I read Mosiah 6 quite a while ago, but didn't have the chance to write anything about it.  I re-read it again tonight, along with chapter 7. The last verse of chapter 7 hit me years ago, when I realized the bondage to which the Lord is referring is not only physical bondage, but easily can refer to addictions, beliefs, people, choices, anyt...

I've been reading a few books and websites lately on the "geography of the Book of Mormon", and see that it is quite a contentious point for many people!  A desire to understand the BOM geography was the specific thing that got me into reading the Boook of Mormon for the first time on my own.  That isn't to say that my testimony...

I just got done reading the book "A Man Named Dave", after reading "The Lost Boy", and 6 years ago, "A Child Called It". Ya know...  To a certain extent, I enjoy doing things from time to time, to keep myself grounded.  To keep myself living in a reality close to what is real for everyone else.  I do t...

It seems to me like this chapter has a very deep meaning, but I couldn't quite get it this time. The whole chapter is about making covenants, and becoming a child of Christ. It's interesting that after verses 2, 3, and 4, the last word on verse 4 is "joy".  After they had heard the word of God, had their hearts changed through ...

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With the new design of ILMJ, I thought it fitting for people to be able to add their own static links on their blogs...  Doing so is very easy. A "page" in your blog is simply an entry which stays in the left-hand column on both your main blog site, and each individual entry, as is illustrated below: So, as you can see,...

Hi there!  I'm PoeticIntensity I guess this is my journal...  still. I started journaling when I was 14, in 1990, as a new years resolution.  I had no idea then just how much I would get into journaling. It took me 12 years, off and on, to transcode all of my 3000+ journal entries, and then put them into a database.  I ...

SO I've always wannted to go to Rcks ( BYU IDAHO) well two more years and I'm so there. I got my PA to help me find info about it, today I had a pack from the collage come in the mail. I was so exited! The best part it, Sara is also planning on going that same time I am! That would be the best thing to ever happen to me.  I mean Sara is my ...

I wrote this the otherday. It's not really what I write a lot of, so I ain't too sure about it. Let me know what you think please.   I'm gonna let my hair fall down, Sit and watch the rain Come around. Each drop is a beautiful sound... Shut my eyes so My heart can see, All that your love dose to me. Take my heart and ...

Today I needed to sync a file on two servers using ssh, and I needed to do it automatically.  I knew that ssh could use key-pairs to enable a secure authentication system without requiring passwords, but I couldn't remember how to do it.  I googled a bit and found this gem of a tutorial on how to do precisely what I needed:  I'll pos...

I just finished reading the first talk given during the Priesthood Session of conference. Elder Cook talks of the need to give heed to the words of our prophets. I think of the things in my life I'm doing wrong, and I feel the truth in his words.  I need to heed the prophet's counsel more earnestly in many areas of my life. I think of th...

Alright..  I'm just typing this entry for mostly the purpose of trying out my new keyboard I got at work.  For the past employments I've had, probably for the past 2 years, I've used the Microsoft Natural 4000 keyboard, and to be honest, it took a long time to get used to.  The buttons were too far apart, and it just felt a bit more ...

I love Moroni's strategy.  With God on his side, he seems almost unstoppable. So Ammoron decides to be a jerk about the letter-sending, and what-not, so Moroni's like, "Dude...  You did NOT just say that!  A'ight, then, we'll see who gets to keep prisoners around here!!" Let's see what could have gone wrong with this st...

When I sit and think about what I just read, the 14th chapter of 1st Nephi is pretty crazy. Just a few points... The majority of the chapter is all about the "mother of abominations" and the "whore of all the earth". I believe it's written here to clarify the impact this (these) church(es) has (have) had upon the plain and...

First thing I noticed in this chapter is verse 1.  He tells his children that Christ will show himself unto them.  How is this possible if this was written approximately 550 years before Christ would come?  Very interesting...  I'll have to research that. Verse 7 pops out at me like a bolt of lightning.  I've been lookin...

