Love at Home

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I sing at church, mostly without a hymnal, and to the surprise of many leaders. I guess it's because I'm male. I also sing tenor, which delights many choir directors until I start making up my own parts because I'm usually the only tenor and feel like I should be able to do what I like. However, there are some hymns in my Faith that I don't sing, where I sit there arms folded, a stern and dour look on my face in sullen silence until they finish because I don't feel like it. Until this fall, one of these was "Love at Home"; I realized that although this hymn implies family and posterity, it also obliquely refers to anything and everyone that provides love at home. I realized that I have love at home in the form of my dog.

There is beauty all around: my beagle buddy is pretty handsome. The young kids in the neighborhood think he's a puppy. He has pretty good posture for his age. You should see his cute face. I have something beautiful to look at every day at home even if I don't leave the house because I have this handsome dog as my house mate.

There is joy in every sound: when I wake in the middle of the night, arrive home from work, or come in from outside, I hear the clickety clack of his nails on the flooring as he comes to the door to see if I'm there. When I hear him breathe or snore, I know he is alive still, and that brings me joy too.

Peace and plenty here abide: very little gives me the peace I feel like lying on the poof and rubbing my dog's belly and scratching his head. No matter how my day was, I feel comfortable there, loved, as I feel his breath and hear him purr. When I awoke Christmas morning and heard him snoring, I felt like the richest man in Christendom. I thanked God for my first Christmas present that morning.

Smiling sweet on every side: my beagle makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me smile, makes me feel welcome when I walk through the front door. I don't think anything in my life gives me the joy that I feel being with him.

Time doth softly, sweetly glide: I can hardly believe that I've had this beagle since June 2003, how much time has gone by, how we've been on adventures and taken rides and been places. I remember picking him up from the airport in Sacramento on a hot June afternoon, how he shivered with fear. He'd been there alone for hours, and on the way home, he learned to trust me and love me. I really hope I age as well and live as long as he has.

In the cottage there is joy: I already mentioned my joy, but you should see his. If I grab a treat or the leash or open the back door, he will leap up and turn in the air (not so much anymore) and excitedly get ready to go. We never go very far or for very long, but he's so excited by simple things, it's an ensample to me about just how glorious simplicity can be.

Hate and envy ne'er annoy: one of the great things about a dog is his abject lack of selfishness. Other dogs will take things or defend territory, but even when he's attacked, he never fights back. I do the fighting. If he smells other dogs on me or if I had another one, he wouldn't be jealous, and he doesnt' care how many Doug treats I eat as long as he gets at least one dog treat.

Sweeter sings the brooklet by: we spend a lot of time together out back, and my house backs up to a riparian area where a natural spring drains towards the lake. So, the birds and beasts that also occupy this area have learned that the dog is no threat, so I can watch them perch on trees above him or drink from his bowl or just watch him. THey watch me, and they know that I'm the gardner, and in the yard there is peace.

Brighter beams the azure sky: one of his favorite things to do is just go outside and stand in the sun. I imagine, particularly now that it's cold, he just wants to warm up as he stares at the sky. But we sit out there just enjoying being in nature while I rub him, and life seems bright even if only for afew moments when we're together.

Oh, there's One who smiles on high: I really think this is the literal manifestation of God's love in my life right now. Some people have successful businesses, beautiful families, or other gifts, but I have this wonderful dog, which is essentially the mirror reflection of God.

When there's love at home. When there's love at home, a house is a home. I have looked forward to getting home almost every night since he fell ill in September. I am excited to spend time with him. We're going for a walk when I finish this post. For the first time since I was newly married, I feel love in this house, in my house, in my life, in a way that holds water. Ok, he makes a mess drinking water, but there's someone here with skin on, and he may be a dog and "just" a dog, but he's the closest thing to a son I have. I will watch him die some day and probably soon, but until then, I have the literal physical manifestation of God's love for me and dog's love for me sleeping on the poof just awake enough to watch for when it's time to leave. And I consider that a great blessing. It's been a tough year in many ways, but he has been there to comfort me, to greet me, to accompany me, to listen to me, to make me feel loved, and I could not be more grateful. I have love at home, and for the first time in my adult life that song doesn't bother me anymore.

Seen of Men

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When Donald Trump revised the tax rules and the standard deduction rose to $12,000 initially I was disappointed. However, it comes with a new personal benefit. I always feel a bit guilty taking credit on my taxes for my “charitable donations” and sometimes I find myself being “charitable” in order to inflate my itemized deductions. Now, however, it is high enough that I won’t itemize them and whatever good I do and money I give will be nobody’s business but my own. Far too many people in my opinion do good and eschew evil only for the public perception associated therewith, focused on the reward and not the recipient. Well, numbers are nice, and paperwork is helpful, but in the end, this isn't about credit or volume or perception. At choir Sunday, the choir director gave us all Gumby figures as a symbol, and I will keep it with the rest of my scrimshaw for its symbolic value rather than its monetary value. As long as people do things for approbation and praise, they tend to do the wrong things. They Take credit for things they find desirable to be attributed to them and avoid blame for things considered deleterious to their reputation. Their activities seem designed "to be seen of men". Well, they have their reward. As long as people do things rather than serve people, they tend to help in the wrong ways. As long as we fail to Behold the Man and hope to be beheld by men, our reward will never satisfy or achieve much.

Many “charitable people” operate under the misnomer that if nobody knows then it didn’t happen. Last night, I took a spray bottle filled with CYPER (insecticide) and a black light into my back yard to hunt scorpions. I figured that if I sprayed them directly when they were fully exposed at night, supposing that they could not be detected by predators, I could surgically kill them without having to spray the entire yard, which doesn't really excite me since I'm trying to be a responsible gardener and not kill all insects just so I can enjoy the garden. However, since scorpions periodically wander in through open windows and through the dog door gap and appear in the bathroom or near the kitchen sink, I decided to thin their numbers. As I rounded the back corner, spraying as I went, it suddenly struck me how arrogant it would be for them to assume that I cannot see them when they stand out brilliant neon green under the black light. My mind wandered from there to people who think that, if nobody sees them, or at least if they don't know anybody sees, then they can comfortably feel like they got away with it. Well, that’s very charitable towards themselves. I mean, if nobody knows, it’s easy to forget about it and pretend that you’re more virtuous than you would be if we knew about your shortcomings. It also sets them up for self-righteous investigations into the activities of others, drawing attention to the mote in another’s eye to distract attention from the beam in their own. I mean, remember how self-righteously they attacked Brett Kavanaugh for unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct. We still don’t know what really happened, but I wonder what we would find if we investigated his sanctimonious accusers with the same abandon and scrutiny that they demanded we apply to him.

For these people, it’s only a crime if you get caught and it’s only a good deed if you proclaim it from the rooftops. Unless you proclaim your good deeds in the streets you don't have any. You see them go out incessantly and hold huge galas, fundraisers, and concerts in order to increase awareness. You see them very generously demand that more taxpayer money be diverted to programs they advocate. You see very little of their own fortunes, at least as a percentage, go to espouse the same kind of advocacy. You see them mock you because you only gave $40 and they gave $40,000. You are not as charitable because you don’t do as much. Since they have so many good deeds to declare, they care more than you do. You see this in personal purchases and campaigns. Many people who drive electric cars don’t actually care about the environment. They drive one so that they can say that they care more than you do because you drive a gas-powered car, nevermind that my Saturn gets 34-38mpg and they drive with a lead foot and barely get better fuel economy than I. These hypocrites have their own reward

The true problem of their attitude revolves around the reward they seek. For the most part, they care only what men see and to be seen of men. It is a good thing that we give and sometimes it is good that we know. If we give a kidney, it’s good to know from whom so that we can make sure it matches. If we give and people know that it was from a person and not from a government, then the person can be thanked rather than bureaucrats who did nothing besides sign the paperwork. Our world benefits greatly from the generosity of the wealthy whose names appear on roads, bridges, and buildings at universities. The philanthopy is that they don’t use those things but other people do benefit from them. It was a win-win. When politicians run for office, some of them proudly publish their tax returns so that people can see how much they donated to charity even though sometimes those donations are pieces of used underwear valued at $9 apiece. Like the rich men in the temple, these people proudly proclaim their donations when they make them. It begs the question when they don't brag whether they are generous with their money or with that of other people. All of this feeds ego. Wrote CS Lewis "It is the comparison that makes us proud, the pleasure of appearing to be the best", but that is not what I seek. For years, I have taken the deduction so that I can get some of my own money back, but I always felt awkward publishing it from the streets. I much prefer that people do not know, even in some cases the people who benefit. The homeless to whom I serve food do not know my name; they know my face; they know my fellows; that is enough, more than enough, and I accept it because it makes it easier to establish our mission and expectations among the needy when they know us by sight.

