reading an excerpt on Sony's new "open", "non-DRM" solution to downloading their music legally. As I understand it, you have to go to a store, buy some sort of card for $12.99 which has a magic code on it, get the code, go to a website, enter the code, and then you are able to download one of their whole 37 alb...

Man... I'm just tired.  Today was weird..  So... Studying chapter 5 right now, I'm brought to another realization that even the families of Prophets aren't perfect (hello, Lehi was a prophet, and he managed to have Laman and Lemuel...) The specifics to which I refer is Sariah's murmuring, and reaction when she saw her 4 boys return fr...

I was sifting through my various RSS feeds a couple of minutes ago, and one popped up from TomsHardware which I thought might be interesting.  So I opened it up in my browser, and before I could even read the title, my eyes were drawn to this ad by Microsoft.  The image itself isn't very funny, but man-oh-man, the captions which came to m...

One way I really enjoy reading the scriptures is from a very empathetic point of view.  I find I learn more when I study, if I try to imagine what would *really* be going on if I were actually within the scripture. Chapter 4 is perfect for this.  Reading somewhat between the lines of the first part of this chapter allows us to imagine ...

Within the first 5 verses of this chapter, I'm reminded again of how a person works who is truly interested in God's commandments. Lehi was commanded of the Lord to have his sons return to Jerusalem to get the plates of brass from Laban. Telling Laman and Lemuel would most certainly have some consequences in that they would automatically assu...

Man.... No wonder we're all so screwed up in this life. If someone out there honestly does not think he or she is screwed up in some manner hasn't really lived. :) The whole reason for my saying this is the very essence of my life. If I've been taught once, I've been taught 1,000,000 times that to touch a lit burner on a stove is to get B-U-R-N-E-...

I've only got 5 minutes to write, but I've simply got to say something about our baby Samuel... With Collin and Luci, I didn't feel a real connection until the actual birth.  Well..  Walking around today in the house, I looked at Sarah's big belly, and I felt a warm feeling in my chest which can only be described as a connection with t...

It's been a long time since I have read the Book of Mormon.  Well, I decided to repent tonight and read where I left off at Mosiah. One scripture which always stands out to me in this chapter is the latter portion of verse 9.  King Benjamin is telling people how they should prepare themselves to hear his message, and thus he says: ...

Those who know me will find this post a bit ... unlike my typical post. This is mainly because I have a pretty passionate stance on DRM, OSS, Microsoft, Linux, and religion.  (I hate DRM, love OSS, hate Microsoft, love Linux, and I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Anyway...  I have a few words to say ab...

Onward and upward towards the goal of finishing the whole Book of Mormon, writing about each and every chapter, by the end of this year. This chapter was all about war, and strategy.  I didn't find anything particularly enlightening about it, yet I firmly believe that each and every word written in the Book of Mormon has a meaning - and will...

The hymn the choir sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" was absolutely gorgeous!  Well done, Orem Institute Choir!  What a great way to begin a general conference.  Had me in tears by the end of the hymn.  Thank you, Institute Choir! L Tom Perry's talk about teaching in the home brought back both thoughts of my upbringing,...

Okay...  I keep on runing into these people who have learned what I want to learn. About a year ago, I met a guy named Rick Koerber and he seemed like a normal guy.  About 6 months later, I find out he's a freaking multi-millionarie.  I also find out that he teaches how he did it, and so I learn about it.  It seems really legit...

Growing up, I used to have a mis-conception that those who erred against God in their ways were best suited for rebuke the way God gives it in the scriptures.  I was ignorantly judgemental, and for a long time, couldn't understand why people tended to shy away from my tactics. Reading the beginning of this chapter brings back a lot of those ...

It's chapters like these that get me thinking about the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and the "end of the world".  Reason is, is that this chapter happens just a few years before the 1st coming of Christ.  For some reason I analyze these chapters to death, and each time I do, I find more things that seem to parallel what may (or ma...

Man alive... Girls can become a problem in one's life. I'm feeling a bit of stress in that well... Heck... I don't know how to explain it. There are girls coming at me from every angle. I've talked on the phone with Charlene now about 5 times and I enjoy talking with her quite a bit. Indeed, I do... Today I asked for a girl's phone number...

I just got done reading this article in which Dan Glickman states some figures on how the Hollywood box office did in 2007. With all of the cracking down and spazmic hooplah the RIAA / MPAA has been spewing, you'd think the figures quoted in this article would be something akin to "worst year ever, due to piracy!" or "box office s...

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...

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...

Hmm....  Another war started by another group of dissenters.  Man alive...  Seems like the story is all the same.  People who want to rule another nation end up being sparked and fed by dissenters of the nation they want to rule (think of Amalickiah)...  *sigh* The latter half of this chapter is a great reminder of what h...

Man...  Amalickiah... I'm more and more convinced that this guy is the epitome of evil in the flesh. I wonder what would have happened with the entire history of the Nephites had Captain Moroni caught Amalickiah, when he was chasing him and his armies last chapter. I really believe that had he been caught (and appropriately dealt with), much...

Sadly, lots of problems exist with the world today.  I guess it's human nature to create problems, and ya know...?  I'm alright with that.  Problems need to exist in order for life to be life, right?  Yup...  The eternal struggle for self-improvement, or whatever. Anyway...  One thing that irks me quite a bit, and a...

Ya know... I've now read this chapter twice, and I cannot remember a single thing I read.  I started journaling about the chapters of the Book of Mormon January 1, 2008 - as a resolution to write about each and every chapter of the book.  I'm not sure if I can make it through this chapter one more time!  I have no idea what's going o...

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...

It's chapters like these that get me thinking about the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and the "end of the world".  Reason is, is that this chapter happens just a few years before the 1st coming of Christ.  For some reason I analyze these chapters to death, and each time I do, I find more things that seem to parallel what may (or ma...

Hehe.... According to this verse, I guess even Lamanites can learn! "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith God has made us free!" Yeah... I think I'm gonna have that made into a poster, and hang it on my wall or something. The big message of this chapter, and the few preceeding it, for me, would have to be "Rely on The Lord for y...