WSJ.com - Real Time

So, I was reading this editorial about blogging, and it made me feel bad about not posting. I want my blog to be read. There's one little problem: waht do I write? I'm really not sure.

Hmmm..?

How about the end of the world? Always an interesting subject.

For some odd reason this has been on my mind lately. See, this is the way I see it. The time isn't too far away when massive wars and rebellions will tear apart the modern world. Natural disasters will also wrack the earth. Why? Well, my main reason to believe so is prophecy. There is a great deal in Revelation, Isaiah, and the Book of Mormon that prophesies of these things occuring in the last days.

Once this occurs, life will be a little different. Without strong central governments and with the famines caused by wars and natural disasters, people are going to be starving all over the place. But you'll notice a few spots where people are organized and surviving. These spots, I believe, will be centered where there are LDS communities. Why? Well, prophecy. We've been told for 70 years to store food. Now, to be sure, not every LDS family is doing it, but the church as a whole is better prepared than most. So the LDS will have food.

The next thing I think may happen: the center of communities will be LDS buildings. Temples, bishop's storehouses, chapels. Three reasons for this. One, because these buildings are dedicated to the Lord, I feel he will preserve many of them. Second, they are being built and refitted in ways that will help them survive the natural disasters of whatever area they are located in. Third, the combination of the fact that the LDS people have been storing food and the priesthood leadership.

Which leads me to my last point. Some of the strongest leadership we will find in these dark days will be the priesthood leadership. The priesthood will become the government of the communities, in a way. Probably only in the times during and immediately after disasters, since leadership will be selected by the community as a whole in the long-term, but priesthood leadership will be very important to all communities, not just the LDS.

So, there's my speculation. Remember, it's only speculation. Not a shred of this, except for the fact that the end of the world will occur, is going to happen for sure. None of it is doctrine. It's just how I see things. There's more I could expand on, but I think I'll save that for another time.

Every once in-a-while, someone tells me they read my blog and it spurs me on to write again. So, I'm just putting in this little blurb about what I read in the scriptures this weekend. If any of you haven't read the book of Acts, read it. It is a perfect example of the workings of the church without Christ on the earth. The entire church is lead by apostles and the local areas by elders and "overseers," or bishops, as we know them. Missionaries are called and preach the gospel wherever they go, being led by the spirit. Whenever they find believers, the believers are first baptised by immersion and then given the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, if the appropriate priesthood authority is held by the missionaries. It truly is amazing and builds my testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the restored Church of Christ. All right. Bed time.

European Papers Publish Cartoons in Stand for Press Freedom - New York Times

Has the European media ever heard of the word respect? Do they have any idea that the beliefs of these Muslims they are so intent on angering are actually believed? The Muslims didn't just make up a bunch of lies and say, "Hey, this sounds good, lets do this." Islam is a religion that developed as a way to help explain the world and priovide social control. It is just as a viable, and perhaps more so, than the Europeans damnable secular beliefs. These newspapers claim this religious dogma conflicts with democracy. There is no relation! This has to do with treating fellow human beings, though they believe differently, with repsect. I could understand if this dealt with women's rights or something that had to do with society as a whole. There are things in the Muslim world that deserve criticism, just as there are in the Christian and secular worlds. This action on the part of the European newspapers, however, is criticising a religious belief that harms absolutely no one. It is a smack in the face to everyone who holds any belief, religious or not. It says that Europeans do not believe in respect for another's beliefs. They would rather have everyone keep their religious beliefs in their home. Well, why can these secularists hold their inane views up for the world to see while the religious must cower, shamed that they actually believe man is something more than a product of random chance in an uncaring universe?

The issue at stake is not freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to offend. There are certain restraints that must be conformed to for any society to survive. With the increasing numbers of Muslims in Europe, Europeans will have to change their views or they face a bloody future. They say they don't want to fight over religion. They say they want peace and acceptance for all, yet every day they express racism and intolerance towards the Muslim world. I understand that these are deep-seated prejudices that have existed for centuries, but the Europeans sure didn't have to fight too long to get over the deep-seated belief in God they once had. I'm sure they can get over the belief that their way is the best way.