Being seen is a way to get credit, and those who want to take credit want to be seen. It has ever been thus, but the wealthy among us like to celebrate their philanthropy as a way to slake their conscience or prove themselves more beneficient. Well, they ought to give more because they have more to give. Christ himself gave more credit to the widow for her mite than the wealthy who cast in of their excess because of her penury she gave until it hurt and they hurt that they gave. Honestly, I'm less interested in the rewards available from the IRS than those potentially available from God. If you will forgive a personal anecdote, last April, I received an email from a close associate that contained the following excerpt:

"You look in the mirror and see the gruff staring back at you instead of the kind. You just need to let people see that and see it yourself, see your kindness and your good. In almost the 14 years Ive known you, I have seen alot. I have experienced your patience during my teen years and my deep desire to commit suicide. You never belittled the idea, you never judged me, and you listened. You didnt always know what to say but you knew to just let me talk and that was supportive to me. I have seen you give when you would get nothing out of it, such as when I was struggling fincially. I have heard you talk lovingly of your dog and see your joy and your anger ans your sadness. I have seen you accept my abortion and my religious beliefs even though they are SO against your own and that is more than most can say. I have seen your passions from hiking to gardening to traveling and truly, how many people can say that? I know you thought I was asking you for money, and I hope you know thats not the value of our friendship. Your support, understanding and absolute acceptance is. No matter what happens to me, what mood Im in or what I chose to do with my life you are always there."

The items mentioned in this email were never reported to the IRS, and until now, only this woman and a few of her boyfriends even knew I existed let alone what I did to help her. I don't report this here to brag or to get credit. I am not expecting any kind of remuneration. I am not expecting to win your approbation. I already have hers which reassures me that my kind and my good matter. This particular woman is a Buddhist, and they believe in karma, so if this is how she sees me, what do you think I can expect in return? My Faith is actively engaged in an effort to increase service this Christmas, and if you’re looking for ideas, motivation, and encouragement, please consider looking into the program. However, I am not interested in RSVPing as one who will join or sending tweets to Elder Gary Stevenson telling him what I did. In fact, I tweeted him instead saying that I prefer not to share so that “The Lord who seeth in secret shall reward [me] openly”.

The true reward is in the sacrifice. Consider the people who gave gifts to the Christ and the good gifts He espoused. The aforementioned widow woman was praised by Jesus for her "meager" offering because on a relative scale she gave more of a percentage of her wealth out of her want than they out of their penury could ever manage despite the voluminous donation of coinage. The wise men who brought gifts studied for years and came from the far east. It cost them a lot of time, effort, and money to come to Christ, and it is ever thus. This was a direct similitude of the sacrifice that a Savior would make for men, and it is why Christ asks us to serve, to obey, to live like Christians because our sacrifices help make others whole just as His heals us. It has been said that the truest measure of a man is how he treats those who can do nothing for him. It's not about who gives more. It's not about your good deeds outweighing your bad ones. It's not about any comparison to other people although the world stratifies us thus. It's about showing whom we love. When you truly love someone, you find a way to make things happen that benefit them. I remember as a child how my parents went out of their way to take us to see things we wanted and to be places we wanted not because they were interested in them but because we were. I tell my Sunday School students to pray about "trivial" things not because we're trivializing prayer but because it offers us an opportunity. God doesn't really care about lost keys, damaged cars, or school exams, but He does care about you. He involves Himself in those things not because they matter to Him but because they matter to you and because you matter to Him. As for the optics of the world, to be seen of men, you see people serve those who already like them. They donate to charities operated by their friends and allies. They give only to those of whose politics, whose religious beliefs, and whose vocational pursuits they approve. They are a self-licking ice cream cone in many instances propping up themselves. Well, Christ himself once asked, "If you love them that love you, what do ye more than others?"

Whom then would He have us serve and how? I sometimes of late lament openly to God that my beneficence serves people who, once they recover, will actively work to my destruction or diminution. That's exactly how it works. Remember that, when they came armed to take Jesus before the tribunal and Peter severed the ear of one of the mob that Jesus restored the wound to the man hurt even though that man came intending to destroy the Christ. Remember that, knowing Judas would betray Him, Jesus called Judas anyway and suffered in Gethsemane even for Judas if Judas would repent. The atonement of Christ isn't just for those who like Jesus, for those who are nice to Him and you. It's for the sinners. He met with, talked to, accepted gifts from publicans, sinners, and prostitutes WHO CAME UNTO HIM. You don't really believe in and stand for something until and unless you advocate for it when it benefits people who do not know and do not like. If you only serve people who serve you, if you only give gifts to people who give gifts to you, if you only reach out to people who agree with you, well, that's pretty selfish and self-centered. It's good for them, but the Lord sees your heart, and even if you can obscure your motives from men, you will be seen of the Man in your heart who will reward you according to your true desires and for whom you truly love. Perhaps the biggest problem with this type of advocacy is that the recipients are dehumanized. We start counting how many eyeglasses are donated, how many refrigerators, how many turkeys, how many people benefit rather than recognizing that they are individuals. In Dicken's Christmas Carole, Scrooge goes to people specifically, individually, and calls them by name as he forgives them debts, heaps gifts upon them, and spends time with them. Rather than noting that we gave $5000 away, maybe it would behoove us to count that we helped the Johnson's, the Smith's, the Jones', and the Lincoln's have a better and easier time this Christmas. After all, the gifts matter, not because Jesus needs our help giving gifts, but because those people matter. Broken appliances, toy wish lists, and meals for the hungry are not specifically meaningful, but they are meaningful to Christ because the people who receive them mean something to Him, and when we serve His children that means something to Him too.

In one large way, I’m very happy about this change. It means that I get the benefit of the deduction without anyone knowing. I can still get about the same deduction as when I itemized, but I can give without telling the government. Who will know? Well, the people I help will know and God will know, and most importantly I will know, and that will be enough for me. If you truly desire to make a change for the better in a person's life, you must get to know what will make that person's life better. Even if we are all living quiet lives of desperation, for many people, the gesture really does matter more than the thing. Many people are just happy to get a visit, a note, a phone call, or a plate of cookies even if it doesn't enrich them, nourish them, or satisfy their material needs. In the end, what most people truly desire is to feel like someone cares, and charitable giving is always pushed as a way to show we care. So let's care. Let's care less about who gets credit or if anyone gets credit. Let's care less about how the people receiving it will use it and give anyway. Let's care less about ourselves and start caring about people, about the Stevens, the Alfredos, the Jessicas, and the Sarahs in our lives who have hard times, not necessarily because they are financially not as well off as they'd like but because they are not seen by men as being worthy of being seen by men. How often do you let the beggar put up his petition in vain? How often do you ignore the sick, the old, the tired, the immature, and the feeble of mind/body/money because it keeps you from what YOU want? Christmas isn't about us. It was never supposed to be. The gifts are not for us. They are not even for them. The gifts evince that we love Christ because we keep the one commandment that reflects our attitude towards them. "As I have loved you, love one another". See them as men. Behold the Man. As you act on accordance with this commandment to love your neighbor as yourself, you will be seen as a man, as a servant of the Man, and as worthy of all that the Man hath. What really matters is what He sees in you.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

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At the age of 20, for Christmas, I was granted the great honour and privilege to travel to Oberndorf bei Salzburg where Silent Night was first written and performed for one of the performances. Honestly, I felt a little guilty at the time, and it has haunted me in the intervening years that I took time away from my responsibility as an evangelist to do something for myself. Many ghosts from that period of my life haunt me, but this Christmas, this day, the Ghost of Christmas Past paid me a visit and gave me a different perspective on my life and times in that land. He reminded me that what we do matters, that why we do it matters, that to whom we do things matters, and that for whom we do things matters. Although it’s true that I made the pilgrimage to Oberndorf primarily for myself, I would not have done so simply as a tourist. I did so because it maintains greater meaning for me than photographs, souveniers, and memories. At Christmas time we face many options of how to spend our time, with whom to spend our time, and where we spend our time, and that Christmas I chose to spend my time attending a specific church to hear a specific hymn about a specific and very special Man.

