What Are You Worried About? Sins and Errors

What Are You Worried About?

Sins and Errors

Began March 10, 2021. Continued early April.

    All of us have fears of committing errors; some of us believe that those mistakes are sins, or sinful.

    Mistakes in the secular world happen by accident or on purpose, and many of those errors or faults cause pain and remorse. A belief in a bigger system...

I fear that I can sin, both in spiritual realms and in the secular ways of life.

However, as a Christian, believing that the Son of God Jesus Christ can erase my sins, that is a good safeguard. However, we cannot take our sins lightly; that is part of the repentance process.

The laws of countries and lands have their ways of rendering justice. There is a process to do these things; some methods and punishments and reform systems work better than others.

All for now.

Happy Father's Day.

Moralizing on Marriage, Economic Solidity for Growth

    Some people think that moralizing is bad, for a few reasons. One, some people think that there is no true good or bad, perfectly just or pernicious evil, nor ultimate right or wrong. Those people think that morals are relatively non-starters because all things are relative. I disagree: there are absolutes in the world that are really good or really wrong. Yes, there are plenty of grey areas, to be debated and further scrutinized, but there are factors that can be measured that can be qualified as good or bad. Jobs and being able to pay for your way (and others') in life? Good. Handling health cares and affording nice vacations and creature comforts? Good. Avoiding harming others and staying away from crimes? Good.

    Some think that moralizing is unproductive because it is not an effective way to communicate or educate, that those that they are meant for do not pick up those lessons. Fair enough, platitudes and pontifications can be rare in their execution and implementation to both those that decree them and the alleged acolytes that should be listening and complying with said injunctions.

   Some are turned off, non-chagrined, by the moralizers themselves because they feel that those that disseminate such knowledge are themselves hypocrites, and that the morals are not meant for them, or anyone, disseminator or receiver, because they are exceptions to the rule. Many question, who are those moralizers to tell me what is wrong or right? How can people know what is good for me? Or anyone? How can any standard be truly true?

    People are not good at listening and internalizing wise counsel. Too often. Or people get the wrong advice and lessons from those that are not the right models or teachers.

    Marriage is an institution that is an inherent stabilizing and wealth solidifying convention that should be practiced and upheld. The 21st century paradigm of marriage is a couple, but there are cases of polygamy where it works, or has worked, for the benefit of society.

    Does everything have to benefit society? Ultimately, yes. Otherwise we will continue to encounter the injustices that millions cry out for and get out on the streets for redress and reform. Anger and hostility are driven by such people that too often do not conform to the morals that we moralizers espouse:

Get married, stay married, do not cheat, do not dally and bring life and souls into the world without those standards. Children need parents, society deserves youth who have married parents. There are exceptions and times when children do not have two parents working for their good. In some cases of abuse, it is better that separation and divorce be the result. Death and widowhood happen, sadly. 

But society and the families involved need marriage. It is a pillar of good economies, it is a signal of stability and prosperity.

Those who lose this institution end up paying in many myriads of ways, which are at times hard to quantify but hard to avoid and negate nonetheless.

I have more thoughts on the good morality of marriage. Even plural marriage is better than casual situations of intimacy and life creations without the anchor of dedicated parenthood.

Get on the bus of marriage, economic responsibility, and stay on the ride, stay the course.

All for now.

I am happy to be married, and I am reticent to moralize.

But I have to share what I know works, and is true.

    

 Nigeria, A Land of Many People

If you look at world populations, Nigeria is growing faster than most.

Here are the top ten populous nations in 2021:

TOP TEN COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST POPULATION
#	Country	2000 Population	2021 Population	2050 Expected Pop.	Pop Growth % 2000 - 2021
1	China	1,268,301,605	1,444,216,107	1,329,570,095	13.8 %
2	India	1,006,300,297	1,393,409,038	1,623,588,384	38.5 %
3	United States	282,162,411	332,129,757	388,922,201	17.7 %
4	Indonesia	214,090,575	276,361,783	318,393,046	29.1 %
5	Pakistan	152,429,036	225,199,937	290,847,790	47.7 %
6	Brazil	174,315,386	213,993,437	236,030,311	22.7 %
7	Nigeria	123,945,463	211,400,708	391,296,754	70.5 %
8	Bangladesh	128,734,672	166,303,498	193,092,763	29.2 %
9	Russia	147,053,966	145,912,025	129,908,086	- 0.8 %
10	Mexico	99,775,434	130,262,216	150,567,503	30.5 %

Many points can be derived from the above table, like that Nigeria as projected will outpace the population of the United States in the next generation, by 2050. 

