South Africa - equal education for all

I just watched an interesting video NO PLACE FOR WHITES! ANC & EFF Turn Campuses Into Warzones Who’s Next shared by Kuhle. 

https://stockcake.com/i/outdoor-classroom-scene_423260_437400

I shared the following response.

Thanks for the observations that you share, Kuhle. 

I grew up in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, and now the 20s. I have seen many changes in that time. I have seen love increase. I have seen hate increase. I have seen truth increase. I have seen lies increase. The saddest thing is when people do not check the facts, but just believe or accept people who have hate and lies as their motive. They do not check the facts, because hate and lies spread more easily than love and truth spread. I remember in the late 1970s saying to a friend from Ireland that it must have been difficult growing up in Ireland because of all of the Catholic-Protestant conflicts, the IRA, and all that. His reply was simple. 'Les, I grew up in Dublin and Cork, and I never saw any of it.' My thoughts turned to my own experience at Wits University. I regularly walked through Hillbrow and I never saw any of the crime and violence that the world heard was the norm in South Africa.

The conflict was there in Ireland. The unpleasant things were there in Hillbrow. But that was not 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth'.

My brother reminded me that Apartheid was actually a compassionate thing, allowing different people to grow without the competition with other race groups. All race groups in South Africa were being educated with excellent education. My parents paid for the education that my four siblings and I had. My wife and I paid for the education that our five children have. At the same time, we were paying taxes that were funding the education for every citizen that was in a family that could not afford to pay for the education of their children. Yes, I may have been in smaller classes than that child in Limpopo. I may have had better educated teachers than that child in rural Natal. I may have been in a classroom while someone was under the trees in Northern Cape. We all wrote the same exams, those less fortunate students and me. We all had the same opportunities. I then paid for my own university studies while my parents continued to pay taxes that funded the university education for those less fortunate people. I then worked and earned a Masters of Science degree. I worked hard in the public sector. At one stage I was funding my own children's education and I was also paying R450 of every extra R1000 that I earned - yes, I was in the 45% tax bracket - and that 45% went toward funding things like the health care, security, water supply, electricity, and education of those less fortunate families. I do not regret that. I was earning enough to support my family and to contribute towards the well-being of many others.

What does sadden me is the lies that make people hate me because of the colour of my skin. My first ancestor was born the Cape in 1817 and so I am several generations South African. My sons could not get employment in South Africa because they are white males. They worked hard to get their qualifications. But they were not treated as equal citizens. One works in Cape Town but is employed by a British company. One has been invited to do his PhD in Australia where they want to retain him because my son is a valuable member of their team. He wants to come back to build South Africa, and I look forward to the time that short-sighted laws that have led to the decline of the quality of things like the health care, security, water supply, electricity, and education of those less fortunate families as well as the families of those who continue to pay the taxes that enabled the ANC to provide so many blessings for less fortunate people who became reliant on the charity of the tax payers but did not work hard to become the tax payers to fund things like the health care, security, water supply, electricity, and education of those less fortunate families.

This is a lengthy response, but I hope that someone will have their perspective opened to that they will seek to see the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I hope that each and every one of us will become producers and not consumers! I look forward to the time that every South African lives up to our constitutional requirement to be equally responsible to provide for the equal rights of every citizen. Our Constitution stresses Equal Responsibility and Equal Rights. I don't think that Equal Responsibility is ever stressed. Is it ever taught in our equal education?

I love South Africa. I hope that South Africa will love me.

Learn from others while overcoming our own faults

I just lost a note that I had compiled about the paragraph in Come, Follow Me because I made a mistake. Ever happen to you?

When people judge me, I hope that they will give as much attention to
the argument for the defence as they do to the argument for the prosecution!

Yesterday I met a young man who has moved to the Cape. He fixes or builds dams and there are more dams here than anywhere else in South Africa, so here he is. He is also involved in promoting aquaculture and hydroponics. I salute all those who try to use the talents that the Lord has given them to try and improve health and well-being. I believe that they will be blessed for every effort to 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.' (Gen 1:28) I sincerely believe that they - and I - will be given credit for the good that they or I do, and for the intent of our hearts when there is a question about any injuries or damages that arise through our imperfections.