Remembering Jesus is also worshipping Him. We went to Oberndorf because of a song, but the song wasn’t a concert or a fad or some passing fancy of personal interest. It was a hymn, and a wondrous one at that, that echoes in time in the intervening centuries. This year is the 200th anniversary of “Stille Nacht” played on the guitar in that simple and humble chapel in Oberndorf. I think because of that Christmas that this particular song remains my favourite Christmas hymn. I got to live at Christmas in a nation replete with the signs of Christmas yore. Granted, we traveled there for selfish reasons and for personal enrichment, but we also went there because of that hymn which silently, simply, and succinctly recounts the story of Advent from Luke’s gospel without the pomp and ceremony of other Christmas hymns. I like other Christmas music, but Silent Night retains a special place in my heart, and I play it sometimes on my guitar in March or October, and it helps me remember not only that night but the reason why we care about that night, that song, that season, and that place. It helps me remember Christ, remember what I was supposed to be doing as a special witness of Christ, and what Christmas actually means. I felt guilty then for “wasting” so much time, but then I thought today of the wise men who heard of the Savior and traveled from the east (as we did) to come to where the Savior lay. Maybe there were important things they could do to serve the master in their near confines, but the most important thing we can do in this life is to come to Christ, to come and see Him, to behold the Savior, and to always remember Him.

Standing in Holy Places is a way to honour His memory and life. I know that this particular chapel isn’t recognized by the Catholic Church or by any church as a holy site, but it is a holy place. Other places in Austria at Christmas time (like the Christkindlemarkt in Salzburg) feel much like secular places elsewhere at other times of the year, busy, harried, and void of divine light. The Oberndorf chapel like sites in the Holy Land attracts a large crowd, but I never saw a more muted or reverent audience at a concert. I think that Oberndorf attracts a certain type of person, true disciples, people who actually want to draw near to Christ. It contains no relics, remains a humble place, and lies far from the beaten path of tours and tour groups. However, it lies close to the heart of those who wish for more silent nights, more holy nights where we can be in Heavenly Peace. You don’t have to walk where Jesus walked, but it behooves you to walk in places He would walk and the way in which He would have you walk. There are many holy places, or at least there are many places that are made holy by the people there and by the things those people do there. Oberndorf is a small parish church where the faithful of that region gather to worship the Savior and where once a year the faithful from other regions flock in pilgrimage to pay their respects to a Savior who already lived, died, and lived again so that we might have hope for a better world.

Coming together in unity as He has asked us to do is consistent with His work. At Christmas in Austria that year, only a week after my trip to Oberndorf, we spent several hours in the Fuertner home in Voels Austria celebrating Christmas with their family. We ate, we sang, we read scriptures, and we talked. I felt bad that we spent so much time with a single family which already knew of and was drawing towards the Savior when I could have been out looking for other people who weren’t sure He existed or were disinclined to accept His invitation or who maybe waited for me to come and answer a prayer offered to Him. However, now that I am older and more mature, I realize that what we did was something of which He would have likely approved. Maybe there was something better for us to do, but we did not ask, and He did not EVER register His disproval. In fact, I remember very strongly the presence of His Spirit in that humble home as we sang carols and ate and talked and laughed and thought about Christmas while giving gifts in similitude of that first Christmas as well as of His life and the gifts He would have us give. I never heard anyone complain, and I don’t think I ever will. He asks us to love one another, to be with and strengthen one another, to be with and uplift those we claim we love, and to remember Him. We did that, and so I feel the ghosts of my own guilt depart.

My trip to Oberndorf remains a cherished Christmas experience. I remember awakening and hearing the bells on Christmas day, walking through Salzberg eating chestnuts roasted over an open fire, having figgy pudding at the Christmas dinner, and perhaps most importantly attending a church to listen to one of my favourite hymns about the Christ. Ironically, it snowed that night there too (we went a few days before Christmas for reasons that don’t matter here). It was a special night, a special experience, and a time to think about something very special to me. So, if you like, here is my rendition of that Christmas hymn and my wish that as you remember the Savior, stand where He stood, and serve people as He served, that He will bring gifts to you and improve your life as is our hope. Merry Christmas.

For the Love of Dog

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I wanted to do something different, and since I got home early from work last night since lab went quickly, please allow me to introduce the great love of my life- My Beagle.

The audio/video quality isn't great, but I love this dog because of his amazing personality and character. I wish you could have known him too. He enriched my life. Also, for those of you who might wonder, as of this morning, he was still moving and eating, and I thank God every day for the manifestation of His love for me, for the love of Dog.

Remember the Prophets Were People

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Of late, both in the wake of scandal and with organizations not under any scrutiny, you see the rise of criticism of religions and religious leaders. A protracted campaign exists to delve into the darkest recesses of church and those who belong thereunto in an effort to drag skeletons from the closet. All of this exists so that the detractors can justify their own decisions to abandon faith and the Faith, to slander and libel the leadership and pass judgment on adherents who decide to stay. It also ignores the true role and origin of religious leaders. Through time and all eternity, Judeo-Christian church leaders exist for the sole purpose of pointing congregants to the Messiah. Sure, there's a lot of pageantry and prose, but that's all window dressing for their primary responsibility- help people find salvation and exaltation. Secondly, the campaign ignores how and who God chose to act in His name. Sometimes we lionize leaders, in particular those of religious organizations, as if they were paragons. Historically, God did not choose the best. He chooses those who are willing to listen to Him, those who need to be taught by Him, and those who can bring other people to Him, even if the people come in spite of the prophet rather than because of him. Many prophets were chosen when they were young; some were chosen, and in some cases retained, in spite of serious character flaws. Remember Balaam, who defied God and was saved by his ass! The point of that story is that God will not let His prophets lead the people astray. The people decided to stray on their own.

Criticism of church leaders abounds in our day. Church members and people of faith obviously forgot some of the lessons taught in scripture about those people. More importantly, those who criticize and question essentially deny the Christ or at the very least forget that even prophets need repentance. In their zeal to find rationale to abandon church or faith or a Faith or God in general, many people seem overeager to notice the mote (or beam) in the eyes of men who profess Christ and then notify all they can of the flaws they discover. It really constitutes a vain and vapid effort to condemn as many other men to hell in advance of their own trip to that fiery furnace. Any imagined slight, any misstep, any inarticulate expression, any flawed communication of dogma is viewed as justification to condemn the entire organization, to deny faith and churches and men as speakers for the Judge of the Quick and Dead. Instead of seeing the great things, the good is oft interred with their bones and the evil persists in the eyes of any who seek for information after they die. We would do well to allow the Atonement to save whom Christ wills it to rather than claim wisdom sufficient to know who ultimately shall be saved.

Consider for a moment that you lived in a time ensconced in scripture rather than now. Note that you would probably be illiterate and know only the scriptures recited to you by a scribe or other ecclesiastical leader. Now imagine that you knew Saul when he traveled with his Pharisee friends in the tradition of his Pharisee father and yet you learn he became the newest Apostle. Consider how you might feel if Noah came to you and told you that if you did not repent, you would be killed in a flood. Ask yourself how you’d feel if you were a Jew under Egyptian task masters whose life became even more difficult because Pharaoh refused to grant Moses’ request. Think for a minute how you’d feel if someone who wronged you suddenly became a prophet of God.

You see, we seem to be most likely to forgive ourselves, and we are quick to demand perfection from leaders and from professed Jesus freaks. In reality, when we refuse to regard them the way we ask God to regard us, we invite God’s wrath and reject Christ’s atoning power. If you truly desire to be forgiven, you must consider the real possibility that the Atonement of Christ can work for anyone, even people you do not know and do not like. On the cross, Jesus seems to forgive the thieves crucified with him. He overtly pardons the soldiers who actually put him there. Although He knew Peter would deny Him thrice, He still accepted Peter and magnified him as the leader of the church. If Christ can forgive those who betrayed, denied, arrested, persecuted, scourged, condemned, mocked, and ultimately killed Him, you can forgive the offenses of men, especially those that do not directly affect you.