This would be incredible, in my opinion. Would there be enough resources? What will life be like in 29 more years?

China and Russia are both predicted to lose population. Will this be true, or will migratory and other economic factors come into play, beyond the local birthrates? 

Japan has now been surpassed by Mexico as a top ten country for inhabitants. Will more people migrate there because of economic factors?

Will more people migrate out of big population growth centers like India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh?

Could other diseases, disasters, wars, droughts and economic trends and factors change the above projections? We shall see.

Africa as a continent, and in particular Nigeria at its epicenter will be a key hub to much of the future of our planet.

I have written about Nigeria before, stating that based on the opinions of some Nigerian linguists that I have worked with, they believe that the nation will not stay united due to the cleavage between the Muslim north and the Christian south.

What will happen? Will the overall economy grow and prosper enough to sustain its citizens?

Can Nigeria sustain its own growth? Or will the additional millions emigrate to underpopulated places like Russia, Japan, or even Italy and the rest of Europe?

The Western Hemisphere is attractive, too, for many reasons.

At present, there are some 400,000 or so Nigerian naturalized citizens in the U.S.

Will these trends continue?

Perhaps.

Harper is Now at 262 On the All Time List, Tying the Great Clemente

Despite some health issues the last month, Bryce has made it back on the active roster and hit another long ball. 240 career homers ties him with Jeff Burroughs and Roberto Clemente.

Clemente is notable as an iconic player, who made it to the 3,000 hit club (no small feat), and died doing a humanitarian flight with emergency supplies crossing his native Caribbean Sea. I have associates who consider Clemente their favorite player of all time. He played from 1955 to 1972, all in Pittsburgh, and batted a career .317, with some of his best hitting years near the end of his career. He died at age 37 and was an automatic Hall of Famer.

Burroughs played with many teams between 1970 and 1985, hitting a career high 41 in 1977 with the Atlanta Braves. Although not mentioned a lot to my knowledge, being close to the top 250 major league home run hitters is pretty cool.

The league just announced their 20,000 player; it is pretty elite to be in the top 300 of those lists of they that could put some force on the pitches across the generations.

262.	Jeff Burroughs (16)	240	R	HR Log
	Roberto Clemente+ (18)	240	R	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (10, 28)	240	L	HR Log

 Everything and Nothing Too Interesting

Today was Sunday; I went to church.

That is pretty normal for me. However, there were some extenuating circumstances that made it unique. I had not attended in a while. I was surrounded by people that I had never attended with before. It was nice.

Refreshing. 

I invited someone: he came, which was out of the ordinary. We had some good lessons and it made me feel good, having missed so many Sundays this last part of the end of spring.

Songs were good, testimonies were good, the Spirit was good, sacrament was good, and it was good.

 One More Voice in a Sea of Millions

Many of us earth inhabitants have our opinions of how things should work, and what does not work.

I am one of them, an observer, if you will. I have been developing my opinions, hypotheses, ideas, and observations for more than 40 years. One bit at a time, brick by brick or pebble by pebble, I gather these things and formulate. Some of those bricks break or erode with time, while the pebbles can get lost by the wayside. What are my opinions? I will make a list.

1. The United Nations has never been united enough. While the major purpose of avoiding another world war has been achieved till now (not bad), the U.N. peacekeepers and other divisions of them have been way too divided, to the detriment of millions of us. It could be much better. Is it the Communist China and former Soviet Union's fault? Or was the problem with the Western capitalist nations? Either way, the U.N. has let millions of innocent people die, starve, re-locate under duress, and lose their lands and livelihoods.

2. Capitalism works; the Adam Smith principle of economic self interest applies to the human condition, but we need magnanimous governments and social programs to look after the unempowered.

3. Some people, through heinous acts, deserve the death penalty, after a trial by their peers and good legal representation and due process and proper evidence and incontrovertible conviction.

4. Police and law enforcement do the right thing most of the time in the United States. There are some police that make mistakes, but we have systems in place to stop the corruption and abuse of power that occurs among those who enforce the law.

5. White collar crime is despicable; those who commit it should pay more to society, in effect they are robbing the honest hard workers of the world and setting us back very far. 

6. Some government and corporate entities take more from the people that support them than they contribute. We need to help change these practices and abuses.

7. It is hard to prove that any God is above in heaven. Many people have reasons to believe in a Supreme Being or other supernatural powers. It is understandable why people do not believe.