I am saddened by those who find fault and contend with those who sincerely try to bless the lives of others because of very real injuries or challenges that a small proportion of the population may experience as a result of the good efforts of those who are trying to make a positive difference.

Those who offer alternative medicine or food often accuse those in normal agriculture or medicine of exploiting everyone, but they themselves charge high prices for their food or alternatives. Some even say that the prophet of God is wrong to use these products anywhere in the world.

I always encourage others to honestly consider that these people almost certainly do not intend to kill or maim or exploit, but honestly hope to improve the health and well-being of as many as they can, and the church leaders use those things all around the world to help Heavenly Father to improve the health and well-being of millions in all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples. I wonder if the people challenging the farmers, manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and so forth by taking them to court, leading to very large penalties, that push up the prices of their research and development that causes their prices to be higher they would otherwise be.

Yes. Some will be negatively impacted. But I believe that Heavenly Father will bless and help those with good intent as they seek to improve. And He can bless and heal and reverse the negative impacts for those in the small minority who might be negatively impacted. Our support and efforts to help them to improve their efforts will be more in harmony with seeking to be one than any effort to destroy those who the Lord is helping to feed and heal the millions that are benefitted by their efforts.

We need to look inwards and try to do better in our own stewardships instead of looking for faults in others. We also need to help their efforts by bringing to their attention the concerns, but as constructive criticism and not in contention. We will be judged for our efforts and not the efforts of others.

I strongly encourage that we each 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:' (Matt 5:44-45)

Every doctor, lawyer, engineer, farmer, scientist, or any human will make mistakes in their best efforts. I love the way that Thomas Edison described his journey "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Let us look for and try to improve our own faults, learn from the imperfections of others, and lovingly help others to do better rather than always looking for their faults.

Thoughts shared with a friend who feels wronged by a dear loved one

You mention in your CV that you love to write. I am impressed with your writing skill – I have done a lot of editing, mainly of scientific writing as I prepared publications for myself and for my team and often must make numerous edits. Your skill is good – it is worth working on it.

Just as in the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, there are many delights to be seen when we stop and look. There is so much to please the eye and gladden the heart.

I read that you had depression – that made me think back to my year after finishing BSC (Hons) at Wits University. Wow! That was intense. The medication was dulling and made me less than me. I recently read my matric journal from 1971 and I was amazed to read that I had depression then – with suicidal thoughts – I had totally forgotten that!

Then I thought of the absolute turmoil and distress that my wife Sally felt after serving so many patients as a family doctor, and suddenly she burnt out and was eventually diagnosed to have bipolar disorder, and years later bilateral temporal lobe epilepsy was also diagnosed! This journey has been really painful for her – and for me, and for the whole family. Sally later acknowledged that as she thought about it, she could recognise symptoms of bipolar disorder from her matric year, and also of epileptic incidents over the years. But, even with that recognition, there are times that she is adamant that she does not have any disorder and the meds are not doing anything for her and she wants to stop them all because of the side-effects! As you can imagine, I do not have many boring times in my life!

At the time of Sally’s first diagnosis my sister who is a psychologist with LDS Family Services suggested that we watch A Beautiful Mind and we watched it then, and I was impressed to watch it again when I first started to read some of the account of your journey. I have no idea of what might be the diagnosis for you, but you do mention medication and how tablets have destroyed your mind, and I think that you might have some issues like Sally and I, and others, have – and that so many people have in 2024.

My home teaching and ministering companion for many years was someone who is troubled by schizophrenia. He is always compliant with taking his medication and from about 20h00 is not particularly with things, but he presses on doing the best that he can under his difficult situation. He is faithful to his covenants even although his work that sustains him and his family does not enable him to attend Church regularly. If we met in the evening he would be there every week, but he is baking bread for many people on most Sunday mornings and many people at church forget about him – but I appreciate his great example of discipleship.

I have observed that many people that I know who evidently have great talents such as outstanding intellectual ability, given 'every man according to his several ability', seem to have an opposition in their lives such as ADHDD, bipolar, schizophrenia, dyslexia, or something that will help to refine them according to the Lord's love and wisdom.

I often reflect on the Saviour’s declaration in the synagogue when He first told of His mission: ‘This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.’ He had just declared ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Luke 4:18-19, 21. He then set about preaching, helping people to see, dumb to speak, deaf to hear, lame to walk, and mentally ill to cope with their afflictions (I anticipate many of the devils that He cast out were what troubled several of these mentally ill people), even raising the dead.