There will always be weakness in men because giving in to your animal instincts is automatic. Living like a Christian takes effort and, more importantly, constant repentance and realignment with God’s will. It is not easy to turn the other cheek if you’re the only one who does, to go twain if everyone else sits around, and to serve the alien like the Samaritan. It is however how we show appreciation for Christ’s suffering and mercy. It is the second commandment- to love our fellow men. They do not love who do not show their love, and we do not love our fellow men when we demand that they hang forever for a moment and refuse to allow Christ’s blood to cleanse away their iniquity as we hope it will for us. Men are flawed. What men build, lead, do, and say will contain flaws because it is done by men. For that reason, it is important more than ever before to recognize God’s authority when men claim to act in His name, start a church to worship Him, or allude to Him as justification for their cause. Many shall call Him Lord in that day to whom He is far from the true thoughts and intents of their hearts. However, some are called and justified and empowered to speak for Him. The great man of God is not a man without sin. The great man of God is the man who actually allows Christ to take away sin even from people he may not like.

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying “If you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it you surely will.” It is also true that there is good if we seek it. When Jesus bled in Gethsemane, obviously He saw enough good to sit there while blood seeped from His pores and take the beating. If we were not worth it, He would not have stayed. If you say you know with certitude that a man cannot be saved by Christ, you in essence deny the Christ. That’s not usually how people interpret that sin, but I think far too many people deny Christ the power, the will, and the inclination to save God’s children unless WE permit it so to be. Who are we to decide? I didn’t get to call any of His prophets, and I’m honestly ok to not have that burden. Imagine how Samuel felt when Saul, who was chosen by the prophet to be king, and then David, whom Samuel chose to replace him, both rebelled against God and committed grievous sins. Yet, nowhere in holy writ do I know of any verse that condemns either of those men to the torment of hell if they appeal to the atoning blood of Christ. He can save anyone He wills. Ergo, seeking the flaws in others denies the Christ and ultimately dooms us as well.

When God calls men to serve Him, the results often shock people. Many people fly apart like glass when the prophet declares a change. Like Moses, they often ask us to leave Egypt with them. Like Isaiah, they will talk incessantly of the Savior. Like Jeremiah, they will command us to repent, a lot. What they ask will often contradict conventional wisdom or what you happen to personally believe. Don't be surprised when God's law counters the popular opinion of the day or your own personal opinions. It has always been that way, that God asks not what was easy or popular but what was best. How do you know if the prophet is right? You don’t ask men. You don’t ask him. You ask God. That’s not what the world does. The world turns to psychologists, talk show hosts, entertainers, politicians, and sophistry. When caught between a choice that asks them to choose between principles and preferences, people either rebel or they repent. The wicked man will change law to match behavior and the man of faith will change his behavior to match the Law. That’s why, even if you belong to a good church with faithful leaders who live what they preach it matters most that you turn to and draw closer to the Savior, and He will tell you what is truly good and necessary for you to do, be, and become. Men can be wrong. Men can be killed. Men can be misunderstood. Men can offend you. The Truth can only be discerned by building a personal relationship with the Savior and proving all things whatsoever He asks of you. He has asked us to forgive all men, even the church leaders you see who decide to serve other masters.

We are told that “with what judgment we judge we shall be judged”. With that in mind, if you are unwilling to forgive a prophet, how can you expect God to forgive you or Christ to desire it to be? If you condemn an entire church or the clergy or an entire religion because some adherents who self identify don’t actually live the dogma, how do you think others will judge you when you act hypocritically? If you refuse to forgive anyone, how can God do anything but judge you the same way? He has told us it shall be. For this reason, compassion and mercy are valued highly by Christians, not because we are dupes or saps, but because we hope that the atoning blood of Christ will actually cleanse us too. Not everyone who worships with you shares your faith. Many people, in your congregation or your Faith, may identify as members on paper but have desires in their hearts that lie far from the principles they profess and portend to espouse. That’s normal; there have always been wolves in sheep’s clothing. Be careful not to assume that a sheep is a wolf because it does something wolfish. Even the prophets were ordinary people, and some of them had a lot of repenting to do before they were useful in God’s hand. How much more then do you depend on the Mercy and Merits of the Messiah?  Are we not all beggars?

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the son of God, and the fullness of my intent is that I may persuade all men to come to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and be saved.

Perspectives From Maine

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I spent the last week of August (mostly) in Maine. Traveling to Maine gave me a perspective I desperately albeit unknowingly needed, and I was actually glad to return to the desert where I live. One very odd side effect for me from vacations is how glad I am to return “home” when I finish. Sure, there is much to like about Maine. My trip taught me that there was also much to like about Nevada. As I returned on the plane (which took about 12 hours with the indirect route I flew and layovers), I thought about the surprising things I learned going to Maine and how its beauty helped me appreciate more the things I already have.

Optics

Maine is a much prettier state than Nevada on average. I know that this beauty comes at great cost. It was far more humid in Maine than I expected. Under the treeline, without wind, I was wet and sticky almost immediately. You have to go basically to the top of every peak to see anything, so unlike western hikes, you must reach your ultimate destination in order to get any validation and feedback. That’s the only place to rest. The peaks are also not all that high. The highest point in Acadia was under 1600 feet above sea level. Ok, a 1200 foot elevation gain is good, but I do about that much every week out west. Additionally, there is no more cover in Acadia as you get higher. More trees give way to very short trees, and so I get about as much shade near the top as I do on a 11800 foot high mountain out west.

At Acadia, there was a man playing bagpipes (for tips) at the top of the peak. I overheard the rangers talking about escorting him out (probably because he was making money). On one hand, I felt that it interrupted the experience. On the other hand, it felt a bit like Scotland standing atop the rocky crest and hearing the pipes on the wind. It was an interesting experience, but it was not even close to authentic. I visit national parks for a sense of authenticity, when it was wild, before we commercialized everything. Acadia doesn’t feel that way.

People in Maine are HUGE. Many of them were fat, but the ones who were obviously athletic were also thick and built. I didn’t realize that I would seem small and thin just by going to Maine. I am guessing part of that is the diet; everywhere you went there was always fried food, especially fried seafood, which is probably the only way to cook seafood as fast food and have it be “safe”. I saw precious few people exercising outside the parks, and I think that’s a high price to pay for fitness.

Price

Recreation and travel are expensive in Maine. Despite cheaper gas prices (by 10% compared to NV), it cost $7 just to drive into Maine on the freeway in tolls on the highway. I am spoiled by the fact that the intermountain west has few if any toll roads. We drive wherever whenever for whatever reason and don’t have to stop except to declare fruit at the California border. Additionally, the price structure for entertainment is lower out west. The state parks in Maine charge PER OCCUPANT of the vehicle, but in Nevada, it’s per vehicle, meaning that our one day hiking in a state park cost as much as it would to go to any National Park for the day. Pricey!

Contrast that to the west where a single annual pass grants you access to the federal parks as often as you want for the year for $80. It primarily drives me to Lake Mead, Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Sequoia, Joshua Tree, Red Rock, etc., because one pass gets me into all of those. State parks are PER PARK, but even at $5 per car, Nevada seems a whole lot cheaper than before.

Amenities differ out west. Apparently Acadia is VERY popular. You can access some parts of it for free, but inside the paywall, it’s crowded easily and early. We went to Acadia on a Wednesday during the school year, and by the time we got back to our car at 11AM, the parking lot was jammed full. I mean, Acadia has a shuttle but it’s nowhere near as convenient or nice as the one in Zion, and you can hike Zion without the parking/shuttle if you avoid the main canyon. It’s a strange dichotomy of public/private vendors, which worked so poorly for the Forest Service out west that it decided to hire its own employees rather than pay vendors. This works for me, because I’m actually a known entity in the local park area, so I get accommodations and allowances that other people don’t get because they know I volunteer with federal agencies and give me some things for free. Without other alternatives, without other parks, Acadia can demand whatever it likes.

Access

As soon as we drove into Maine, I wanted to start wandering through the vast forested expanses. I know however that just because the land looks vacant doesn’t mean I have access. I’ve been spoiled living in the Great Basin. It took 2.25 hours to drive from Belgrade ME to Acadia NP because we had to drive through rural Maine. In 2.5-3 hours, I can reach six different national parks from the Vegas area. Granted, I drive more miles, but I have more options, and as aforementioned I don’t have to pay tolls to get in and out of the state.

