Book Review - Odds Are You're Going To Be Exalted by Alonzo L Gaskill

When I first saw this book, I thought the title to be a bit cheesy and left it on the shelf.  It sort of sounded like we were gambling with our exaltation.  Sometime later, I decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did.  The uses of the term odds, has nothing to do with gambling and everything to do with statistical likelihood.

I'll be keeping this one just for the references.  Gaskill has found more quotations from prophets on the subject than I ever thought existed.  I've long held that the likelihood of Exaltation was greater than the typical Latter-day Saint suspects, but the author makes it plain that such a happy result is far greater than I ever anticipated.  

This is one of the most optimistic, hopeful volumes I've ever read.  Mostly that is true because it also one of the best treatments on the Plan of Salvation I've ever encountered.  God is intent on the salvation of all of his children.  He is a perfect parent.  He will succeed in His mission to bring His children home.  Gaskill makes it plain that every one who wants to go home to live with God will be afforded that blessing.  Even those who don't currently want to are likely to have a change of heart in that regard and the world was designed to make it so.  What a wonderful promise to the posterity of God, "For behold it is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.  (Moses 1:39)  He is quite capable of accomplishing that task.

If you are doubtful as to your own possibility of reaching Heaven;  if you have loved ones who don't seem headed in that direction at all; this book is especially for you.

Five Stars

More Observations on the Utah Compact

A Dan Jones poll has indicated that the majority of Utahns are still determined to have an Arizona style immigration policy.  This despite the fact that the LDS Church stood in support of the Utah Pact on Immigration. (Read their statement here.) 60% of Utahns are LDS. I find it interesting that the LDS Church consistently comes down more moderately on the issues than her members do.  This says a couple of interesting things to me.

First, there is room for disagreement in the church.  As Joseph Smith put it, "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves."  That leaves the door open to them to misgovern themselves as well.  Outsiders tend to look at us as being in a very restrictive society in which we all march to the beat of the Brethren.  The present issue seems to indicate otherwise.  I don't expect anyone will be excommunicated for disagreeing with the Brethren on this issue.  After the close of WWI Congress was embroiled in a debate as to whether the United States should participate in the League of Nations.  President Heber J. Grant was in favor of joining the League, Apostle and Senator Reed Smoot was not in favor.  Smoot, of course had more influence in the decision and voted against America's involvement.  There was clear and obvious disagreement between these two, and several other, church leaders.  It did not adversely affect their relationship as members of the highest councils of the church.

The second, item of interest is the very apparent fact that the members tend to be more conservative than their leaders on a number of issues.  My personal impression, indeed my belief, is that not only do these men in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve receive revelation; they are also astute, well educated and better yet, well informed on the issues.  Long experience has shown that we rarely get knee jerk reactions from Church Headquarters.  The last one I recall came during the Mark Hoffman forgery fiasco.  Lesson learned.  The Church's leaders are much more careful in their reaction to the events and circumstances that surround us.
My conversations with most radically right winged Latter-day Saints do not indicate that they are well informed.  They may be well indoctrinated by the likes of Glen Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, but rarely do I encounter one who has rationally considered the alternative or even more moderate point of view. For this reason I whole heartedly applaud KSL radio for dumping Hannity in favor of less inflammatory Jay McFarland.

This is not to say that I entirely disagree with the big three conservative commentators.  I just disagree with the "us vs them" approach that they seem to be fostering.  Seldom to I hear these or other conservative voices consider the consequences to the poor, outcast, alien and disadvantaged among us.  Their mantra seems to be focused entirely on how this all affects ME.  They not only defend big business, they are big business.  Don't get me wrong I am all in favor or free enterprise.  It's just that is becoming more and more apparent that big money is running this country, not citizens.

I was so grateful that thinking people stepped forward with the Utah Compact in a rational and well considered way.  In doing so they acknowledge the existence of serious problems, but cautioned us to avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water.  There are real people involved in these issues.  People who put their pants on one leg at a time just like we do.  Fathers and Mothers who love their children.  Children who want stable families and a chance to grow and an opportunity to succeed.  When we consider cleaning things up in this country, let us please consider the baby.

