If any one is interested, the net meets on Saturdays at 8:30 am and Mondays at 9:00 pm on VHF 147.27+  and is also linked on UHF 447.30- (PL 100).

Ezra Taft Benson
October 1988 General Conference

Daddy, when will Jesus come out of Heaven?
Daddy, if I do something bad, will I not be able to live in heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus?

I’m glad that I know the answers to these and, therefore, was able to help him better understand.

Well 2009 has been a fun year.  Sometimes we wonder if life will ever slow down!  We got our Ham radio licenses this year and Michael, at least, is enjoying talking to people on the air.

Mikey is finally potty trained and is learning to put letters together to make words.   He loves Geotrax trains, Thomas the Tank Engine, the movie Cars, and any cartoon on TV.  Mikey will be turning 4 in January and is excited to be a Sunbeam at Church.

Josh is slowly starting to talk and loves to do whatever his big brother is doing.  He is becoming Mr. Independent and doesn’t want anyone’s help in doing things.  He will be turning 2 in March.

Michael has finally earned an Associate’s degree and is still working hard at fixing computers.  In February, he started working as the Director of Information Technologies for an INC 500 company here in Las Vegas.  He still manages his computer repair business, Las Vegas Geeks, as well so he stays busy.   

Amanda was released from the Relief Society Presidency this past year and has been in Nursery ever since.  A few months later, Mike was called to teach in Nursery as well so it’s a great team.  She is a wonderful Mother and Wife.  She loves couponing and we are all impressed by her savings.

Love,

Michael, Amanda, Mikey, and Josh Cox

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this week. Over the last decade the only requirement to win the prize was that the nominee had to be critical of George W. Bush (see Al Gore, Mohamed El Baradei and Jimmy Carter).
President Obama has broken new ground here. Nominations for potential winners of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ended on February 1. The president took office only 12 days earlier on January 20.
Let’s take a look at the president’s first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize:

January 20: Sworn in as president. Went to a parade. Partied.
January 21: Asked bureaucrats to re-write guidelines for information requests. Held an “open house” party at the White House.
January 22: Signed Executive Orders: Executive Branch workers to take ethics pledge; re-affirmed Army Field Manual techniques for interrogations; expressed desire to close Gitmo (how’s that working out?)
January 23: Ordered the release of federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries. Lunch with Joe Biden; met with Tim Geithner.
January 24: Budget meeting with economic team.
January 25: Skipped church.
January 26: Gave speech about jobs and energy. Met with Hillary Clinton. Attended Geithner’s swearing in ceremony.
January 27: Met with Republicans. Spoke at a clock tower in Ohio.
January 28: Economic meetings in the morning, met with Defense secretary in the afternoon.
January 29: Signed Ledbetter Bill overturning Supreme Court decision on lawsuits over wages. Party in the State Room. Met with Biden.
January 30: Met economic advisers. Gave speech on Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Met with senior enlisted military officials.
January 31: Took the day off.
February 1: Skipped church. Threw a Super Bowl party.

So there you have it. The short path to the Nobel Peace Prize: Party, go to meetings, skip church, release federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries, party some more.

Let’s face it: most Americans live in a world of false security. This is somewhat understandable, given the fact that the majority of the U.S. population was born after 1945. Few remember the dangers and hardships of World War II; fewer still remember the Great Depression. Few Americans know what it’s like to not have some sort of “supercenter” nearby with shelves stocked with every kind of food imaginable, twenty-four hours a day. Few know what life was like before there were restaurants of all sizes and types on virtually every street corner in America. And only a handful remembers when most roads were unpaved, or when sports were truly a pastime and not a megabuck obsession.

Modern living within the world’s only “superpower” has created a giant unsuspecting, soft, lackadaisical, and lethargic society. We expect the government to keep our streets safe, our roads paved, our stores stocked, our jobs secure, and our enemies at bay. However, in the desire to make government the panacea for all our problems, we have sold not only our independence, but also our virtue.

Where the federal government was contracted (via the U.S. Constitution) to accept limited power for the overall good of both states and people, it has become a monster of gargantuan proportions, claiming authority over virtually every liberty and right known to man. And in the process, it decided it didn’t need God, either.