Out west, we have a myriad of public land. In fact, you can step outside the city limits into federal land and camp, hike, hunt, shoot, or go 4-wheeling unless otherwise prohibited. I was in Maine for almost a day before I was able to just wander into the woods. You see, most of that land, even if it’s wild, is actually private property. Organizations carved out small sections and donated them for public use, but that means that the free trails are short and not in good repair because they are not funded like the more distant options.

Acadia is on an island, and the park constitutes only part of the island. I like having places to go that are not federal fee areas, but the private land contains even more expensive amenities. The park has a one way road. Parking is at a premium. It’s slow traveling everywhere. The land they have was “generously” donated by some of the big wigs in industry of yesteryear- Rockefeller and the other evil industrialists who have actually “poisoned” the world. It amazes me that they are not vilified as if they could pay indulgences by donating this island to the park service. Camden state park was also once a national park holding, which would have been a nice additional option denied to us because it’s an additional fee.

Maine is a beautiful state. That beauty comes at great cost. Aside from those already mentioned, I knew that the lush forests, abundant blueberries, verdant grasses, and pleasant mornings all came at the cost of a Maine winter. There is more than meets the eye. Things cost more than I anticipated. There are more opportunities for outdoor recreation than I expected out west. I managed to visit two states I had never visited on this trip, but I find that I’m looking forward and more willing to travel now to visit the areas near my abode. Visiting Maine ironically helped me appreciate where I am.

Doug the Christian

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If you’ve come to my blog for any length of time, you know that I complain a LOT. I find that the world is neither fair nor just. As a consequence of my consternation, my friends who actually know me come to me frequently and suggest that I either find a new Faith or start my own. Well-meaning though their suggestions may be, they ignore certain fundamental principles and ask me to throw away experiences and knowledge I possess in the pursuit of something more fitting. Faith for me isn’t like shopping for shoes, where you find out what the dimensions are and then try things on until you find something comfortable. Years ago I told the first such person to suggest I found “The Church of Thom and Doug” and invite people to join ME that I would not presume to form my own church. You see, I have never been asked, ordained, or called of God to start a church; He’s already done that. No man taketh this honour unto himself save he is called of God as was Aaron. I actually started writing this post on 10 August, almost exactly one week before the leadership of my Faith asked us not to use the nickname for our Faith anymore. Despite the fact that the name of Jesus Christ appears literally in the name of my Faith, on our buildings, on our nametags, and on our literature, all of my life people have considered me to be something other than Christian. If you have ever read anything on this blog for any period of time, you know that, although I might not belong to the Christian Faith with which you identify, and even if you disagree with my opinions, actions, or writings, I’m at least looking for the Christ and trying to serve Him.

Faith isn’t comfortable. From the very earliest times among believers after Jesus returned to His father, members of the church were mockingly called “Christians”. Although that titular nome de plume now unites us in our love, gratitude, and longing for the Savior Christ, at one time, it was used as to deride the “kooks” who listened to Paul, Peter, and the Apostles. Over the ages, God’s people have always been mocked. Elisha was mocked for being bald. David was mocked by Goliath for being small. Joseph was punished by Potiphar’s jealous wife when he rebuffed her invitation to biblically know her. The people laughed at Noah as he built an ark. Even the believers in Israel murmured in the Sinai when they ran out of food and water and exclaimed that it might have been better to remain in bondage in Egypt. In modernity, members of my Faith have been mocked by derisive terms for things we believe. We are in good company. It is natural to lionize what you prefer and paint your challengers in caricature. It is however not Christian to do so. People seem to automatically assume that 1. They know what I believe and that 2. My beliefs are incongruous with theirs even though they have never bothered to find out what I believe. When I invite them to come and see, instead they mock and flee. Very few people with whom I have ever discussed my Faith still even acknowledge my existence. Even women who betimes found me attractive found my religious beliefs to be a deal breaker.

The challenges of faith and the assault on people of faith makes some reticent to declare themselves believers. That’s also not new. Even Simon Peter thrice denied that he knew Jesus. Some of them put on their Faith like a jacket when it’s convenient or treat the dogma like it’s a buffet from which they can take only the parts they personally prefer. The wicked man changes the laws to match his behavior; the righteous man changes his behavior to match the Law. Every religion suffers from the neer-do-wells found on its rolls. We are told not to judge a group by the few dissidents and miscreants, but when someone from a religion does those who lecture us some ill, they find us all guilty by association. Most people don’t like to discuss religion for fear of losing friends as I have. Most people don’t want to be persecuted or prosecuted for having a different faith. The truth is that this is always and will always be the case. Jesus himself taught that (Matt 5:12) ”Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you”. More often than not, when people find out my Faith, they are no longer excited to discuss it with me or open to my opinions and interpretations. As I wrote elsewhere, it is not the message but the messenger with whom they take exception. My testimony and opinion is tainted because I am not of a Faith they acknowledge. That’s common too.

Unfortunately, many people, when challenged, either leave their Faith or abandon faith entirely. I have been challenged too. During my sophomore year of high school, a young man at school a certain classmate of mine we’ll call Richard sought me out at school. He was learned and well spoken. He was a known and powerful member of the debate team. For some reason, he studied Faiths even though he didn’t believe in religion himself. One day, he sought me out with the intent I see clearly now to shake me from my faith. In the course of our conversation, he concluded for those who listened that since I didn’t have clear and cognizant answers it was because there were none. In truth now, I realize that he spent hours, days, or even months preparing his diatribe and then, when I could not answer to a parallel degree of articulation to his satisfaction within seconds declared himself the winner. At the time, all I knew is that when he finished, I had questions I could not answer, so I went to my bishop and I confessed my sins. All of them. I wrote them down on a legal notepad like when I took cookies from the sheet that were for some activity or lying to my brother about who really busted his bicycle. You see, I knew that, if I wanted answers, clarity, and help from God, then I needed to get right by him. Instead, my bishop glanced at the multitudinous pages briefly, then slid the pad back to me and told me he wasn’t worried. He told me that people who have doubts don’t usually repent; they rebel. They conclude that if God doesn’t answer them in full and within a certain time frame that there must not be one or that He must not care. Since that day, I’ve been attacked MANY times, but I have never left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because He approves of its message. I still have issues, and I still speak out against malversation in leadership, but I remember that the prophets of old were people too, and so as long as there are men in positions of church leadership men will make mistakes, and I should keep in mind that God is as willing to forgive them as He is willing to forgive me. I don’t think I ever came up with proper rebuttals to Richard, but in time I felt ever more powerfully that I was doing God’s work, in harmony with His laws, and a member of a church He recognizes.

Faith isn’t easy. Many members of churches struggle both keeping the Faith as well as explaining it to others. Moreover, many people with whom you worship don’t share your Faith. Some of them come for optics; others come to please their spouse. More than you think are actually adrift, hoping to find answers and feeling they receive none at all. I find it somewhat paradoxical that when people want to learn about my Faith they turn to people who were never members or people who are former members rather than asking a member in good standing. That’s sort of like a potential girlfriend asking my ex-wife for an objective description of me as a potential mate. Even if you do ask a member in good standing, many people of faith are miseducated or undereducated. The only real textbooks for faith are books of scripture, which are often difficult to read and even more difficult to comprehend without inspiration, revelation, and study. Learning about and keeping your Faith requires work.  Living your faith asks you to do something which demands more of you than the world and invites their ridicule. Often you will have to abstain from foods or drink, avoid certain activities at least for certain time periods, offer up your substance to the church or the poor, and sacrifice your weekend for worship and service. Always, you will be asked to consider others before yourself- your wife, your children, your fellow congregants, your community, and your God, which runs contrary to the instinctual inclinations of our species. Constantly, people of no faith wage a frontal assault on your faith, unjustly and illegitimately assailing you for failure to perfectly live a standard they refuse to even attempt. Faith asks you to walk by faith in a world governed by sight, to filter out the voices and elevate your choices. Faith means trusting even when it seems that you’re wrong and sticking fast to your decisions in the face of regular and lasting opposition, trial, and error. Living your belief demands that you prove every minute of every hour of every day that you mean it.

