Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This is a very thoughtful article!  Meridian Magazine has such timely and appropriate articles! "Thank You!"  from me for their great thoughtful articles! Rooted Out: An Invitation for Self-Examination By  Lynne Perry Christofferson  · June 17, 2020 The ugly specter of racism has reared its head in ways that cannot be ignored. Shocking deaths, protests–both peaceful and violent, and countless stories of cruelty and oppression have dominated the news. It takes a significant story to edge a pandemic out of the spotlight. For weeks I have scrolled through scores of social media posts on the subject of racism. Some of them impassioned rants, some attempting to educate the white, privileged population, and others offering constructive ways to show support to Black business owners. I have also spent hours trying to identify what my personal responsibility is in all of this. Though I don’t have all the answers, three separate stories keep floa...

This article has a lot of wisdom in it!  I hope we can stop judging each other! Hit Me With My Best Shot                                                  by  Brad McBride   |  Posted on  Jun 28, 2020 What’s the absolute worst thing you’ve ever done in your life? It is possible that it was really, really bad. It is also possible that it wasn’t very bad at all. It is also possible that you haven’t actually done the worst thing you will ever do…yet. Now that you have that unpleasant thought in your head, have you ever considered putting it on your business card, or posting it on your social media.  “Hi, I’m Amy: I lied on my taxes!”  Or,  “I’m Ron: I beat up a kid in college ,” or “ I’m John, and I cheated on my wife .” Most of us would never do that for obvious reasons. We don’t want to be defined by the...

This article, if read and understood, makes so much sense, and has wisdom! The pandemic highlights a logical fallacy that, unless checked, could prove our undoing By  Sharlee Mullins Glenn  · June 23, 2020 The following first appeared in the  Deseret News . We see it everywhere. Either you’re pro-NRA or anti-Second Amendment. If you have compassion for undocumented workers, you don’t uphold the law. Either you want to see Roe v. Wade overturned or you’re a baby-killer. Either you care about people or you care about the economy. These are examples of an unfortunately rampant logical fallacy — the either/or fallacy (sometimes called “false dilemma” or “false dichotomy”). This kind of fallacy builds an argument on the assumption that there are only two options when, in fact, there are several, if not many. This kind of over-simplistic bifurcation is not only misleading, but can be divisive, damaging and downright dangerous. Too often it p...

What We Have Learned – Let Us Not Forget By  Carolyn Nicolaysen  · June 23, 2020 Pandemics are unwelcome visitors, but they can teach us much about our own goals and priorities. Hopefully, we have learned the importance and joy of real, quality time with family. Hopefully we have learned friends are important to our mental health and wellbeing, teaching us to be a better friend and neighbor. Most importantly, hopefully we have learned to trust in the Lord, to pray for His guidance and to experience the peace only He can bring. What many have learned is how really unprepared they were for a self-quarantine and all that entails. Many have discovered birthdays and graduations still happen. Some, meals don’t cook themselves. Others, stores do run out of supplies. Still others, there is a good reason to have a substantial savings account. And, the idea that things happen to other people, well, sometimes we are the other people. Over the past 12 years...

I really miss being with the wonderful people in our ward.  I am 85 years old, and so I will not be returning to Church meetings for awhile.  I don't know how soon, but I will follow the instructions from our Prophet Russel M. Nelson!  I don't want to be part of the problem! When We Gather Again By  Barbara Keil  · June 23, 2020 A small group of us were discussing the Come Follow Me lesson for that week via a Zoom meeting. The group leader asked a question for discussion: “The primary reason we meet together on the Sabbath is to take the Sacrament. During the pandemic, we have established we can take the Sacrament and hold worship services at home. Why should we return to church?” A number of thoughts were shared about a variety of benefits that result from worshiping together. We didn’t realize then, that within the next few days we would learn important lessons about that question.     A Catastrophic Flood I l...

I totally agree with this article!  We need to remember actual history, and how it got us to this point in our history! Leave Our Statues Alone By  Peter Fagg  · June 16, 2020 Leave our statues alone!! There I said it. I know many a soul will disagree with me, but before you start sending me hate mail, defriending me or making a voodoo effigy of me, please hear me out. I feel comfortable saying I am not a racist.I was horrified by George Floyd’s death.I agree Black Life’s matter.But…this purging of our history by tearing down statues is misdirected and a classic example of political correctness dragging us down a ridiculous path. First, allow me to take you on a short tour of London and then a quick debriefing. As Ralph Mc Tell wrote,“Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of LondonI’ll show you something to make you change your mind” Venue: Parliament Square Time: The not too distant Future. The tour begins: ...

This is a touching story.  I hope we can each do something, probably small, to lighten someone else's day today! How A Simple Styrofoam Cooler Changed a Family and a Village By  Becky Douglas  · June 9, 2020 To see how you can help with the efforts of Rising Star Outreach,  CLICK HERE . On a recent phone call with our Chairman in India, Padma Venkataraman, she mentioned that she had a surprise photo for me. She told me I probably wouldn’t believe she had taken it this week. She sent the following photo, and she was right—I could hardly believe it. Sixteen years ago, a terrible tsunami hit the Indian Ocean killing nearly 250,000 people across several countries. Rising Star Outreach jumped in immediately with tsunami relief. We replaced destroyed fishing boats and fishing nets for kuppams, (fishing villages,) which were the hardest hit segment of the society in India. With new boats and the replaced nets, the kuppams were able to r...