Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This is a comforting article, for those of you who are having very sad events and feelings in your lives, especially at this Christmas Holiday and New Year's time!  One Crucial Thing We Miss When Trying to Understand Why God Allows Us to Suffer so Deeply by Danielle B. Wagner  | Dec. 28, 2017 Makes You Think Mormon Life It's an age-old question every religion has attempted to answer for centuries: Why do bad things happen to good people? If God blesses and loves those who follow Him, why does He still allow immense suffering to enter their lives? Most the time when I've heard answers to this question given in church, teachers or speakers rely on a few standbys: 1) God will not inhibit the agency of ourselves or others, 2) living in mortal bodies brings pain and decay, 3) living in a fallen world brings unexpected suffering and disasters. Yes, our sins and the poor choices of others can impact us, bringing misery, stress—even genocide a...

The Unsung Daughters of Helaman By Maurin e Proctor, in Meridian Magazine, May 5, 2016 The stripling warriors of Helaman turned the tide for the Nephite nation in a dire time, thanks to their mothers who knew God. Now, we live in an equally dire time when both stripling sons and daughters must arise because they understand God and who they are to Him. They know that the battle is real. These are some of the toughest, darkest times in our earth’s history when earthquakes of immorality are rocking our media, when souls are being lost, when wars and rumors of wars are blasted across the airwaves, when people who should know better, have turned from religion, when violence is celebrated, when rivers of pornography need to be turned aside from our homes. The Lord needs His entire army activated in all its power—both men and women who clearly know who they are and what power they can call upon for potency. These warriors must function with power, authori...

On this blog, I have quite a few readers from several foreign countries.  I assume most of you are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or at least sympathetic to our doctrines.  (Added an hour later -- )  I just saw on Facebook a short part of a talk by Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, about "The Constitution will be saved but not in Washington!"  -- it is worth watching:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jn0WuXQi0E   (copy and paste)   Very sadly to day, this goes along with the depredation and wickedness that has been prophesied to occur in these last days.  Those of us who are living now -- both older people like myself, and my grandchildren, and their children MUST BE STRONG!  WE KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT IN THE SIGHT OF GOD!    But due to radical courts and public opinion and the media, we are losing our God-given freedoms, which were to be preserved by our inspired Constitution!  Let's not be a...