A couple of days ago, I wrote a post about failure and innovation.  I had just seen the movie "Meet The Robinson's" which is a movie all about creativity, failures, leaving the past behind you, and always looking forward. Well...  Orson Jones gave a pretty incredible link in the 1 comment in that post. The comment containe...

Wow...  Moroni doesn't mix words, does he...  Reading this through as much of an objective filter as possible, I'd say there's some serious judgements going on.  Moroni blatantly calls Ammoron a "child of hell", and tells him that his brother went to hell.  heh...  Pretty gutsy, if ya ask me.  Going off of wh...

Man...  I've been having mixed emotions about the oncoming trip to California for a number of reasons.  I mean, this trip really has been putting both me and my wife through the ringer.  First, I got a new job, and am being quite challenged by my new tasks there.  Taking time off to go on a vacation right now isn't the best idea...

something I've never really learned? Yup. Today was the day I found out that one major part of my new job is to handle a data feed made purely of XML. Do I know anything about XML? Yes.. But have I ever done anything with it? Yes. How much? One simple little flash dealio, and I did that over 3 years ago. So... My point? I've gotta learn ...

Heh... I remember a couple of months back (or has it been a year now?) when Microsoft announced to the world that the years of delay were now over, as they were finally releasing the famed Microsoft Vista Operating System!!!!!! The world (and peasants) rejoiced. About a week after that, my father called me up and told me he was considering th...

Seems like chapter 29 is all about "spurning", and to be honest, I really don't know what that means.  The word is used 4 times in 3 verses, and is used no where else in scripture.  It's definitely something we shouldn't do, and may be related to "hissing" or "making game".  Very interesting. I believe...

The first thing I noticed this time, is that apparently, Helaman had never had any proof of the existence of the plates of gold Alma and the previous prophets were writing on.  Not entirely sure why that caught my fancy this time, but it did.  I guess keeping the historical records was a pretty sacred thing back then.  I wonder if th...

Okay...  First question about this chapter which really intrigues me is this:  Why would Moroni immediately assume wickedness on the part of the Nephites as soon as Nephihah was taken over? I don't ask this question rhetorically, or sarcastically because if I were him, I guess I could think of a thousand other reasons why a city would g...

About a month ago, our bishop told us that the fast offering fund for the poor people in our ward is running low, and that we should consider giving a generous offering. I thought we should definitely consider doing so, but in the end, I forgot all about it. Today, however, our Bishop dedicated the entire sacrament meeting to the topic of sacri...

In response to this talk, I catch myself wondering how many degrees off I am.  Everyone makes mistakes, and I know the mistakes I make, and I wonder how far I am from the iron rod. I'm fairly certain I can figure this out quite easily through prayer, and if need be, receive the needed help to get back to where I should be. Good solid talk,...

Chapter 29 of Alma is such a good chapter - on so many levels, too. How would it feel like to want the good of mankind so badly, that it caused you to take time to carve your feelings out in brass plates?  Putting all the doctrine of this wonderful chapter aside, the beginning verses give me a tiny glimpse into the type of desires living a p...

Man...  I can only imagine what Ammon's joy truly felt like.  After reading D&C 18:15-16, I begin to see why Ammon fainted due to overwhelming joy so many times throughout his mission.  Dedicating a full chapter to nothing but the rejoicing of Ammon seems perfectly reasonable. I always thought his brothers were kind of rude to ...

Man... This past month has been a friggin' whirlwind.  I refuse to believe November is nearly gone. Anyway...  Jesse and I are almost done with our debut Christmas album, "Herod the Fink", and while recording the last drum session, I thought it might be cool to see what I look like when I play.  Well, as fate would have i...

Ya know...  The first thing that hit me while beginning this chapter was this:  How in the world did Noah get selected to be king? I mean, really.  Verse 1 lets us know Zeniff had at least two sons.  Could his other son be that much worse than Noah was?  Burning a prophet of God at the stake?  C'mon...  I w...

 Woo, baby, am I tired! One thing that I often think about while pondering the Gospel is how blessed I am to live in a time where the fulness of the Gospel is available - and not only available, but I was born into a practicing family, and have made the life choices necessary for me to continue worthy to obtain the blessings given to God's c...