If you attempt to live your faith, be prepared for assaults on it when you either come up short or God appears to. One of my heroes in the Old Testament is Queen Esther. Although she never aspired to the monarchy (her uncle had to convince her to audition to be queen), her position put her into a predicament. When Haaman proposed to slaughter all Jews, Mordecai asked her to appeal to the king for clemency. However, if you went to the king without being asked, the king could kill you. Esther ran the risk of coming up short. She might die no matter what, so Mordecai, knowing this, wrote to her “Who knoweth but that thou hast come into the kingdom for a time such as this?” Ultimately Esther found favor with the king, saved her people, and lived in prosperity for her faithfulness. That’s not always the case. I know that I have come up short because of my Faith. Some women literally tell me they refuse to date me, be my friend, or acknowledge my existence because of my Faith. I suspect that some challenges I face at work, in the community, in academics, in applications, and in other relationships stem from the same bias and bigotry. I have actually been physically beaten because of my Faith. I have been imprisoned. I have been given extra fines/penalties. I am weighed, measured and found wanting. Even among my own congregants, many of them think I come up short for their expectations. I keep trying, because I agree with CS Lewis that “He [God] wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles” (The Screwtape Letters #8).

God appears to come up short in the eyes of many detractors. Far too many people of faith, when they pray and beg and plead and even live worthy of blessings conclude that when the blessings don’t come or don’t come when or how they prefer that there must not be a God. The devil likes to preach “heads I win, tails you lose” and convince people that things that happen would have happened anyway and that failure of events to transpire our way evinces that there is no God. This must have been a problem among early Christians, because Paul wrote to the Hebrews who converted to Christianity: (Heb 10:35-36) “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” God’s promises are not always swift, but they are certain. Sometimes the test of faith is to wait. I wonder how long Elijah lived by the brook Kidron, how Joshua felt about being one of the only males to make it to Israel after 40 years in the wilderness, or how Samuel’s mom felt when Eli told her that God would grant her petition at the temple after praying so long for a son. I know that Naaman was absolutely furious when the prophet told him to bathe in the Jordan River to cure his leprosy. I know that Gideon wasn’t sure 300 men would be enough to drive back Midian’s army. Imagine the Philistines looking at the boy David chosen as the Jewish champion to fight Goliath. Many times what God does, when He does it, and how He does it makes no sense to us until long after the fact. When you don’t get what you think you deserve the way you think you deserve it, it’s tempting to despair and abandon faith and your Faith. Cast not away therefore your confidence; if it was right to leave Egypt then, it’s still correct that we did so now.

Faith is personal, and so is revelation. Many of my experiences with faith and revelation are deeply personal, so much so that I share them with few people. What God says to me, how I feel about it, and how He feels about me is between Him and me. My state of grace is nobody else’s business but mine and nobody’s to decide but Father God. Faith has however been important to me all my life. From a very young age, my parents taught me about God, encouraged me to pray to Him and helped me desire a relationship with Him. Eventually, I found both reason and opportunity to do so. I first came to feel of God cognizant as a small child. Based on where we were living, I was 8-10 years of age when one day I crawled into the cave beneath the entryway in our split level entry to pour out my soul hoping there was a God to hear me. At the time, I foolishly thought I was alone and unloved; boy how untrue that seems now. I forget exactly how I felt or what I experienced, but from that day to this I have known with surety that there is a God. By the time I was 14, I knew that He approved of my particular Faith. At 18 I went forth to minister and preach in a foreign land. To this day, I see His hand in my life, hear His voice in my mind, speak on His behalf in my vocation, and feel of His approbation when I serve in His stead. I feel as His apostles did after Jesus announced He would no longer literally feed the throngs following Him after which “said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life (John 6:67-68)”. Where would I go? Here I find the power and doctrine that keeps my life and keeps it near harmony with God’s will.

God speaks to you in a way you understand. He knows you, and He knows what to say to you that will come across the way that makes sense to you even if other people disagree with your interpretation or think you’re nuts. While serving as a missionary in Austria, Elder Neal Maxwell, one of our apostles, spoke to missionaries about revelation. He told us to stop reading scripture in our mission language and read it in our native tongue because God will speak to you in your native tongue so that there is no misunderstanding. The gift of tongues is for the benefit of other people so that they understand what God would have them hear if you are sent as speaker. I sometimes chuckle at the words that come into my mind when I pray, because my vocabulary varies widely from yours. God likes to use words in my mind that He would probably not use for you because He knows what meaning I associate with them. Words connote and denote different things to different people. That’s why it’s important not only to pray but to listen and then record the promptings, impressions, and thoughts that come. Those are for YOU. He will say different things to other people, because they have different understandings, biases, experiences, perspectives, and needs. Sometimes the counsel is general. More often than not, His messages are catered to you. It’s not like He hits “Reply all” and spams us with exactly the selfsame message. That’s lazy and it’s not evincing of a loving God who knows you.

As the prophets before have written, I invite and entice you to come unto God, learn of Him, and deny yourself of all unrighteousness. Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the son of God, and the fullness of my intent is that I may persuade all men to come to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and be saved. I spent two years as a younger man witnessing of Him abroad. From time to time I do so here. I invite you to learn about what I believe, because living my beliefs has made me the man I am. If you find anything about it of good report or praiseworthy, come and join us, even if just for a season.

At the end of the day, if your Faith has not brought you to Christ, it matters very little what Faith you adopt. I try not to claim that I’m a paragon, that I’m a good example to follow, or that I have all the answers. If I ever did that, I apologize, because I have need of a Savior just as much as all of you. Sometimes people tell me that I’m hard on myself or critical of myself; I try to be honest on this blog, but I am also intimately familiar with my weaknesses, and so I know I am imperfect. I mean, I know that I’m awesome, and I also know I have much to learn, much to change, and a great deal of growth before I would ever suggest you follow my lead. Honestly, I’m willing to chronicle my tale so that you can learn to be wiser than I. Come and let us learn of Him together, worship Him with true intent, and be open to His direction and correction. I may not have all the answers, but I know who does. I challenge you to ask God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not to seek truth, guidance, and correction from Him, without bias or ulterior motive. I promise you that if you diligently seek Him, you will find peace in this life and eternal happiness in the life to come.

My name is Doug, and I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Inspiring Stories

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Over the past two weeks, I've seen at least four different versions of a story touting the inspiration known as "Sean" who saved $250,000 for retirement by the age of 28. People talk about amazing examples in the hope of inspiring others, to help them think about what could be. The trouble with those examples more often than not lies in the fact that they represent outliers, that they’re not about normal people or normal circumstances or normal outcomes. For better or worse, I like to give people an honest assessment. When students ask about potential employment, I tell them that the range of salaries is more of a guideline and that, no matter how rosy the projections, they should manage expectations and plan to earn near the bottom of the range for most of their career. On the mountain when I meet hikers, I tell them the truth even when they say “we’re almost there right?” or “it’s just a short bit further, right?” because if I lie to them to appease them, I’ll be blamed and they’ll be miserable. Just this past weekend, I told a work outing they were just shy of halfway, and they turned back. Maybe I spoiled the day, but it would be worse if they were too exhausted or ran out of water! An inspiring story is good for us, but they must be chosen judiciously. Far too many of them emphasize outliers, ignore exceptionally good fortune or hold up an exception to the rule as the rule. Since the rules apply to most people, it’s best to find an everyman who improved rather than a paragon on whom it’s impossible to improve.  This story gives just enough detail to make it sound awesome without giving enough to know whether his pattern is even possible for you.  It's done to make headlines, attract readers, and gin up business and not because the people who post it think you can do it.  How can they? They don't know you, and neither do I.  You will have to find what strategy works for YOU, and only people who really know and understand you can provide anything useful to inspire or direct you.  Too many inspiring stories aren't, and too many people think their story isn't as inspiring as it really is.