In the years leading up to 2024 He has inspired many of the seed of Abraham, and quite likely others who desire to help their fellow-men, to see (with spectacles, braille, surgery, medication, and other interventions), deaf to hear (with hearing aids, sign language, surgery, medication and other interventions), dumb to speak (with sign language, technology, and many other wonderful means), lame to walk (with wheelchairs, surgery, crutches, and various other interventions), mentally ill to cope (with medication, ECTs, counselling, and various interventions), and raising the dead and in limited instances even reversing death (with CPR, heart-lung machines, defibrillators, and other amazing interventions)!

I have been struck by the frequency with which Elder Jeffrey R Holland has referred to the healing (even if not totally removing illnesses) of mentally ill and other disabled people, saying that they should seek a priesthood blessing, and then go to the qualified and competent medical experts and allow them to be instruments in the Lord’s hands in bringing about needed healing. Several other general Church leaders have spoken about coping with mental or physical illness and they all encourage us to take advantage of what the Lord has inspired His instruments to do to help us to cope with, even sometimes to overcome, our afflictions. But mostly it is not to change the circumstances, but to help us to be the very best that we can be in spite of our circumstances. If we can, we are encouraged to take ourselves out of the gutter, addictions, or other things where we have control, but where we do not have control, He helps us to have faith in His ability to bless us to be able to make our desert blossom as the rose, to open up the windows of heaven by bringing us rain or benefiting from water that might be available as we bring our tithes and offerings into His storehouse that there may be meat in His house. This requires us to focus on correct doctrine and change ourselves from the inside-out rather than wanting to change things from the outside-in. I have often reflected on how apostles and prophets have battled on with serious impairments. I love the insight in The Chosen when James asks Jesus why He has not healed him, and Jesus says in effect 'I can heal you if you want it, but you being a witness of me despite your obvious walking challenges is a strong testimony to many that it is not only because of miracles that you follow me'.

I also love His injunction that ‘I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.’ Doctrine & Covenants 64:10. I am so grateful that He guarantees that any punishment that is due will be given by Him – and boy! He can punish far better than I can ever hope to do! And He can forgive so much better than I can! But – He can also help any one of us to become the opposite of a sinner if we humble ourselves and desire to be in the Celestial glory with Him. And – if we are in the ultimate instance of Zion, even the Celestial glory, we will be with Him, and if that person whom I despise in her or his sinful or mortal state is there, then it means that the Lord has helped her or him to change and become Celestial, and then I would love to be with that repentant and changed soul for all of eternity! The thing that I need to focus on is getting myself to the Celestial glory, and then everything will be far more wonderful than I can imagine!

You will probably remember the scriptures or General Conference speakers that I have quoted above. If not, feel free to ask me and I shall send links to the scriptures or talks. But the essence of what I am saying is that the Lord would delight in our seeking to be forgiving (not staying in a dangerous situation), and seeking to work together to be Zion people. Everyone has flaws, faults, failings, weaknesses, imperfections (I am woefully aware of such in myself). If I want to find a fault it will be so easy. But so does everyone have good points. My hope is to identify those and to help others to blossom in those good points. This kind of reminds me of something from my Institute study about someone entering a gardening competition and did a great job about removing all of the weeds but spent all of the time on that and did not plant beautiful and desirable plants. I have walked for many, many hours in the Namib Desert and I am always amazed at the absolutely wonderful beetles, lizards, spiders, birds, mammals, even some plants to be seen if one stops and looks. But most people climb in their cars and rush through the drab and dreary Karoo to get to the other side and often sit down to a delightful mutton meal that got its special flavour from the very Karoo that they did not stop to appreciate. Is that much different to the children of Israel following Moses and murmuring day after day despite the absolute miracle of having manna every day? Or as we are reading this week, Lehi’s family that had their food made sweet so that they did not need to kindle a fire to cook?

