Some thoughts about Pascal's Wager

I was thinking this morning about Pascal's Wager. Sally and I happened to watch this tonight, and it really supports what Pascal said.

I really loved how brilliant the stars were when I looked up in the Namib Desert and in the Karoo.

I have spent a fair amount of time in the Namib Desert. I picked up an interesting thing in the middle of the desert, and it really looked amazingly like a Kodak Instamatic camera, complete with what looked just like the letters KODAK. It is amazing how it even had what looked just like a film behind what looked just like a door at the back. All just by pure chance.

Would you believe that it was just pure chance? I certainly did not. I loved how much light I could see in the sky above the desert. I loved how much life I saw in the desert, even when it just looked like grains of sand, but after the rain on one occasion some of those 'grains of sand' proved to be seeds of grass, and the desert looked like a wonderfully green meadow.

Science reassured me that if I research with the theory that He is there, I will find evidence. If I followed the examples of some of my colleagues and teachers and looked for reasons to doubt, I would find reasons to doubt.

I challenge everyone who reads this to watch this movie. I challenge them to ask sincerely if God does not exist, and examine how you feel. Then, be open and ask sincerely if God does exist, and examine how you feel. Do your parents and family love you? How can you measure it and study it under a microscope? You just know. You can 'just know' that God exists by the love and peace that you feel, just like I did as a little child reflecting on how the peace and comfort that I was feeling right then, as I felt the Spirit of God, was like the peace and comfort that I felt in the loving environment in my family. You can know just as I know, and as millions know, if you follow the same recipe that I, and they, followed.

My witness of the source of mankind

I watched an inspiring thing on YouTube How Modern Archaeology CONFIRMS the Bible in which Corey East answers this question, explains what archaeology is, and emphasizes the importance of a biblical worldview. I felt impressed to share this with her and others who will watch it. To date, nearly 4000 people have Liked her presentation.

Corey working on one of her first experiences in an archaeological dig.

I appreciate your insights and witness of the Bible, Corey East

I studied botany and zoology as majors, but my studies included chemistry, physics, biochemistry, genetics, and so forth. I then spent decades working in nature, ecology, and with the wonders of creation from desert to forest and everything in between in South Africa that is an exceptional part of the world in terms of natural resources, especially biodiversity.

After many years, thoughts came to my mind that we tend to think that things are just the same now as they were in the past. This brought to me the same conclusion that I heard in a film about 50 years ago - Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton or someone of their calibre asked the question "Who keeps winding the clock?" While pondering this, it occurred to me that if I use a gas cooker or gas lamp, I need to keep on refilling the gas bottle. It loses mass as mass is changed to energy in the form of heat or light. The Sun at the centre of our Solar System is constantly converting mass to energy, and the Earth is continually absorbing energy. The gravitational attraction between Sun and Earth is affected by the mass of each body. That being said, how many seconds was a year 6000 years ago in the time of Adam and Eve?

I also wondered about the levels of radioactivity if they are continually depleting by about 50% every 300 years, as an example, then just 6000 years ago, in the time of Adam and Eve, ambient levels of radioactivity would have been 1 million times higher than they are at present - what effect would that have on genetic mutation, general health with us not walking about wearing lead protection, and on the rate of decay of radioactive substances?

Things cannot simply have always just been the same as they are now with gravitation changing and radioactivity changing, and these are only two of so many variables! And yet, mariners have been using the same stellar constellations for navigation for thousands of years! so - who keeps on winding the clock? Who keeps on filling the gas bottle?

I have also pondered about the last speciation event that apparently occurred - there are various suggestions that there might be species that have developed recently, but it is clear that thousands go extinct compared to a few possible new species over recent years. That does not sound like it is sustainable, especially to explain the millions of species that have been described.

All in all, my faith is in an intelligent Creator rather than the suggested chance-phenomena as the explanation for all of the truly amazing ecosystems that I have seen including things like species-specific pollination. I appreciate your input into this faith-building experience that I have had where I have learned so much from the Spirit that no man has taught to me.
Blessings on you in your work helping to build faith in Jesus Christ as the Creator of whom John said 'All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.' and of His Father who sent Him to be our Messiah and He said "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

As part of my journey, I have read the works of Charles Darwin and came to the conclusion that he actually was bearing witness of creation rather than evolution, but was working with the lenses that were available to him in his university experience studying theology and pondering science. I salute him for his wonderful thoughts that he shared based on what he had available to him. People have built their own philosophies on what they interpret from Darwin's and other authors' writings, but often avoiding reading the Bible and pondering what it actually describes. I appreciate what Corey shares about the word of God contained in the Bible text.