It is no hyperbole to say that the U.S. federal government has been on a “Ban God” bandwagon for the past 50 years. Whether it kicks prayer and Bible reading out of school, bars military chaplains from praying in Jesus’ name, burns Bibles in Iraq, removes state supreme court chief justices from their positions for posting the Ten Commandments, or threatens high school principals with jail for asking the blessing, the federal government has invoked the judgment of Heaven upon our country as surely as did Old Testament Israel.

Although the comfortable, sports-crazed, TV addicts probably aren’t paying attention, this country is on the verge of an implosion like you cannot believe. For anyone who cares to notice, the signs are everywhere.

First of all, Israel and Iran are on the verge of war. And right now, I’m not concentrating on the “why” or “who’s right or wrong” of the equation. I’m simply telling you, war between Israel and Iran could break out at any time. And when it does, the chances that it will not become nuclear and not become global are miniscule. Yes, I am saying it: the prospects for nuclear war have never been greater. The CBS-canceled TV show, JERICHO, could become a reality in these United States in the very near future. (I strongly urge readers to purchase both seasons of JERICHO and watch them, because this could be our future.)

Secondly, America is on the verge of total financial collapse. By the end of this year, America’s budget deficit will stand at around $2 trillion. The debt gap is many trillions more than that. But the nail in the coffin for America’s fiscal health will be the decision by China to dump the U.S. dollar. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the death knell for our financial stability (and a painful lesson in sowing and reaping).

It is estimated that China owns around one-third of all U.S. debt. If and when China dumps the U.S. dollar, there would be nothing left to stabilize it, and Weimar Republic/Zimbabwe-style inflation will ensue. America will be thrust into financial chaos. (If one doubts that China is planning to dump the dollar, consider that China is currently purchasing and stockpiling gold at an unprecedented level. This is why gold has suddenly surged to over $1,000 per ounce and why it will continue to rise.)

Third, the paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of “government solution.” If they keep hyping this “pandemic,” mass hysteria and fear (created by the government and its lackeys in the media) will result. This would, no doubt, necessitate some form of forced vaccination, quarantine (maybe this is what all those internment camps will be used for), and martial law.

Exactly how and when all of the above will actually materialize is yet to be seen. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that within the next few months, the world that we know today is going to vanish. And most Americans are totally unprepared for what’s coming.

If you are able to get out of debt, do it. If you need to scale down your lifestyle in order to be better prepared for difficult days, do it. If you don’t have guns and ammo, buy them. If you have not prepared some sort of preserved food pantry, do it. If you don’t have some kind of survival plan in place for you and your family, get one. If you are not physically fit, get in shape. If you are able to move to a more secure, out-of-harm’s-way location, do it. (During any kind of financial or societal meltdown, urban areas will quickly turn into war zones. Can anyone say, “New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina”?) In other words, get your nose out of the boob tube, get your bottom off the easy chair, and get busy.

Am I worried or discouraged? Absolutely not! (But I am preparing.) The potential good that may result from all of the above is that perhaps God will protect and raise up a remnant of people who would be willing to rebuild a place where Natural Law is respected, constitutional government is revered, and where a ubiquitous, loathsome, overbearing federal government is far, far away. You know, like America’s Founding Fathers did 233 years ago.

In the meantime, get ready. It’s going to be a rocky road.

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090922.html

Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970)
Out of These Roots: Journey Through Chaos-1944

Ezra Taft Benson
General Conference, October 1961

1. By diplomatic recognition and aid, and trade and negotiations with the communists.
2. By disarmament of our military defenses.
3. By destruction of our security laws and the promotion of atheism by decisions of the Supreme Court.
4. By loss of sovereignty and solvency through international commitments and membership in international organizations.
5. By undermining of local law enforcement agencies and Congressional investigating committees.
6. By usurpations by the executive and judicial branches of our federal government.
7. By lawlessness in the name of civil rights.
8. By a staggering national debt with inflation and a corruption of the currency.
9. By a multiplicity of executive orders and federal programs which greatly weaken local and state governments.
10. By the sacrifice of American manhood by engaging in wars we apparently have no intention of winning.”

Ezra Taft Benson
An Enemy Hath Done This (1969), p. 40,

Howard W. Hunter
BYU devotional, March 8, 1966