It has been agonising for Sally to no longer be able to serve patients, saving lives and improving health, from about age 45 years. Now she needs to serve herself, save her own life and improve her own health. Failure to do this leads to more rapid damage to her brain. The Lord had blessed her for more than 20 years as she magnified her calling, sanctifying her by the spirit unto the renewing of her body, but then, it appears, He withdrew that sustaining and Sally had to depart from her Jerusalem and go out into a wilderness in a difficult path to her promised land. There are times that she murmurs and yearns for the flesh pots of her past, but tries to keep her focus on drawing close to Heavenly Father as she trudges forward towards her promised land. I have often wondered if her challenges are there more for my refining than for hers – so it is not her burden to be borne alone, but we can bear it equally yoked, together, and both press forward towards the same Celestial promised land. I pray that I will be worthy to be there with her.

As I read and edited what I have written above, my thoughts turned to an experience when Sally, our first toddler and I were held-up on Signal Hill. A man threatened our daughter with a knife if we did not hand over our valuables. I was angry with this man who had definitely done wrong! I was mulling over in my mind how I could help the police to trap him in the act and make him suffer seriously with the harsh punishment that he fully deserved! I realised that I was not at peace. The scriptures say things like ‘But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you’. We had reported the matter to the police. We had prayed to Father in Heaven. We had done what we could do. I came to the realisation that it was appropriate for me to forgive and pray for this man’s redemption rather than planning for his destruction. I cannot express to you the relief and peace that came to my soul as I handed over the justice that needed to be dealt out to Heavenly Father and to the police.

It is interesting how I see so much related to what I have written to you coming up as I work through the Come, Follow Me study for this week, for example, the paragraph in this link https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-home-and-church-book-of-mormon-2024/05?id=p3&lang=eng#p3. I smiled as I thought of how there is always manna, or food that the Lord has made sweet, for us to collect each day, sufficient for that day, but I fear that we often just complain of being hungry because we did not gather our share of the manna or sweet food for the day. I hope that the Spirit has been communicating with you – as He has done with me – as you study with the millions of saints around the world during this week of our mortal journey. I was struck after sitting in a ward in Trieste, Italy, how remarkable that what I had studied that week, and my ward was studying in English in Cape Town was the same that was being discussed in Italian in this ward that week. The same in a ward in Berlin, Germany. We are blessed to be a body of saints – Zion – as we meet together around the globe in every nation, kindred, tongue and people.

It was interesting listening to the January 2024 Friend magazine this morning and feeling that some of the articles in it are in line with what I am sharing with you. I always marvel at how the Spirit lines up things to strengthen and enhance what I am learning. It reminds me that the Lord is in charge – He is at the helm. The article was Forgiving Like Nephi (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/friend/2024/01/04-forgiving-like-nephi?lang=eng)

I feel impressed to share a thought that I have had regarding the stupor of thought mentioned in the 9^th section of Doctrine and Covenants. When my mind is buzzing over something, arguing for my argument, debating, justifying – not being at peace – then I try to change to maybe the opposite of my argument, or to the defence rather than the prosecution, or whatever and see how I feel then. For example, I have challenged people to speak convincingly that the sun is not shining and assess their feelings. I then let them argue that the sun is shining and assess how they feel – from being actively looking for justification of the argument, suddenly it changes to a simple statement like ‘I can see it. It may have stopped shining in the last 8 minutes, but I can see it now.’ As I read your writing, it looks as though there may be this stupor of thought. Why not ask the Lord what you should be thinking and maybe change your approach and see if you find peace. If not, try another approach. There is a good reason that the Lord called the Holy Ghost the Comforter. I love the feeling of clarity, simplicity, completeness, wholeness, integrity when it simply feels right. No because, because, because, but simply right. I often refer to Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof where he is thinking about his daughter not wanting an arranged marriage. It is ‘On the other hand…’ and ‘On the other hand…’ and in one instance he simply says ‘No – there is no other hand’. If one is always considering arguments, I reckon that we have not come to see things as the Lord sees them.

Moroni challenged us to remember how merciful the Lord has been to the children of men since the days of Adam, even until the time that we read his challenge. Many of us think more of the punishing Jehovah who instructed Joshua to destroy Jericho, and similar tales of harsh justice. I remember after listening to the entire Old Testament while driving to and from work how one needs to be familiar with that entire account in order to remember those details of mercy. He was harsh in order to help His children to repent. When there was even the slightest spark of repentance visible He would blow on it to help it to become a flame and then a roaring flame so that He could manifest His mercy through His blessings such as manna in the wilderness, opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing, and healing from the poison of serpents. He is indeed a merciful God. Jesus Christ has already atoned for the sins of anyone who has wronged you or me. It is now up to us to help others to repent and receive that atoning grace and mercy, blowing on any hint of a spark of repentance to make it a Celestial recovery – and then we will have great joy over a soul that we have helped to save.