I certainly do not have all of the answers, but I am confident that we are not the result of chance phenomena, but of a carefully planned  creation by an intelligent and loving Creator. I do not only know about Him, but through my study and praying I have come to know Him. I know that anyone who does what I did will also come to know Him.

The Priesthood—a Sacred Gift

I was asked to speak in our Milnerton ward sacrament meeting today, and to lead a discussion in the Elders Quorum about Pres. Russel M Nelson's October 2023 General Conference talk Think Celestial. Well, let me share my thoughts with anyone else who might be interested to read them and consider my boring observations 😉😉

In the process of preparing, I read a talk by Pres Dieter F Uchtdorf from October 2012 The Joy of the Priesthood and the two talks following it given by Henry B Eyring and Thomas S Monson. The talk Think Celestial also added valuable thoughts, as did going through an articles by Denelson Silva, Seek Diligently and You Will Find, included in the January 2024 Liahona. My thoughts also turned to many exciting experiences that I have had in Heavenly Father's wonderful Creation, and in priesthood service in His great work. Well, I hope that you enjoy my rambling thoughts...

Pres. Uchtdorf started off by recalling how he and some friends restored an antique airplane - a  1937 Piper Cub that had become run down. He shared how it was a great joy to fly it with his teenage son, and be reminded that the Piper Cub was not built for speed - cars on the autobahn in Germany would drive faster than they could fly when facing a headwind. He then related how he had flown in a sophisticated F-18 fighter jet and was reminded that being a jet fighter pilot is a young man’s game. In both the Piper Cub and the F-18, he felt the excitement, beauty, and joy of flight.

This turned my thoughts to many of my experiences working in beautiful forests, beautiful deserts, and many other landscapes created by the Lord. There are wonderful forests in the kloofs of Table Mountain. There is a small desert close to Cape Town - at the Tankwarivier about 200km from Cape Town, and there are delightful forests in the Cedarberg just 50 or so kilometres from this patch of desert.

I recall these Namib Desert dunes in February 1999 that normally are bare sand dunes,
but they looked green following recent rains. 

When close up, we could see how there was a lot of bare ground,
but at an angle the grass was hiding the bare ground making
the dunes or ground look green. This reminded me of what my mother frequently quoted 
'It takes the effort of every blade of grass to keep the meadow green'.

These are some of the wonderful Outeniqua Forests near to Knysna. 

So very different from the Namib Desert.

This also reminded me of some of our experiences visiting different sized wards and branches. When we were married in the Salt Lake Temple, we attended a ward sacrament and testimony meeting in Cottonwood Creek in the Salt Lake Valley. The chapel had more members in it than we have in a very well attended stake conference in Cape Town. There was probably a full Deacons Quorum of 12 deacons serving the sacrament to that large congregation, and probably only one in about 150 people got to share their testimonies compared to about 1 in 10 in our ward. The Elders Quorum was possibly large enough that there might have been two Elders Quorums in the ward. Home teachers probably visited a next-door neighbour, or someone well within walking distance. It would probably be very rare for an elder or high priest in that ward to get to administer or pass the sacrament in the chapel.

Compare that to our time in Nelspruit Branch some 5 years later where I was sometimes the only person, or one of two, blessing and passing the sacrament, and I would drive about 65 kilometres in our little Datsun 120Y to home teach a sister in Sabie, and then about 40 km to visit a brother in Barberton. 

I remember occasionally travelling about 22 kilometres from our home to Koeberg to home teach with Roux Lötter, or going about 100km to try and visit someone in Langebaan. It was a special occasion to see my two grandsons having their first experiences exercising the Aaronic priesthood as Josh blessed and Caleb passed the sacrament with their father Andrew. Then Caleb, then I, and then Andrew spoke in the sacrament meeting today.

Pres. Uchtdorf reminded us that the priesthood is the eternal power and authority of God. The men exercising that priesthood are mortal beings who are flawed and imperfect. The bishop, or Primary president acting with authority and keys conferred by the priesthood are here to serve as the Saviour served in Jerusalem, and not to be served. I loved hearing King Charles declare in his coronation as King of Great Britain that 'I am here to serve and not to be served'. The New Testament describes of Jesus of Nazareth served, and we are His agents and need to do as He would do if He were here, serving willingly and devotedly. 

My thoughts turned to our schools here, or anywhere in the world. If a 40-year old person who never had the opportunity to go to school were to decide to go to school, she or he would not be put into a matric or senior class, but in a Grade 1 class in order to learn the basic Three-Rs - Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. It would be hoped that they would take a lot less than 12 years to reach the matric level, but they would be helped along the way by being put into classes with pupils with a similar level of development. That is not through any intent of supremacy or superiority, but out of compassion with the hope that they would become suitably qualified to graduate with a matric so that they can be more valuable in helping to build the nation. 