The Utah Compact

Yesterday a distinguished group of Utah political, community and church leaders gathered to sign the Utah Compact.  I'd like to include my support for this important guiding document.  It is simple, clear and makes perfect sense to me.  I include it here:

THE UTAH COMPACT

A declaration of five principles to guide Utah’s immigration discussion

FEDERAL SOLUTIONS - Immigration is a federal policy issue between the U.S. government and other countries—not Utah and other countries. We urge Utah’s congressional delegation, and others, to lead efforts to strengthen federal laws and protect our national borders. We urge state leaders to adopt reasonable policies addressing immigrants in Utah.

LAW ENFORCEMENT - We respect the rule of law and support law  enforcement’s professional judgment and discretion. Local law enforcement resources should focus on criminal activities, not civil violations of federal code.

FAMILIES - Strong families are the foundation of successful communities. We oppose policies that unnecessarily separate families. We champion policies that support families and improve the health, education and well-being of all Utah children.

ECONOMY - Utah is best served by a free-market philosophy that maximizes individual freedom and opportunity. We acknowledge the economic role immigrants play as workers and taxpayers. Utah’s immigration policies must reaffirm our global reputation as a welcoming and business-friendly state.

A FREE SOCIETY - Immigrants are integrated into communities across Utah. We must adopt a humane approach to this reality, reflecting our unique culture, history and spirit of inclusion. The way we treat immigrants will say more about us as a free society and less about our immigrant neighbors. Utah should always be a place that welcomes people of goodwill.  

I wrote some on this subject a week ago in and entry called Pray for Mexico.  While I acknowledge that there are real and serious problems with our nation's current immigration policies, I do not advocate punishing immigrants for our own mismanagement of our borders.  There is a lot of propaganda out there designed to alarm and prejudice the population.  Thankfully, some cooler heads are attempting to quell the storm with some sensible thinking.  The Deseret News did an important piece that is well worth reading.  In the article, Fact or Fiction?  The myths and realities of Illegal Immigration the subject is approached with level headed thinking that we all would do well to consider.

For me, the bottom line is people.  These immigrants, not unlike our own predecessors are real people, with real families bonded together by real love.  Real people, who've made enormous sacrifice to obtain that which we take, so clearly, for granted.  When we reduce them to statistics and demonize them based on the occasional bad apple; we do a disservice not only to them but to ourselves.  We have our own bad apples and apparently in much more common ratios than their detractors would have us believe.

So, I greatly appreciate the sensible, moderate approach of the Utah Pact and lend my full support to its tone and content.

A Major Milestone in a Long Game of Catch-Up

Three years ago, while we were visiting Newfoundland, our basement flooded.  Loving family and friends rescued our belongings and moved them to our carport.  Yesterday, after all that time, we finally reclaimed the carport for our car.  I won't bore you with the details as to why it has taken so long.  Suffice it to say, it has been a long difficult road fraught with mistakes, setbacks, oversights and discouragement.  There remains a great deal of remodeling to do, but having come this far is representative of the direction we are going and comes as a great encouragement.

I look around the neighborhood and see my friends getting their homes and yard ready for winter.  That used to seem like a daunting task.  Now, I see keeping up as a whole lot easier than catching up.  I guess life is like that too.  I keep thinking it sure would be nice if I could just be maintaining, rather that struggling, so far behind.

As we conducted the yard sale and then hauled piles of stuff to Deseret Industries it occurred to me that had we not had the disaster, it is quite possible that all of this stuff would still be wedged tightly into every nook and cranny of our home.  Instead, having done without much of it for better than three years, we began to see what was important to us and what was mere detritus.  The disaster, while inconvenient and burdensome, has also been beneficial and enlightening.  Perhaps life is meant to be like that.  Perhaps if we were permitted to just carry on with the status quo, we'd never grow, appreciate the relative value of things.  Perhaps God intends to upset our apple carts once in a while to keep us on the move and to help us put things into perspective.

Perhaps it is also so with our own personalities.  We move through life accumulating baggage that we tuck away in the nooks and crannies of our psyche and we go along quite nicely keeping up the facade, making things look presentable to the neighbors so to speak.  Then something disastrous comes along to shake us to the very foundations of our lives.  We are emotionally put out on the street.  It is embarrassing, cumbersome, awkward and frightening.  Then, over time, we figure out how to put our lives back together.  We jettison baggage we hardly remembered we had.  We remodel, rebuild, tidy up, establish more refined priorities and while it seems like we're catching up, and hardly keeping up; we are making enormous improvements.

It's beginning to look like, in both cases, that the end result will be far better that it would have been had we just carried on as we intended.  A little disaster is just plain good for the soul.  Of course it included adversity, but then that's what adversity's for.