The subject of this article enjoys incredibly good fortune. He found a girlfriend who pays about half of the costs of living, allowing him to enjoy a status of life by sharing costs equally. I don’t know about you, but most of the girls I meet aren’t looking for a share as an equal partner; they are looking for someone to take care of them in exchange for coitus. On top of that, she’s willing to split all the bills, pay half of the mortgage, and demands nothing of him in the form of special treats, baubles, or favors. Where do I get a unicorn like this? After only five years, he’s been promoted to a pay grade $30,000 more than he earned when he started. Most people don’t get raises that quickly or of that scale. Either he’s incredibly talented or he’s incredibly favored. After eleven years at my current job, I have managed to acquire $20,000 more than when I started. That’s less money in twice the time interval (possibly because I’m not a boot-licking toady, but he might not be a toady; he might benefit from good fortune or be exceptionally valuable). On top of that, his salary is the average household salary, but that doesn’t include whatever his girlfriend earns. Since they share expenses and living arrangements, it’s actually disingenuous to proceed from his $50,000/year salary since it ignores the monetary contribution his girlfriend may proffer, putting him far above average as a household. Let’s also remember that the average household is not headed by a 23 or 28 year old. Those are still very young people. Most households are not young people living together but unmarried and withotu children.  Many households are overflowing with children.  Furthermore his investments largely occurred when the market was at a low and then rose. If he started investing in 2013, the market has climbed astronomically since he started. I finished college in 2002, when the market was in shambled after 9/11, and it didn’t recover nearly that quickly or that thoroughly. I didn’t finish college during a boom; I finished during the dotcom bust and then passed through the housing bubble.

Despite his current portfolio, the subject of this article did nothing special. He didn’t invest in bitcoin, gold, or any special stock, allegedly. He didn't buy Apple or Amazon when it was cheap and make out like a bandit.  He is not Warren Buffett, and his father didn't give him $10 million like Trump when he turned 21.  Now, he does have $116,000 in a brokerage (which tells me he trades stocks individually), and I have money in mutual funds instead. I tried years ago to trade stocks, but you have to do it daily and really have a good handle on either financials or fads in purchasing, and I didn’t pick things that regular people buy. I short sold Facebook at its IPO because I thought it was worthless, and I bought 500 shares of Washington Mutual when they were rescuing banks only to have it be the only bank they didn’t rescue. The rest of his money is in a 401K. Well, I don’t actually have a company 401K, since I’m in academia, and they don’t match funds, so I have a retirement investment that earns money, but I didn’t make enough to put in money from the getgo. Most people end up working all their lives, which isn’t bad, because it gives them purpose and fulfillment. It’s very unnatural for anyone to completely retire at 38, and I suspect that he won’t actually stay retired. How long will that nest egg actually last? Have they had any real misfortunes with health or accidents or natural disasters? What about his girlfriend? Is she going to stick around as his bank account drains or will she demand that he go back to work? You don’t know what the future will bring, which is the problem, and most people make plans that don’t actually work out. On top of that, his girlfriend is a partner. My ex-wife took everything from me in the divorce except for the 1995 Saturn I love. So, he didn’t do anything special. He didn’t have a disaster set him back $200,000. It’s not that they’re especially frugal or that they worked things out to budget or discuss money or invest above anything else. He makes no mention of how the relationship dynamic tended towards success, meaning that they either didn’t have to have those discussions or she just follows his lead. Well, if you marry a shrupshire sheep who follows your lead and you want to save, you’ll save a lot too. Picking a partner is key, but there’s no evidence that he spent any kind of time or made herculean effort to get a good partner. The evidence suggests they’ve been together for years and that he’s not had to do a lot of dating or sort through the ruderal dreck in search of a partner like most people do. Although he claims his expenses are small, he spends about $500 per month on travel. Does that include car travel? Most people don’t have $6000 to spend each year to travel. The article leaves out a lot of detail that would help; in fact the first time I heard about it, the article omitted his salary.  He’s living fairly lavishly but not thinking it. If you do the math on his figures for “eating out in restaurants” that comes to roughly $25-$30/week, which means he’s not eating out in fancy restaurants or at least not often. Maybe his girlfriend goes Dutch and pays half, but that’s also not common for most folks where the man foots the bill and the woman luxuriates at his expense. Also, $5 a day is like a cheap combo meal or like once per week. Do they do any other dating? Dating can be expensive. Even if you don’t’ spend money, you still have to work at any relationship, the house will eventually need repairs, and he’ll probably want better things eventually even if he is frugal.

Most people can’t actually channel him as an example because he’s not representative of the normal population. Although he claims that he’s earning about the median family income, he STARTED at $50,000. Most people dont' start in the middle; they start near the bottom.  By definition, half of households in America earn less than he does, and most people don’t start with that high of a salary. When I finished college, I earned $24,000 a year teaching classes as a graduate student. Furthermore, that household income is for a family of four, and he’s a family of two that only reports HIS income. What about hers? Is the savings figure also indicative of what SHE saved? Does she save at all? In my experience most of the wealthy people I know either got lucky on a boondoggle or they live in two income households where one paycheck covers the bills, the frills, and the kids and the other paycheck is put away entirely into savings or frivolity. Now, if that’s the case with this couple, then he’s not a good representative for any traditional family where the wife stays home and either spends the husband’s money or tends the children. He’s also not probative for single income earners who don’t have anyone to share expenses or receive no contributions to a common account. I only have what I earn, and while I get to keep it all for me, I pay all the bills myself. Most of you can’t skimp on cell phones and internet and eating out and travel because your kids need rides to violin lessons and instruments and phones so they can fit in and internet so they can stay competitive in school. Many families I know with kids have to prepare multiple dishes because they have picky eaters; the more people you have in your family the more difficult it is to find something on which they all agree. Sean has only to discuss things with his girlfriend (or dictate to her if she’s beta), so he doesn’t have the compromises or the conflicting obligations that you do. He can focus on work and retirement because he doesn’t have screaming children demanding his attention. On top of that, he’s very rare when it comes to academia. Besides myself, I know ZERO people who finished college sans debt unless their parents contributed greatly. He got some scholarships and financial assistance from his parents. That’s not normal. Most people have to either take out loans or get a second job, and they did even in the 1980s. One professor in my department has paid ZERO towards her student loans, and she graduated 15 years ago.  Instead, Sean finished college without any debt whatsoever. That’s definitely the exception to the rule. After graduating, he immediately got a job in his field with a good entry salary without experience. Students complain to me incessantly about having to study things that don’t portend to utility in their vocation. Most programs don’t prepare you to get a job, they just qualify you to get an interview.

We talk about “self-made millionaires” or about beatified Saints or about Agincourt because we hope to convince people that miracles are possible. However, most people will work their entire life and not become millionaires, even in America, most religious efforts won’t result in mass conversions or miraculous salvation, and most battles in a swamp against a vastly superior force end in favor of the bigger army. Like it or not, the subject of this article, Sean, is not your average story. Very few people finish college and immediately land a well-paid job without any experience and just a bachelor’s degree. Even fewer people rise in might and wealth as quickly as Sean. Only a handful find a partner whose avarice and pride don’t exact most of the excess monies in order to establish a lavish lifestyle. The exceptionally rare are frugal enough to invest that much that early even if they desire it because our world stratifies people based on optics rather than achievements. Most people choose to spend money on the optics of success, but Sean doesn't have to look successful to entice a mate because he already has one.  His results are not typical. He’s that testimonial that they trot out in nutritional ads or for exercise machines like the Bowflex or for investments, someone who did astronomically well, but in this article, there is no asterix affirming that even if you applied this formula you’re likely to get mediocre results at best and nowhere near approach him, and that’s ok. Everyone’s life and luck differs, but if you use this as a metric, I think you’re headed for disappointment. Even if I saved every penny I earned from the age of 23-28, I would not have that amount today, and you probably would not either. But that’s not the real point. The real point is that most Americans don’t have ANYTHING put away for a rainy day, and so if you do, you’re already better off than most even if you didn’t manage to save $250,000 before you were 30. That should inspire you with hope and a sense of accomplishment.  Whether you agree with this or not, you should at least consider the points of this video in determining what actually inspires YOU and how inspiring your story can be when you forget the outliers like Sean and realize heroes also started out as ordinary people like you:

Right to Bear Arms

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I maintain strong opinions about the Constitution. I carry a copy in the pocket of my suit. I hung a copy on the wall in my library. I detest the efforts of enigmatic snollygosters in political office to eviscerate it or to rewrite it by judicial fiat. I abhor the fact that many people see things within it that it does not say and do not see things that glaringly present themselves to the naked eye. Among those, I feel very strongly about my right to keep and bear arms. The US Forest Service tolerates the fact that I carry a gun (and a bowie knife) when I do trail recon for them on Mt. Charleston. They know that I don't draw it, that I don't menace with it, but that it legitimates me and gets people to pay attention. They know that I use words to do my job and the gun to substantiate my credentials. I own a few guns. I read an article in 2008 about 75 things every man should know, and since I didn't actually have one, I decided it was time to get one, learn how to use and care for it, and get familiar if God forbid I ever needed one. When government officials threatened to ban, confiscate, and restrict them, I felt even more inclined to buy one because IT'S MY RIGHT. You will hear lots of arguments, mostly darkening counsels by words without knowledge. If you really want to learn about guns and the Constitution, read Clayton Cramer's PhD Dissertation on the subject because it's illuminating. It's really just the literal manifestation of your right like every other organism on the planet to defend yourself. Porcupines have spines, bears have claws, fish can outswim you, plants have spikes or toxins, and humans have tools, like guns, because we're really kind of weak and soft and slow comparatively, so we have a right to protect ourselves if someone or something tries to hurt or kill us just like any other organism. When politicians discuss guns, they do so without regard for your right to protect YOURSELF because they want you to wait for the cops to arrive instead, if they feel like it, if you pay your taxes, and if the government decides you deserve protection. That's a diminution of our right to life. They don't think that humans have a right or the capability to protect themselves.