It is such a blessing to reflect on a significant change in policy since I was a bishop less than ten years ago. There need to be two adults present in any child or youth class or activity. This means that there is a wonderful opportunity for a new or returning member who needs to build or reinforce their Gospel foundation to be one of the two adults in a Nursery, Primary or Youth class or activity. They can serve as Primary secretary or music leader and have the basic Gospel 3-Rs taught together with the children. The Lord knows each member and will guide the Primary president, or youth leader, or bishop, to know who He would have build that spiritual foundation. In a large ward, maybe they could serve as class president or secretary, or in our medium-sized ward as that second adult. 

In learning how to know who to call to serve, the Primary leader should go through Chapter 17 of the General Handbook, but should also go through chapters 1 to 4 for the foundation, and really all chapters to 38 to see where Primary fits in the whole Church. This will help significantly in building the new or returning members, and every member of the ward of branch.

Another wonderful insight that I have had over the years is how my serving in the Church has helped me to learn administrative, teaching and leading skills that were of great value to me in my employment, and many skills that I learned in my employment have been of great value in my service in the Church. I am impressed that the Lord knows every one of Hs children and will guide the Primary president or the bishop in knowing who to call to serve in every calling, and what calling is suitable for every member. I know a member who is baking bread for many people each Sunday morning and so rarely gets to attend sacrament meeting at 09:00. If we met at 17:00 this member would rarely miss a meeting. But if a leader were to ask the Lord, He might well inspire that leader to call this baker to teach, or be that second adult present, in a Seminary class on a Tuesday night. These are some of the blessing of the priesthood keys and responsibilities given to each bishop or organisation president. It is unfortunate that we often focus on what a person does not do or cannot do rather than looking at what the member could become.

Just as I learned about bits and bytes when I first started to use computers, a byte containing 8 bits, with a value of 256, and the Lord would have us magnify or multiply our callings or talents to two, then four, then 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, maybe even 1024 to form a kilobyte of talent. I suggest that the Lord is not lacking in any skill. He would not be deficient in any type or temperament that we describe in psychology, but that He has a wonderful balance of all types and temperaments. 

Heavenly Father wants His children to become creators of deserts and forests, wards, branches, families, countries, and the world. He knows what we can become and through the priesthood each of us can become everything that He wants us to become, learning as we go by serving as He would serve, whether in Primary, or exercising the priesthood, or in any way that we can in His Church. He would like us have great joy in flying our Piper Cub or F-16 jet, soaring above the clouds and enjoying the magnificence of His creation below us. I have a special testimony of this, and I share these thoughts in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Everything from a bee hive is a wonderful gift

Everything from the hive is a gift of medicine.

Honey is something nutritious and life sustaining that the bees give us freely.

Raw Honey is an anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial super food.

It is also now being used in treating open wounds because of these very properties.

I think the Lord made the honeybee for a very special purpose – more than just pollinating flowers – which helps us grow crops so we can have something to eat.

He created them to give us special insight into His nature and what He wants from us.

Some Bee’s to ponder on:

Bee a Hard Worker

Have you ever heard the expression “busy as a bee”?

There is a very good reason for that, as bees are some of nature’s hardest workers.

To make just one tablespoon of honey for your toast in the morning, a bee has to visit 4,200 flowers!

A worker bee will make up to 10 trips a day, visiting 400 flowers.

And to make just one pound of honey (450 g), worker bees need to visit more than 3 million flowers and travel the equivalent of three times around the world!

The bees don’t mind doing it, because they care about their hive.

The harder they work, the happier and more productive their colony can be.

In a bee colony, every bee has a job.

There are worker bees, queen bees, and drones.

The queen lays the eggs, and the workers find nectar and make honey.

Did you know, the male bee called a drone doesn’t have a stinger?

That means they can’t defend the hive, and not only that, they don’t gather nectar, make honey, or lay eggs.

At first, drones might appear to be a little worthless!

But in a hive, no one is worthless.

The drones help feed the larvae, then the babies, among other responsibilities.

They might not collect pollen or have the highest position in a beehive, but they do have a very vital part to play.

They give their all to do it.

Bee Respectful

Honeybees are very loyal to their queen.

They will go wherever the queen goes and do whatever is needed to make sure their leader is healthy and happy, and they’ll work hard to help the queen do her part for the hive.

The queen’s main job is to lays eggs so the colony will grow; everyone else really works to feed the larvae and protect the queen.

