It's quite obvious that this chapter is speaking to anyone and everyone (throughout all time) who lives on this land.  Verses 9,10, and 12 are especially insightful. "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?" I love that question.  I never noticed outright that right after the Lord poses th...

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 ...

"Remnant of this people".  Talking straight to the American Indians.  heh..  I love the foresight. Guiltless...  I love that word.  He that is found guiltless.  Please note it does not say "sinless". To be found guiltless.  What would that entail?  Continual repentance would probably b...

 So, the past few days have been days of trial, and these days come and go largely, I believe, to help me remember the covenants I've made to God, and to help me remember how sweet it is to feel the Spirit. When I read the end of verse 11, I wondered what those who had never felt "clasped in the arms of Jesus" might think of those ...

 Man... This chapter was brutal.  Wars, wickedness, and death.  Seems to me that this is the result of giving power to Satan, letting him run rampant.  Hating your neighbor and wanting to kill him for the sake of being bloodthirsty.  So terribly sad, and unfortunate. Interesting in verse 5 that Mormon writes that the wick...

Not sure why this caught my attention this time, but doesn't it seem a bit weird that Mormon was carried by his father when he was 11 years old?  It seems like he was carried on somewhat of a journey, too - to a different land.   Maybe his father was quite big and could accomplish such a task, because an 11-year-old isn't small enough to ...

 So, I'm pretty sure these words are being spoken to us, the Gentiles, and they are meant for people living now.  The last chapter was spoken to those who would be alive during the coming of the Book of Mormon, and it doesn't seem like this chapter deviates from that. Interesting that included in the list of "wicked ways" is t...

 Woo, baby, am I tired! One thing that I often think about while pondering the Gospel is how blessed I am to live in a time where the fulness of the Gospel is available - and not only available, but I was born into a practicing family, and have made the life choices necessary for me to continue worthy to obtain the blessings given to God's c...

Interesting that I should choose to read this today, because my wife and I were talking a bit about the 2nd coming last weekend.  The second coming shall be like a "refiner's fire", which, of course, is meant to purify - or to burn out impurities.  That which abides by the law is sanctified by the same.  A talk I once heard...

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...

Man...  I can only imagine what Ammon's joy truly felt like.  After reading D&C 18:15-16, I begin to see why Ammon fainted due to overwhelming joy so many times throughout his mission.  Dedicating a full chapter to nothing but the rejoicing of Ammon seems perfectly reasonable. I always thought his brothers were kind of rude to ...

As an adolescent I had a dream... I had a dream of becoming a drummer for a rock-band. I was told that this dream probably would not come true due to the large amount of people trying to do the same thing and that the odds were definitely against me. Well... Lately in my life I have had the opportunity to be a part of two rock bands. One o...

Oh, man...  I just got back from a wonderful geek lunch with the guys 'n' gals from UPHPU (Utah PHP Users Group), and it was a blast.  ... heh... makes me smile just thinkin' about it.  Okay... I didn't just get back.  I had to make sure I could get done today what I promised my boss, and then I would write about it. Well... ...

 So, the past few days have been days of trial, and these days come and go largely, I believe, to help me remember the covenants I've made to God, and to help me remember how sweet it is to feel the Spirit. When I read the end of verse 11, I wondered what those who had never felt "clasped in the arms of Jesus" might think of those ...

So lately, I've been posting little snippets on social networking sites about how awesome I think my wife is.  I really don't know exactly what has been throwing me into this state of absolute gratefulness for her, but it doesn't seem to be slowing down. I guess I'm just having a good hard realization that (only 2nd to God himself) she is th...

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...

I find it interesting how Satan is described throughout scripture. In this chapter, through verses 13 - 20, Satan is seemingly exposed as the weak fraudster he really is.  Verse 16 is quite potent, written from the standpoint of people who were tempted by him, when shown his actual person, are amazed at the frailness of Satan.  They say...

"Some are lost because they are different. They feel as though they don’t belong. Perhaps because they are different, they find themselves slipping away from the flock. They may look, act, think, and speak differently than those around them and that sometimes causes them to assume they don’t fit in. They conclude that they are not...

A little less than a month ago, my best friend's wife called me and told me she was planning a birthday party for her hubby.  Well, Scott being my best friend and all, I thought this was a fantastic idea!  After that, I didn't think too terribly much about it. A couple of days after that, I remember Scott telling me that he really want...

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...

It's about 10 minutes before I have to leave to go to the airport to fly to Wisconsin to meet my new boss and co-workers.  The situation at Nature's Way is definitely changing. Right now, I just wanted to write down some thoughts and feelings to see how they would contrast against what I think after-the-fact. Right now, quite honestly, I d...

Well....  It became time again quickly to have a LAN party after the craziness of the holiday season.  So, we decided to have one two days ago.  It was fairly awesome. I didn't bring my camera, so I don't have a video of this one, but suffice it to say that this one was pretty darned fun.  It started with Eric Hansen and I lo...

I'm not entirely sure what to write, but I know I've got to write something.  I figure I'll just put fingers to keyboard and see what thoughts spew forth. Lately, I've been feeling a bit of a slump spiritually.  It's not uncommon for me to go in cycles of spirituality, but this time, it's a bit different.  I haven't felt the desire...

 So, I don't have near the time to dedicate ato this right now as I should, but I'm gonna need half-a-day to get it all out. Yesterday (Friday) I had a 'dress rehearsal' for the Temple Choir, and the singing in the Celestial room was indescribible.  It was amazing to sing there, and the acoustics were wonderful.  But the thing I k...

I just got done watching and reading the talk given by Elder M. Russell Ballard, and it caused me to ponder my wife, quite a bit. Boiled down, the talk was given on how much mothers do, and how much we, as husbands, need to appreciate them. I certainly hope that I'm appreciating Sarah enough.  Heaven knows I've been in Elder Ballard's plac...

Not much more to say, other than what was in the video.  I'm trying now to work out the best bitrate to video quality trade-off with FLV files. I plan on having a bit of fun with this new camera in the ensuing weeks. I'm amazed at the technology with which these new cameras / camcorders are built....

Hi there!  I'm PoeticIntensity I guess this is my journal...  still. I started journaling when I was 14, in 1990, as a new years resolution.  I had no idea then just how much I would get into journaling. It took me 12 years, off and on, to transcode all of my 3000+ journal entries, and then put them into a database.  I ...

Quote - "Sometimes, the truth may just seem too straightforward, too plain, and too simple for us to fully appreciate its great value.  I wonder if we as Church members might also benefit from asking ourselves from time to time: “Is my experience in the Church working for me? Is it bringing me closer to Christ? Is it blessing m...

Okay.  I've used various verses from this chapter to prove that we had agency in the pre-earth life, but now I'm questioning myself.  Here's the basis: Verse 3 says this: And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being acalled and bprepared from the cfoundation of the world according to the dforeknowledge of God, on ...

I've been debating on whether or not to write about this, and if I write about it, whether or not to make it public. Well... As you can see, I decided to make it public.  and to write about it. I came to work two days ago with the intent on working on the last of the original PHP projects still having a chance on making it through the me...