Afternoon ramble

Now, to remember what I was thinking... oh yeah!

 

You know how we try in vain to explain the unexplained and smarty pants people try to answer our prayers and then say “ha ha! and you thought God did it.” Well, I used to say that he did cause God uses us all to answer prayers. But, in the kitchen, just now I was thinking something even cooler. I was thinking about how the way I understand Lucifer’s interference with God’s plan as anything but good, is that I think about what he did and although he had to do it, and I do not know what his intentions were, though, they may have been well meaning, it boils down to him not knowing the will of God... or as way explained to me so well, he did not know the Mind of Our Father. This is the same thing I think about others who do good or ill and try to manipulate outcomes.

 

It has been said that it is terrible to allow others to win. I think of how sad it was to Joseph Smith when he lost the missing pieces of manuscript that he translated from the book of Mormon, and he honestly thought his soul had been lost. This was not the case. In actuality it was foreseen and things were done to allow such mischief. I am certainly not welcoming evil I am just seeing clearly how it can be forgiven and even allowed for.

 

It is a hopeful thing. But, there have been some very significant situations where failure was almost necessary. The most obvious being: Adam fell that man might be. so, no matter what one is enduring or looking at dreadfully thinking, “I will wait for a better way.” be assured that God already knew and holds his arms out still. It seemed like in a black and white world, a thing had been done that left man alone forever (alone meaning without God), but, he knew this and allowed for a way for man to repent.

 

 That is the BEST news. no hurdle can be placed too high.... oh great, now I’m singing “Ain’t no mountain high enough...”

Intelligent life

It seems to be a big to do searching the universe for intelligent life. Even "top minds" are working towards that end and there seems to be quite the media attention and ample funding. Heck even Hollywood has cashed in on this search with movies like Contact.

But, I wonder if we might have more success if we searched well, here. I mean, if more untapped intelligence was found it would increase our resources tremendously. I really doubt no one considered the pros of searching for intelligent life in our solar system, more specifically on earth.

I bet for every Einstein and Hawking there are potentially several with the same level of "intelligence" with as much or even more to contribute. I saw it all the time in college music. Very few ever get regarded by the population as great musicians, and is often the case, the ones noted represent the people's taste, but definitely not the finest of musicians. My own Hero, who I still regard as a great man, years later, wtote on his debut cd sleeve that he did not choose to be a greatly regarded musician, it sort of happened. It was his talent. He shared it. BOOM! It was cultivated to a greater degree and an incredible star is born.

I suspect that for every success, and by success I mean one whom the population as a whole becomes aware of, there are many, many who are never recognized.

I do not mean to distract from or belittle the search for intelligent life besides our own culture. I merely think, we ought to stop neglecting the search on earth. It is like how we are taught to help the nation, start by helping yourself and your family. Too often, in lieu of seeing a better way to help, we fail to focus thinking we are seeing the BIG PICTURE.

I have an example. Know those vanity mirrors that magnify? They are use to bring attention to a small blemish or flaw that might go undetected for what it is when looking at the larger image. Without the focused narrow view the big picture looks wrong, but who knows why? Maybe the better metaphor would have been a microscopic camera used by a surgeon.

I think to ever find truly intelligent life we need to first see it here. The Earth is full of untapped intelligence. Who hasn't wished their father or friend could run the country instead of the popularly chosen leader. I mean, why is someone the best one for the job necessarily?

In conclusion, I suggest we find intelligent life out there by first finding it here.

Alma

Del coooooore, spirito d...wait. do over.

This is significant somehow. I was pondering how little things seem to light up at times whereas normally they do not. This happened to me when I stumbled upon these words:

But he fled from before them and hid himself that they found him not. And he being concealed for many days...

My instant thought was not at all profound. It was totally mundane. "What would one do for food if hidden for many days?"

But, then The Real treasures started unfolding, it came to quick, or maybe I was too busy thinking apologies for what I fail to do that I miss more that I could later apologize for...ha ha ha. This was a metaphor for something significant to me, I need to learn more and pay closer attention.

Ok, so I came home and watched cartoons of Alma, 2 of them actually, one specifically about Abinadi and the other about Alma the Younger. I did this so I could half pay attention while I washed the dishes, so that any free cognitive functioning could be immersed inconsidering what was going on here, although I hadn't the time to consider it right now.... oooooh, ooooh, ooooh! That reminds me of how I used to study for my history tests in high school in my dreams becsuse I did not have time when I was awake... anyhow, in the first cartoon, a thing Alma said struck me (mind you he did not actually say this, it was someone's interpretation of what likely transpired). "I have taught these people terrible things" This was a thought he had, no doubt, while hiding for his life in a cave for days, also, the quotes were probably unnecessary because it is an approximation made days later.

So, I watched Alma the Younger so many times. I needed to check which one I was watching because it seemed like a thought the son would have, not the father, so a thought was spurned.

I always thought of this Alma guy as being strong, firm, exact, you know, a reliable, dependable, strong guy who was able to exercise great fsith in behalf of his son, thereby helping him. But, these were his thoughts when stuck in a cave pondering seriously life meaning, etc.

Ah hah! I got it. I know what it is. This is a testimony that when faced with life and death, this man risked his livelihood even his existence for something he thought so significant which were taught by Abinadi. He was forced to seriously consider things and this was what he decided: to become the sort of man who lead and taught and was strong, like the apostle Paul. Not because he had been brainwashed, but because he recognized worth when compared to what he had.

Alma was not just enjoying a "worldly life" but, was a chosen priest of the King. When a crazy prophet came and told of different things. Things that were contrary to the supposed happiness of his way of life to the point that the majority of the priests put the crazy guy to death by fire for condeming their way of life and sought out Alma's life, too (for agreeing with Abinadi).

So, like father: like son, I never even noticed that before. In "Mormonspeak" I was thinking this was a "type and shadow" of Christ, himself  in a cave for three days then rebirth....I just saw a show on Netflix about the archetypes of hero stories defined by Joseph Campbell and thought, maybe that is the center or underlying truth of every hero story, they all are "types" of Jesus Christ. Afterall, even the law of Moses and sacrifice is understood clearly as such.