8. Most of us are hypocrites, since it is hard to match all our opinions with our actions. Hail to the people that match their expectations and deeds.

9. I believe that racism is one of the worst things in the world. Cultural superiority and ethnocentrism tend to be worse in our day and age.

10. Wars are very unfortunate events, most of the time resulting from greed.

11. There are legitimate reasons to go to war.

12. Religions mean to achieve greater goods. 

13. Many or most religions are exploited and people use them, like any organization, to get away with less than noble things.

14. Some economic plans can ruin many peoples' lives. Other economic plans and processes help a lot of people.

15. I do not like vulgar expressions and words. I understand why some people like them.

16. I do not like drugs and mind altering substances. I understand why some people use them, like them, abuse them, and sell them.

17. Making money is good, and being generous with those funds is the best thing.

18. Standing up for and defending the weak is the best thing anyone can do.

19. Exploring new places and conserving the nature that we already enjoy is hugely important.

20. Good stories and entertainment are key to helping us grow and develop.

21. Non-fiction stories and history, all our human sciences, all add up to really knowing who we are.

22. We all should be free in who and what we each love. Some types of love or likes are not appropriate.

I will stop here.

It is good to sleep, get rest, exercise, eat well, muse good things, and pray and sing, or dance, or however people get close to their higher self.

 Memories of May

It is now the end of May, which has been an interesting time for many of us. Perhaps not a great month for some, like the Palestinians in Gaza and some others across the Holy Land, but it has been all right for me. I have made a lot of new friends through work, which has been fun, and hopefully productive. I could wax on about this May 2021, but I will hopefully report more about his current month in the future months and years of my upcoming days.

Past Mays have their charms and forgotten memories, to use a phrase coined by my father that he penned in a book called "Lost Memory", an action tale about a man who cannot remember who he is or where he is, or why he does thing. Funny, I read the book but I cannot recall why his memory was erased.

Most of us have so much of our memories "erased" by natural attrition, so many of us like to recall the good and the bad of life by reminiscing, recording, or in some way tapping into our individual and collective memories of the past. Most of us know there are lessons to be learned (from the past), good and happy stories to share in order to liven up our own selves and collective meanings and significances, to ourselves and others, and recall the bad or painful to see how to improve, how to avoid such things, how to move on and live better, in most cases.

We carry with us memories, but we (most of the human race) forget so much. Rare is the person who can remember it all. Apparently there are a few wild ones who can recall everything. Even by date.

What were past Mays for me?

May 1989, finishing my last high school classes and preparing to travel to Spain. Preparing to go on a mission for my church, which call would arrive in July and to me in August.

May 1990, moving from Mulchen to the big city of Concepcion, Chile. Becoming a senior companion to Elder Trincado, living with the Solis family at the end of the dead end called Mahuzier.

May 1991, ensconced in the city of Angol, enjoying my time as Zone Leader of many missionaries, learning to get along with my new American companion Elder Potter from small town Shelly, Idaho.

May 1992, finishing my first semester of college at Indiana University, mixing socially with other college age adults, figuring out how to go about doing the classes at a good enough level but also planning my next move, which included moving away.

May 1993, successfully transferred to Provo, Utah, to be an undergraduate of Brigham Young University, transitioning from one student dorm with mostly freshmen to a summer dormitory with a greater mix of international students, getting to know a young lady as a girl friend.

May 1994, returned from study abroad in Chile to be back in Provo and prepare to live in the Arabic house by campus, waylaid by the Heritage housing, taking Arabic early mornings and enjoying the pleasant Utah summer.

May 1995, ending my studies at BYU with the upcoming study abroad in Israel and Palestine, seeing about visiting my sister in Miami but not doing that.

May 2000, ending the school year as a high school teacher in San Bernardino, happily engaged to my sweetheart, preparing for the wedding a little after my classes were to end.

May 2001, finishing my second year of teaching secondary education, my wife swollen with our first baby, ready for a summer of relaxing while getting ready for the new life of graduate school of UCLA, a move of some 75 miles away.

May 2013, abiding by the warmer days of a military base in a foreign land, working out at the gym and joining a basketball team, learning new skills and making due with the friendships that were available.

May 2017, working at a job that provided plenty of challenges, not too far away, figuring out side jobs and duties, helping the family as I could.

May 2020, working part time at the office, watching the boys play baseball ---NO! Pandemic. Past Mays. The kids were quarantined, I was mostly at home. I think my older son was working hard on a back yard pool with the others in tow.

Mays come and Mays go.

Let us remember the memories of May.

I am thankful for all mine.