Random Thought #80

I was explaining certain parts of the gospel to a friend of mine when I got to resurrection. We know that Christ was the first to resurrect about 33 or 34 AD. We also know from the Plan of Salvation that after resurrection comes Judgement. We know that Judgement hasn't happened yet (or has it) so where do the resurrected beings from Adam - Jesus reside? The spirit world is here for those who have yet to be resurrected or for those who are currently living. Frequently when prophets here are given visions, they usually see past prophets sitting on a throne of glory. Examples can be Christ, Moses, Adam, Enoch, etc. Does that mean they have already been judged? Is Judgement tied to your resurrection? What about those who come down as angels such as Moroni? We know that angels are messengers and helpers to the Gods so does that mean Moroni didn't make it to the highest glory in the Celestial Kingdom? Speaking of Moroni, he died after Christ resurrected. Does that mean that select individuals who have died since Christ resurrected can also be resurrected? Lots of interesting questions.

Random Thought #79

I've been reading lately about the Tribe of Ephraim. Its actually more of a little history book but it got me thinking about the tribes of Israel and our affiliation. Most of us are from the tribe of Ephraim. We found this out through our patriarchal blessings. What does it mean to belong to a tribe? How is that determination made? If you think about it, back in the days of Jacob (Israel), there were many of people and nations that were not part of Jacob's family. I suppose you could call them Gentiles (even though the term is used in many different ways). What tribe are they from? The reason I ask that question is because everyone is entitled to a patriarchal blessing aren't they? Is it something you can trace through your bloodline? What if your mom and dad were from different tribes? Which one do you take after? Does adoption work the same way? This was actually a big deal back in the days of Jerusalem. Priests had to be of the line of Aaron or a Levite (tribe of Levi). Remember how Laban and Lehi were both from Manasseh? Apparently it wasn't just those of the tribes of Judah and parts of Benjamin that were in Jerusalem. Ishmael was of Ephraim and his family lived in Jerusalem too. Manasseh and Ephraim were part of the 10 tribes that were in the north. When the sons of Lehi married the daughters of Ishmael, were they now still from Manasseh or were they now Ephraim? Were they both? How does that work? I think it would be interesting if when doing our family history and pedigree charts, we included our lineage and linking to the House of Israel too. See if we could pick out any trends. Any of you tried this? Find out anything interesting?

Random Thought #78

I watched this video and absolutely loved it. The message, delivery, humor, and facts were all great. I hope you enjoy it too.

http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

I especially like some of the suggestions at the end. For example, the 3 acts of kindness as well as the effects dopa mine has no the brain. When we're happy, it floods the brain and turns on all of the other learning centers in the brain. If we live by the commandments, we are happy and opens us up to receiving the spirit and revelation and we can learn directly from the one true source of truth.

Random Thought #77

This may be one of my grossest posts yet, but I can't help my curiosity. Ever wonder why things are the way they are? For example, why is urine yellow and where does the smell come from? What about fecal matter? Well, its actually part of the normal function of your body and quite interesting. Well, that is if you enjoy learning about the body or are a biochem nut like myself. Bilirubin is a big contributor in both products, which is a breakdown product of red blood cells. Ammonia also plays a part due to the breakdown of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Check out an overview here

Random Thought #76

So as I read more, the people I seem to identify with and who make the most sense to me seem to have a common mantra towards learning. They are against specialization and much more for generalization. Now many think that the trade-off between the two is that if you specialize, you can study deeper and in much greater detail, whereas if you go more of the generalist route, you can only understand things at a higher level. Not so with these folks, they believe that you should study both wide and deep. The concern is that with such a narrow focus, you miss our on so much more around you. You lose the context. I watched a video once that ran a number of tests on babies and they basically found that you learn fastest in your first 6 months and that you pretty much learn most of what you're going to learn by the time you are 6 years old. Many may wonder how that is possible but if you look at them, they are always wide-eyed and always curious. They often listen and don't talk and they take in their entire surroundings. Maybe that's partly what it means when we are told to be child-like. So much of the world is naturally biased in one way or another and some to the point of excluding all other possibilities. Its the open-minded people who usually succeed and get along with others. Food for thought. He who knows he doesn't know is wise but he who doesn't know that he doesn't know thinks he knows and is foolish.