Bee Humble

Here’s an Amazing Fact:

A cousin of the honey bee is the bumblebee.

But that was not their original name.

Instead, they used to be called “humble bees”!

Evidently, way back in history, some English children couldn’t say “humblebee” very well, and instead they would say “bumblebee.”

This cute nickname stuck, and even adults started calling them “bumblebees.”

Bee Holy

A long time ago, a scientist claimed bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly based on aerodynamics, which is the study of flight. But – no-one told the bumble bee that, so it just carried on flying anyway.

Well, today they know how such a large insect with such small wings can fly, but at one point, some people thought it should have been impossible.

Of course, it isn’t impossible at all because the bumblebee keeps flying.

We should take a lesson from the humble bumblebee, which still flew when scientists said it should be impossible.

Bee Sure to Share and Serve

Honeybees will fly as far as 12 km (8 miles) in search of nectar – but usually within 3 km. But, consider that 3 km to a bee the size of 10 mm is like about 48 000 km for an average adult human!

Whenever they find what they are looking for, no matter where they find it, they will turn right around and make a “beeline” back to their hive so that all the bees can join in the good news and go off to get some nectar.

Did you know that most honeybees spend almost all of their time feeding other bees, rather than themselves?

And not only will you find a bee always ready to feed another bee, they’ll even feed bees from another colony!

This is why scientists call bees a social insect.

They like to interact and “bee” with one another; mutual feeding seems to be a part of that special relationship.

Did you know that bees produce a lot more honey than they need to feed themselves?

They always have an overflow that others — like you, me, and honey badgers, with a sweet tooth — can also have!

Bee Born Again

Did you know that in order for a bee to fly, it must be born twice?

After a queen lays an egg in a chamber, the drones get busy feeding the larva after it hatches.

When a larva gets big enough, the worker bees seal it in a tomb-like chamber where it begins to change, a process called metamorphosis.

When it is done with this transformation, it is “born again” as a new creature – an adult bee.

But it isn’t always easy.

When it’s finally done changing, it has to break out of the chamber, struggling and wiggling.

In the process, the bee actually breaks a membrane on its back that holds its wings down!

Eventually, their wings dry out and the new bees are able to fly.

Isn’t that incredible?

In other words, they are born twice and they’re able to fly only because they are re-born through a struggle.

Well, that’s exactly what it is like for you and for me.

Bees Are Amazing, and So Are You!

As a tour guide, I think that this information about honey and bees is of value for tour guides to share, and also the relationship to gum trees. I often mention, when going past gumtrees that, although it is an aggressive invasive, the presence of the gumtree in South Africa is permissible because of the fact that it enables bees to thrive and bees facilitate the production of about 76% of our agricultural crops. So, the gain outweighs the pain, or the pros exceed the cons... It is worth reading a document released by SANBI. Included in the debate is: 

• "Outside their natural ranges, eucalypts are both lauded for their beneficial economic impact and criticised for being ‘water-guzzling’ invasive aliens, leading to controversy over their total impact."; 
• "The listed species have been declared invasive because of their negative impact on water resources, biodiversity, erosion and increased fire risk."; 
• "The six gum species listed in South Africa as invaders need only be removed if they are not in the correct place in the landscape. Because gum trees have a value in society for their timber, as a bee foraging resource, and their ability to provide shade and wind protection, the new regulations only require the removal of gum trees where they are invasive or have a negative environmental impact."; and 
• "Gums in the correct place in the landscape are critical to honey bees"

Here’s one last Amazing Fact:

The brain of a bee is no bigger than the size of a small pinhead.

Yet despite their small-sized brains, bees have a very complex society, they communicate with one another, and they design and build one of the strongest homes on the planet, inside the dark beehive, called the honeycomb.

Sources:

Charles J. Adams, quoting from his long-time friend Pastor Chris Smit from Wilderness Pentecostal church, with some editing by Les Powrie.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/agriculture-and-seafood/animal-and-crops/animal-production/bee-assets/api_fs111.pdf

https://www.honeybeeheroes.com/#:~:text=More%20than%2050%20crops%20in,plums%E2%80%A6%20the%20list%20goes%20on!

https://www.sanbi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/infosheet-crop-plants-honey-bee-forage-19-11-2014.pdf

https://theconversation.com/what-honeybees-in-south-africa-need-from-people-better-managed-forage-166369

https://www.sanbi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/gumsbees-web-version-hyperlinks.pdf  

Faith is a real part of life for atheists, agnostics or irreligious

I was thinking a lot in the wee hours of this morning about the fact that faith is a real part of life - for everyone.

We tend to think that we live without faith in some things, but let me share how faith in the unknown and unseen is a reality for all - whether they acknowledge it or not.