I hope that this really long response is not painful to you. I love you. I love everyone who has wronged you – not for the wrong that they have done, but for the divine potential that they have if they repent and meet the duty of a member which is to have a Godly walk and conversation, walking in holiness before Him. Four pages in a Word document! Haaaaaauw! Sorry it has become such a long response, but it is kind of short compared with what you sent to me 😉

Blessings on you as you prayerfully and frequently read your patriarchal blessing and look for how the Lord would like you to respond to those that you feel have wronged you. I promise you great joy as you love them, pray for them, do good to them. I love you, pray for you and I hope that I have done good to you. Blessings on you as you navigate your delightful journey in your wilderness. I promise you that you will find wonderful delights in what looks like a desert or an arid area. There will be those flowers, beetles, lizards, and all sorts of delights when you ‘stop and smell the roses’.

Being an instrument in the Creator's hands to help to soften hearts

I thought that I would share something that I shared with some missionaries.

Dear fellow labourers in the vineyard

As I have thought about what to share with you on your mission in this one of my infrequent letters, my mind turned to a few questions that went through my mind relating to an incident in the life of Jesus Christ. I thought that it could be of value to you as you strive to teach in the Saviour's way.

This relates to the incident in John chapter 8 where a woman is dragged before Jesus of Nazareth. She had been caught in the very act of adultery. Here are the thoughts and questions that I wrote down. I wonder how many minutes there were in this story in John 8. Perhaps you can relate these thoughts to you and the way that you teach and interact with people who have their own sins of which they need to repent before they can progress to make and keep covenants. Remember - you teach non-members, new, and returning members, and active members. I believe that you can help many of them to feel the Spirit and progress in their journey towards, rather than away from, the tree of life as described by Lehi and Nephi.

I reflected on the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 8).

· She was evidently guilty of one of the most serious of sins.

· What about the man? Somehow the Saviour does not seem to have pressed this matter, so maybe we should not dwell on it.

· What was her attitude when first brought to Jesus of Nazareth?

· What was her attitude as He first responded by simply stooping down and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not?

· What was her attitude as He said ‘Let he that is without sin cast the first stone”?

· What was her attitude when He again stooped down and wrote in the dust?

· What was her attitude when He asked ‘Woman, where are those thine accusers”?

· What was her attitude after He said “Neither do I condemn thee – go and sin no more”? How had her attitude and feeling changed with each step along the process?

I shall not expand on these points. I hope that your mind reflects on each step in the woman's change of heart and how we might affect the feelings in the hearts of those that we are teaching. I reckon that her heart felt very different at the end of the incident relative to how she felt at the start of the interview. 

Perhaps you can teach in such a way that hearts change. I wonder if her heart was somewhat like stone - hard, defiant, indignant, defensive, betrayed, confrontational, hurt, angry, arrogant, blaming, abandoned, victimised, fighting - or whatever that was no doubt carnal, sensual or devilish - when she was dragged or pushed onto the scene. I imagine that her heart had - just maybe - changed, to become seriously softened, remorseful, desiring to truly repent such that the Lord Jesus Christ would not condemn her - a broken heart and a contrite spirit - and then He encouraged her to change by going and sinning no more.

Then I think of the following examples.

· Driver’s license examiners – looking for reason to fail the candidate or looking for evidence of competence and helping them to qualify? I was examined for heavy duty license – the examiner commented that I was driving a little fast.

· The need to be positive and encourage members to get to the point of full fellowship and Gospel living as soon as possible. Should normally not be more than a year.

· Work with each individual to bring them back with humble hearts to enjoy the fullness of the Gospel.