Most crimes are not protracted with guns, but they are usually done via things weaponized to be tools of destruction. Despite the media glamorization of shootings, which are always abhorrent, you are five times more likely to be stabbed with a knife or scissors and twice as likely to be beaten to death. When I was mugged in 2015, my attacker hit me in the back of the head with a floor tile fragment which was lying in the driveway of a neighbor's house- a weapon of opportunity. When I was mugged in Vienna, the guy just wailed on me with his fists. In fact, I've only ever been menaced by someone wielding a gun twice. Once was some stupid US Marshalls on Mt. Charleston who insisted that since they were "also law enforcement" that the rules didn't apply to them (they never drew, just let me know they were all carrying concealed). The other time was in the Walmart near my house where an older woman threatened me to get my wallet. I pulled out my bowie knife and said, "It better be fatal, because if you don't kill me with the first shot you won't survive". I don't recommend doing that, and neither did the officer when I reported the attempt, but I was feeling morose and didn't want to put up with her tripe. I've had more money stolen by bad online transactions and by pickpockets, and the kids who tried to break into my house didn't have any weapons at all. I've had rocks thrown at me and my car, had someone slash my tires, my identity stolen, and a few other minor things, but none of those involved guns, and nobody has ever actually shot a gun while victimizing me. Furthermore, if you look at "gun crimes" that usually lumps together suicides, accidental discharge, and when cops fire their guns at criminals, so it's sort of a misnomer that guns kill a lot of people in America due to negligence on the part of gun owners. Fully 75% of gun violence is protracted by people in possession of guns that are not theirs, but the ultracrepidarians in government don't want to hear that. They also ignore the fact that 71 people have been shot in Chicago this month already, and that's a gun free city. I guess someone forgot to tell the criminals that they can't use guns.

Guns are a weapon of last resort. Many family members have jobs where they deal with guns, directly or indirectly. I helped several of them learn how to use and get comfortable with them in order to pass their qualifications for their employment. I tell all of them to only draw their weapon if they are ready to fire it and intend to fire it in short order. Once you escalate to the level of firearms, you cannot deescalate, and if the other person has a gun too, you'd better be ready to fire and fire quickly or you're toast. If they have rocks or scissors or brass knuckles, it's much easier to deescalate or to flee, but it's hard to outrun a bullet travelling 1250 feet per second, even if you're Usain Bolt. Up on the mountain, I use words, then a whistle to get attention, and if I had to fight, the knife would be my first choice because if you have a weapon, you automatically have the advantage. Everyone looking at me eventually sees the gun. They also see the patches and the uniform, and all but a few accept that I have good reason to say what I say, and many realize that I have backup if they try anything, even if the backup has to hike up after me. When I was working on a ranch in Colorado in 2011, the boss indicated that there was some risk of wildlife and lent us a gunbelt. The gun was a crossdraw, meaning that the rig was designed so that you turn to the gun only if necessary. It can be very tempting to resort to one if you have it. We all know what happens to people without guns who face people with guns, and we know that criminals don't shy away from shooting innocent bystanders, and it's better to have a gun and know how to use it and not need it than need one and not have one.

Live and let live sounds wonderful until your life is threatened. That being said, killing is an ugly and dirty business, and so while I maintain the right to keep, own, carry, and use a gun, I think that it behooves each person to be judicious in doing so. Unlike other weapons, guns tend to kill. When I was mugged in 2015, among the items stolen included two 50rd boxes of .357mag ammunition. Yes, that's what I carry. When the police learned first that ammo was stolen and next what caliber it was, they asked me why I didn't just kill my assailant. I told the responding officers that it would be foolish of me to take someone's life over a matter of $50. Granted, if the man had continued to pursue me even after taking my stuff and hearing me call 911, and if and only if I thought my life was threatened, I reserve the right to use my weapons to save my own life. Killing or even shooting someone is a serious thing. As annoyed as I was to be attacked and to lose $50 worth of stuff, it's easy to replace that; it's not easy to replace the life or health lost if I shot the man. Not to mention, when you pull that trigger, you risk killing two people- the person you shoot and the person you used to be. Once you cross that road, you cannot walk it back and be like you were. It was easy for me, interestingly, in the moment to decide flight was better. I'm annoyed to lose the ammunition and the backpack, which I owned since high school, but it's not worth risking my life or taking his. If you shoot someone, despite what the LVMPD officers implied, there will be trouble. Of course they investigate, and that promises all sorts of unpleasantness, and even if you were in the right, what about the family or friends of the person you shoot? They'll feel "robbed" of their son/husband/whatever, and probably seek a judgment against you. I don't need that, and I certainly don't need to go to jail because I overstepped my rights in shooting some punk in his 20s who decided he wanted my stuff. He didn't really seem to want to take my life or hurt me any more than he had, to be honest, and so I felt more inclined to run and limit the damage and pain where it was. An eye for an eye eventually makes the entire world blind. Of course, if he hurt me or killed me, we'd feel differently, but I honestly think he was just an idiot, and death by firearm is a severe punishment for being stupid.

Like most things, I think we esteem guns lightly because we obtain them readily. It's not "easy" to get a gun, but they are plentiful. You have to pay a great deal for a gun, and most people can't afford them, and then you have to buy ammunition. You have to fill out forms and be approved (at least in NV) by the Highway Patrol as having no outstanding warrants or convictions if you buy one from a licensed dealer. Then you have to practice, which is not cheap, because you can't just fire a gun anywhere you like (although some of my neighbors don't seem to realize when they shoot off their guns for Cinco de Mayo that the ammunition comes back DOWN). Most people don't research them, train with them, or have any real instruction for their care and proper use. When I bought mine, I had been taught. My father taught me a little when I was 12, and in Boy Scouts, I did earn the Rifle Shooting Merit Badge. I was trained. We didn't have one readily accessible in the house, and my dad taught us to respect them as dangerous. I don't know how long it took the police to arrive when I was attacked, but it was odd because nobody saw the attack. Although it was May, nobody was outside because it was like 89F at 9PM, so everyone was hunkered inside enjoying the air conditioning; I didn't even see any cars drive by after I was attacked. If I had to wait for someone or the police to come and protect me, especially if this dude had an actual weapon rather than rubble to hurl in my direction, it's very likely I would have been killed in 2015. I believe in the right to keep and bear arms because I think you have a right to defend yourself. While doing Taekwondo, my sensei taught us that the best self defense technique is to not be there, but when someone waylays you and ambushes you from behind like a coward to take things because they can, you may not be able to run. Fortunately for me, the kid neither incapacitated nor killed me with the first blow. If you decide to carry a weapon, you ought to be allowed that, and if you decide to carry a gun, you ought be allowed that too. Where do I draw the line? Well, weapons are for defense, so if it's silly to think you would use it for personal defense, it should not be available for personal purchase. Nobody would use a missile launcher, bazooka, or tank to defend themselves if mugged because that's not practical, but you might need a rifle for example if you're attacked by wolves, bears, or coyotes or a gang of humans. There is nothing wrong with carrying and using a gun. Why you do a thing matters far more than what you do. Especially now that I have actually been attacked, I claim the right to carry a gun, because if he had known, he might have crossed the street instead of crossing me.