Each and every one of us lives by faith in so many different aspects of our lives

Some think that they can simply dispel any thought of God because they believe that science indicates that it is possible for life to exist without divine intervention. There are knowledgeable people like Darwin that argue sufficiently strongly that the power of natural selection might have enabled all life - the millions of species of plant, insect, bird, reptile, fungus, and every other class of organism - to have evolved without any intervention by some divine power. And so they live their lives without regard for the inconveniences of the commandments that they reckon impact on their freedom, comfort and convenience by requiring sacrifice of some sort or another at the request of some unseen being.

Let me share at least three aspects of life in which each and every one of us demonstrates faith, and how there can be an impact on our freedom, comfort and convenience should we fail to abide by associated rules.

Electricity

We enjoy the benefits that we derive from electricity without fully comprehending the complexity of exactly what it is, and what is involved for us to be able to use that light, heater, air conditioner, stove, machine, computer, mobile phone, game, television, refrigerator, or whatever device that we are so accustomed to using that enables us to enjoy freedom, comfort and convenience. We might even chafe at the suggestion that we should reduce our consumption by turning off unnecessary lights, computers, heaters, and so forth. We do not always consider the complexity of the electricity infrastructure that needs to be adequately supplying vastly more electricity than is required for demand at any given time. Electricity needs to be available in the network of power lines, cables and wires for us to be able to use any electrical device whenever we wish to flip the switch. 

We tend to not think of the fact that those administering the power grid have to be adequately prepared with increasing capability to generate excess power in order to meet the continually increasing demands due to consumption due to an ever increasing population, industry, leisure and other needs. The leaders in South Africa and in several other parts of the world have failed to adequately prepare for the need for sufficient generating capacity to cater for these increasing demands. They need to prepare for outages due to planned maintenance of the existing generating facilities as well as unplanned failures of generating facilities due to insufficient coal, water or other sources of energy, or simply disasters like leaking nuclear plants. We might object to paying taxes and tariffs that are levied in order to make it possible to have the generating capacity that we enjoy - especially if we see any dishonesty in anyone in any level of the hierarchy involved. 

It is highly commendable that many people have opted to generate some power using solar or wind in order to reduce demand and increase supply.

We, in turn, often do not exercise restraint to not consume more than we actually need. Then we complain when there is an unplanned power failure or planned loadshedding because it impacts on our freedom, comfort and convenience. We each have rights, but we also each have responsibilities to help reduce demand and facilitate increasing supply.

We have great faith in electricity despite our lack of understanding everything involved in it.

Water supply

We have recently had a serious impact in Cape Town due to a shortage of water.  There had been less rainfall in previous years than is the norm and so our storage facilities were emptying at a rate that was in excess of the rate of inflow to meet the demands for water. 

This is not new - I remember my sister telling us of the shortage of water in England when she was there in the 1970s because there had been less rain in preceding weeks that was the norm. I remember dams being very low in parts of South Africa in about every decade or two of my life, and the rejoicing that we had when they were filled to overflowing with subsequent rains.

Many of us use water without due regard for our responsibility to conserve this valuable resource. We might fail to turn off water when it is not needed, to use less, to repair leaks, to stop using wasteful water features. We often carelessly allow water to flow out into the drainage system that feeds into our processing plants or into rivers that simply flow into the sea. 

During the recent time of crisis there was much complaint about the impacts on freedom, comfort and convenience that the water restrictions caused. Many of us installed water tanks that enabled us to harvest rain that did fall and thus reduce demand on public water supply. But many did not consider the needs for the authorities to cater for increased demand by building and maintaining water storage facilities, desalination plants, or other means of providing an adequate supply of fresh drinking water to meet the demands of a growing population and industry. Once again, many grumble about paying taxes and tariffs that enable the authorities to prepare to meet anticipated demand, especially when there is any hint of dishonesty in anyone in authority.

Viral infection

The world has been impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus that has seriously impacted on our freedom, comfort and convenience. We have been called upon to help reduce the spread of the virus by wearing masks, sanitising hands, exercising social distancing, reducing gatherings, staying at home, and many other serious impacts on our normal ways of living. We were initially required to stay at home in order to help the medical system to prepare adequately for meeting the demands for care, oxygen, and beds for those infected. Then we were asked to exercise personal responsibility in order to reduce the rate of spread of the virus due to thoughtless acts. Many complained about the costs to us in terms of taxes and tariffs, and the impact on freedom, comfort and convenience that has arisen, and too many have had super-spreader events or irresponsible behaviour that have caused the virus to spread to thousands of people who were particularly vulnerable due to age or specific health issues, and more recently the virus has been contracted by many younger people than was the case in the first wave in South Africa and other countries all around the world.

