Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This was published on July 30, 2020, and I missed seeing it!  I'll publish this today in my blog, and tomorrow I'll post the followup article. Last week we had the Democratic convention, and this week the Republican convention, in the United States of America.  It is really on our minds today! Why Socialism is The Anti-Agency By  Gary C. Lawrence  · July 30, 2020 In my previous column, I related the story of Mikhail Gorbachev asking Margaret Thatcher who in the UK economy tells producers how much to charge.  It never occurred to him, or to socialists in general, that pricing can be left to the seller and the buyer – to supply and demand – to hammer out a mutually agreeable price.  Nope. Government has to be involved, socialist thinking goes.  If a third party such as government gets involved in what should be a two-party dance, you can be sure that one party will get a better deal than the other party.  Or tha...

What Helaman 5:12 teaches us about relationships and 3 other insights from this week’s ‘Come, Follow Me’ by Morgan Jones  | Aug. 18, 2020 I’ll never forget someone showing me the triangle graphic. You’ve likely seen it yourself. The idea was simple but for some reason it has never left me. If a married couple (both positioned in the bottom two corners of a triangle) are both focused on drawing closer to God (the top point of a triangle), they will ultimately draw closer to one another. I’ve found that the same is true of many other relationships in our lives. Whether it be a friendship, a mission companionship, or a parent-child relationship, if two people are trying to draw closer to God, their relationship with each other will also benefit. During my time as a missionary, it struck me that a similar concept is true of a scripture we all know in  Helaman 5:12 —and arguably the most well-known verse in this week’s  Come, Fo...

If it seems we are having more trials these days, perhaps if we look carefully, we can also recognize more blessings! Not a Punishment, But a Pathway: Identifying the Gifts in Our Trials By  Lynne Perry Christofferson  · August 19, 2020 If I had known beforehand what was about to unfold, would I have stayed in bed that morning? I could have rolled onto my side, tugging the comforter snugly around me, and saved myself some pain. But trouble rarely gives advance notice. No, it shows up on your front porch, uninvited, and pushes its way into your life before you can slam the door. I remember exactly what I wore that day: the deep red turtleneck sweater to ward off January’s chill, my favorite worn-in jeans, and sturdy brown lace up shoes. I even recall thinking it was a decent hair day as I stowed my comb in its designated bathroom drawer and stepped back into the bedroom to pray. But in the end, none of that mattered. Just as I knelt at my bedsi...

The Fruits of a Mission By  Mark Albright  · August 10, 2020 Dear Brother Albright, I would like to tell you the story of two missionaries, Elder Barry Wasden and Elder Byron Shurtz, who were sent into the far north country of Ontario, Canada in 1953, then part of the Toronto Canada Mission, to labour in the Porcupine/Timmins area. These two missionaries taught my parents, Gordon and Ethel Finnigan, and my wife Mary’s parents, Doug and Joan McGinn, the gospel. This was a hard rock mining area and attracted tough people who, out of necessity, were tougher than the rocks. This area in northern Ontario, Canada, about 500 miles north of Toronto, is where Ford and Jaguar auto companies “cold weather” tested their new car models. The average minimum winter temperature in January is – 20 Fahrenheit and some nights dropping as low as -60 Fahrenheit. It was so cold in Porcupine they had to carry golf balls in their mittens to knock on the doors to redu...

This is a very perceptive article, well worth reading and thinking about! Guess this dangerous scripture riddle in 14 clues By  Shalissa Lindsay  · August 17, 2020 This scripturally prophesied danger can be named with a single word.  Can you guess it?  CLUE SET #1: 1.  I’m delicious to practically everyone. 2.  I am extremely lucrative. 3.  I can increase your social standing and popularity. 4.  Love songs and sonnets owe their success to me. 5.  Once I was offered mostly to kings and rulers. Today, I am offered to absolutely everyone on the planet. 6.  Ancient wise emperors feared me as a poison. Have an idea?  Keep thinking while you scroll down for the next set of clues… x x x x x x CLUE SET #2: 7.  I am never associated with God, angels, or prophets—with one exception.  During Alma-the-Younger’s sinful youth—before he repented—he used me a great deal. [i] ...