Conclusion

In each of these cases, we live by faith - faith in supply, faith in the planning of the authorities, faith in what we probably do not fully understand or comprehend, and what we certainly cannot easily see with our eyes. Those electrons moving in the power network, those impurities that are removed from our drinking water, those viruses that we cannot fully see or understand. We have to trust that other people have the required knowledge, understanding, foresight, wisdom, integrity, and whatever is required for us to be able to enjoy freedom, comfort and convenience. 

Despite our exercising faith in these ways, many ridicule those who live by faith in a divine plan, declaring it to be unreasonable. If we look carefully at what is happening in nature around us, we might be humble enough to acknowledge that we do not fully understand genetics, speciation, ecology, selection, and everything that is involved in order for a species to survive. We might also need to be humble enough to acknowledge that there might be a divine being who knows more than man does collectively. We might observe that we actually see a decline in species numbers over time and no evidence for new species forming despite the rapidly changing environmental niches that are supposed to have made it possible for new species to be selected and become established in the distant past. We do not necessarily have any personal experience with breeding flowers, rabbits, pigeons or anything to fully appreciate those selection processes described by Darwin for features like colour or size - let alone the innumerable characters that are not visible to the breeder and cannot be selected for, such as nuclear and mitochondrial characters that make species survive and thrive. But an all wise and knowing divine creator can select for these unseen characters.

Natural selection certainly is possible, but it is immeasurably improbable. It takes a certain amount of humility to accept that just maybe there is a divine power that has a plan and directs those selection processes that enable a species to survive. But - let's face it - man is really good at leading to the extinction of many species, resulting in a nett loss while we do not see the increase of species numbers through mutation, genetic isolation, mate selection, and ultimately the selection of new favoured races. 

All of these things denote to me that there is a God. I am comfortable in my mind that there is design and planning that has resulted in the wonderful freedom, comfort and convenience that we are able to enjoy on this planet Earth. I accept that I need to be responsible for enabling the provision of freedom, comfort and convenience for other humans and organisms by being careful in the choices that I make to not be wasteful, to not spread infections, to not be disrespectful of the freedoms, comfort and convenience of others. My living responsibly, paying taxes, tariffs, even tithes, is part of the way that I can help others to have a more meaningful experience in life, appreciating the abundant natural heritage that we do have and facilitating supply, rather than just demanding more and more in terms of freedom, comfort and convenience. I think often of that first instruction to man to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over all living things.

I am grateful for the commandments and guidance through prophets that have taught us about the divine creator who desires our eternal freedom, comfort and convenience and wants us to have that eternal perspective that will enable us to be part of the supply of solutions rather than simply adding to the problems arising from an ever increasing demand.

I have observed many people that are atheist, agnostic or irreligious demonstrating an innate divine nature of faith, hope and charity in their responses to the challenges of electricity supply, water supply, and COVID. It is unfortunate that I have seen some religions people who have demonstrated a lack of faith, hope and charity in some of the things that they have done or said in these same situations that we are all facing. I hope that I continue to demonstrate faith, hope and charity. That is the desire of my heart, even although I fail at most times to be a perfect example of what I intend to be.

Images 

Ken Powrie: Vaal Dam overflowing, 1967
https://toursofutah.com/blog/christus-statue-salt-lake-city-tours/
Walking with masks: Les Powrie

https://www.polity.org.za/article/eskom-unit-1-of-the-koeberg-power-station-returned-to-service-2015-06-02

The road to Emmaus and me

I have done several two or more hour walks recently in various settings, including karoo, succulent karoo and fynbos. My most recent walk was a 5¾ hour, 14 km walk on the front of Table Mountain and Devil's Peak, marvelling at seeing probably about 250 plant, fungus and lichen species. I love living in this part of the world where I am able to walk in these wonderful ecosystems.

I am touched by the story told of two men who lived about 1990 years ago. They were walking and conversing in a landscape very similar to the karoo. They were joined by a stranger at some stage of their journey of about two hours, and were guided by this stranger in their thinking and interpreting of an amazing experience that they had just witnessed in their country. I hope that I may help others to have wonderful experiences as I walk with them and share some of my thoughts with them.

A couple walking in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden

These two men were walking in an area not vastly different to the semi arid winter-rainfall succulent karoo vegetation. They had just witnessed a dramatic event in their city and were discussing it as they walked. They had had close affiliation with a really impressive character that they thought was going to lead them to victory against a foreign oppressive colonialist regime that ruled their land. At the very least, they anticipated some dramatic outcome for their people following all that they had seen their wonderful hero doing on a day to day basis in their country. 

Even with all of their wonderful expectations, their hero had just been killed by the foreign imperialist regime that they despised. It is true that a lot of their own people had hated their hero and had called for his execution, despite their own antagonism towards their foreign rulers. Their own leaders did not want to be ruled by these oppressive foreigners, but they hated this upstart commoner who had such popularity with some of their people. They just wanted him out of the way!

These two people were presenting the thoughts and anticipations that they and some others had about their hero, and the sudden and unexpected anticlimax to the story that they had to share. 

They were about to be guided by this stranger in reinterpreting their observations. 

The stranger initially reprimanded them for being slow of heart to believe in their hero that had been killed. But - he was dead! What good could he do now for their cause? What good would his death do for their cause? This stranger then recounted things that had been said hundreds of years before about this hero and that his death was not a defeat, but actually a victory. This was the very way that the enemy would be defeated - by their hero being killed. This left them with much to ponder. They were not entirely sure what to think!

They had walked for a long time and it was approaching the end of the day so they invited the stranger to dine and spend the night with them. He did accept their invitation and as they were about to eat, he blessed the food and gave them each some bread, then he vanished out of their sight!

These two rather startled men reflected on this remarkable and unreal experience and recognised that their hearts had burned within them as the stranger had been talking with them during their walk. They felt comfortable with these strange things that they had heard, even if they could not comprehend them! 

I am always impressed that if these guys had just got on with their meal and chatted about the weather or the latest triumph of their favourite sports team, and had not reflected on the experience that they had with this stranger, they might have missed their precious feelings. 

They had evidently just walked about two hours. It was possibly already dark, or nearly dark. They immediately set off again to repeat the two hour journey to share their experience with their friends who were also distressed by the death of their hero. 

As they were once again with their friends, they tried as best as they could to explain what had just happened to them - what they had heard the stranger say, what they had felt, and about the stranger disappearing!

Even after being told of the experience that two of them had on the Emmaus road, the people of the assembled group were terrified and affrighted when their hero Jesus appeared to the group as they were trying to come to grips with their feelings and confusion. 

It appears that, as part of His way of making it absolutely clear that He was not a spirit, that He was not dead, but had risen from the dead, Jesus Christ gave a clear demonstration that the resurrection is the reuniting of body and spirit by asking if they had some meat for him. He would surely not have needed to eat, but the disciples would have needed to witness His ability to eat and participate in this regular social activity - that he was not a spook. 

I enjoyed watching the two videos portraying some of the events of the 24th chapter of Luke - the stranger joining the two disciples on the road, and then Jesus appearing to the gathered disciples in the room that was shut for fear of the Jews.

I am grateful for the insights that I have gained as I have pondered the stories of long ago in the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book Of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and the Pearl of Great Price. I am grateful that there are enough times that I have not simply chatted about the weather or sports and have been able to have the Spirit teach me things that no man has taught me. I have realised that my heart has burned within me as I have come to feel the complete harmony of truth in so many of the things that I have studied. I am grateful that this harmony of truth has extended to include some things that I was taught in my science and biology classes at university - helping me to see how things that are scientifically possible but absolutely unlikely without God can have occurred because I know that God is there with His divine oversight. 

How can I doubt when I know enough about genetics, ecology, physics, probability and other things that were taught to me at university to know that these things that are possible are almost certainly absolutely improbable without divine design? Beyond that, though, I do not only know about God - I know that God has made Himself known to me in undeniable ways. 

I have felt my heart burn within me on my road to Emmaus, and I hope that some of the insights that I have shared with others on their roads to Emmaus have caused their hearts to burn within them. I hope that I can be that kind of tour guide that does not only share information, but helps guests to learn things from the Spirit that no man could teach them.

The origin of interesting things

I found this interesting. I picked it up long ago. 

Front

Back

One side

The other side

End-on

I look at it and can picture one rock bumping another, causing a cleft to form into which water will be drawn by capillary action, the water then freezes and causes the small chip to break off. This water being drawn in and freezing could have been repeated in the same crack, season after season, event after event, over many years. The weathering of rock is a slow process, but all of the valuable agricultural soils derived from granite, shale, dolerite, sandstone, conglomerate, and other rock are evidence that the soils do weather. 

Isn't it interesting that anthropologists and archaeologists look at things like this, using their incredible human eyes, and say that this must be a stone tool fashioned by primeval hominem. Yet, they will thoughtlessly attribute the development of their human eyes, and brains, and hearts, and fingers, and skin, and circulatory system, and intelligence, and everything that makes them what they are to random chance events and undirected natural selection. 

I don't doubt natural selection, but I am fully confident that an infinitely intelligent and powerful Heavenly Father directs the selection processes that might have been part of some of the development of some of the preferred races.

Sumerian tablets - are they in harmony with the writings of Abraham and Moses?

Some time ago, while working in the garden, I listened to something about Sumerian tablets. I had also listened to other reports about ancient civilizations and subjects. My thoughts were turned to my readings of the Bible, Qur'an, several of the works of Charles Darwin and other valuable and interesting books as I listened. I found a wonderful harmony between each of these - a reminder to me that there is one story of the creation and early history of man that has been passed on through generations in different groups of descendents of Adam and Eve who have changed the story according to their traditions and cultures. My impression was that there is a common thread in each of the accounts, and I can see the basic harmony with the account of the creation as told by Abraham who lived about 2000 years after the fall of Adam and the start of mortality. Abraham lived about 2000 years before Jesus Christ, and we live about 2000 years after Jesus Christ. Adam lived for nearly half of the time between Adam and Abraham, and many patriarchs who would have faithfully recounted the stories lived to ripe old ages and would have shared the more true accounts with their descendents who would listen. We are told in the Book of Moses that there was a book of remembrance kept in the language of Adam, so I am confident that there is a reliable source of the true story.

The world as a whole have the account of creation as given by Moses who lived about 500 years after Abraham. We know that Abraham had taught the Egyptians of the creation, history, astronomy, and versions of the same stories would have been recounted in all civilizations before and after the time of Abraham.

It is not surprising to me that there are many versions of the same story. If we look at our own history, there are many versions told in official sources and newspapers of the same events. There is a common element to each story, but each account differs. There are some fictional and non-fictional accounts including research tomes, historical novels, fantasies, and representations of facts that add embellishments to the simple stories. I would not be surprised of some of the differences in ancient records are similar in their telling about the stories.

There is one God who does know the actual facts, and each of us can look at whatever version of the story we have and ask that one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, what we need to take from the account that we read in order to be faithful followers of His plan for us. He will help us to have insights to guide us in our individual understanding of the fundamental principles. It is not likely that He will give to each and every person an individual audience to hear the full story, especially if we fail to do what we can easily do to find what is readily available to us to read and ponder, then to pray for confirmation or guidance. 

We are able, particularly in the year 2020, to gain access to the alternative accounts of the story and not rely only on the one with which we grew up if there is more truth available. The interpretation of what we read is guided by the spirit of God with which each of us was born. The Spirit will guide the honest reader to the most reliable account of the story of the creation and the plan of life and salvation. If the reader lets God lead him or her to truth, God will lead, because He wants us to know Him. I was impressed that the Qur'an advises the reader to read the Torah - and I understand this advice because the Qur'an talks about Abraham, Adam, David, Aaron, Noah, Solomon, Jesus, Mary, John, Zechariah, and other biblical characters, but does not give as much detail as is in the Old Testament and New Testament.

I have conducted the experiment that millions have conducted and I have come to know God. I have studied the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price containing the books of Abraham and Moses, Doctrine and Covenants and other words of modern representatives of that God who spoke to man from the days of Adam and continues to do so today. I have learned about these scriptures, and have come to know them rather than simply knowing about them. I have come to know God rather than simply knowing about Him. 

I have come to know personally that, if any person will do the will of the Father, she or he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or if they are simply the stories of men. I have knocked and the door has been opened. I have done my seeking and I have found. I have asked and I have received. I know you can too.

Let Him In

I have come to know that simply being exposed to facts does not make the difference. The children of Israel personally experienced the sea parting and themselves walking on dry ground, they saw the pillar of fire and the cloud, they were eating the manna, and yet they hankered for the flesh pots of Egypt because they were not switched on to trying to do the will of Jehovah. Laman and Lemuel had seen an angel, felt the shock when Nephi touched them, but were failing to do the will of the Father and just said that God did not make such things known to them. The citizens of Jerusalem saw Jesus of Nazareth, but some cried out 'Crucify him!' while others followed Him.

There is an abundance of fascinating information available, like decoding the Exodus, and other speculations and deductions relating to the stories told in the Old Testament. I have been edified considering many descriptions given by people of their research into these ancient events and accounts. 

The main thing is to go to the source of the scriptures - if they are true, as I am confident that they are - then there is a Heavenly Father who loves His children and will want to manifest Himself to those who diligently seek Him. But it does not help drinking from the water downstream after many people have paddled and done other unmentionable things in the water before it reaches you when the God who revealed His word is waiting to speak directly to and guide you and you can enjoy the perfect living water right at its source.