I know that I was a worried and concerned candidate truck driver when that examiner challenged me. I had been defending the way that I was driving. But I feel that I have been a more careful, purposeful, responsible, considerate truck, bus, car, or motorcycle driver since then, perhaps even a better pedestrian, because of the way that he taught me and then helped me to qualify as a better candidate. His approach was not to fail me for doing something that could be improved. He was helping to qualify me to be better than ever! He had reminded me that a truck is heavier than a car, and therefore needed to be driven with more caution than a car that can be stopped more easily in a time of emergency. He was teaching me things that would make me a more defensive driver at all times, not just when he or some official was looking on.

Blessings on you as you ponder the scriptures in similar kinds of ways - probably far better than these fumbling ponderings of mine.

Thank you for your service to the Lord and to His children as you teach them and invite them to come unto Christ.

I find it interesting that the thing that John recorded as the next thing that Jesus Christ taught was that He is the light of the world. He taught that 'he that followeth me shall not ^bwalk in ^cdarkness, but shall have the light of life.' May we be a light as He encouraged us to be. It is also interesting that the movie depicting this story shows Jesus teaching about compassion by referring to the law that teaches the lower law: 'an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth'.  

I see a changing, softening heart depicted in these scenes, going from broken to healed.

Being part of the solution instead of part of the problem

We have had wonderful rains recently. 

A rainbow signifies that rain is on hand

A waterfall near Franschoek flows following rain and snow falls

Water glistening in dams looking over Franschoek Valley

Snow is a slow release form of precipitation

For some people living on the streets the rain was a real inconvenience because the rain wet their bedding. For some who had shelter, the rain was not such an inconvenience. For some it was a pleasure seeing the rain coming and watering the earth, then flowing into the storm water system and into the sea. For some, the rain was harvested and used for lasting effect in irrigating, washing or other useful purposes.

Construction of a dam enables water to be utilised in many ways, including generating electricity, and it can be channeled to a great distance from the storage dam

HF Verwoerd Dam, now named Gariep Dam, on the Orange River, photos by Ken Powrie

Our being prepared to receive rain is an example of a range of scenarios from a problem, not a problem, not a solution, and a distinct solution. You and I can also be part of the solution, or part of the problem.

There are certain homeless people who come to my door. I remember one, in particular, to whom we gave some tins of food. He was clearly hungry, unlike some who have simply discarded what was given to them because what they actually wanted was money for alcohol or something unwise. This beggar went around the corner, sat down, and ate from the tins. Then I saw the following morning when taking a walk, that he had left the tins in the gutter. Suddenly I had become part of the problem because my tins were littering the neighbourhood.

Litter dropped in alleyways where vagabonds hang out

Litter dropped right next to bins that are provided in our neighbourhood

Why is it that beggars who constantly receive from the community, from shelters, or from clinics and other services, do not give back to society by cleaning the streets – being part of the solution – rather than littering, or any other adverse behaviour – being part of the problem?

I love my country and it grieves me when anyone demonstrates a lack of love for our wonderful land. It is unfortunate that so many people simply litter, or are part of the problem in any other way.

Some litter at a roadside stop in the middle of the Karoo - 

litter thrown on the ground and not in the bin provided

There certainly are times when I feel like I am among the dazed 80%. Just maybe in some circumstances I would be considered among the doomed 10% 🙁

I am feeling dazed about the prospects of disposing of some stuff as we prepare to simplify our home that has 30 years and more of accumulated clutter. My wife is more the survivor 10% in many ways.... 

I guess that each of us might be in either category, depending on our strengths and the circumstances. My challenge is to try to be part of the solution - and to try to never be part of the problem - especially in the things that matter most.

Let each of us choose to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Beggars - what do we do?

Yesterday I was faced by yet another beggar who, I think, was displeased because I did not give him something. Gertjie was his name.

As I continued to work through the day, I pondered. Does someone like Gertjie ever go to a clinic for medical or dental help? My taxes contribute to the health system. Does he ever use the services of police, water, sanitation, roads, parks, or any public amenities? Does he ever use night shelter or food kitchen? I give monthly donations in the form of taxes or donations to some of these. What is he doing to ensure that he will be in a position to contribute to these facilities to provide for the next generation?

Years ago we regularly gave food or money to beggars who came to our door. We came to realise that they were apparently spreading the word that beggars would get something at our home and so we had a steady stream of beggars. We were not helping them in the Lord's way, but were simply maintaining them in the beggar state. We decided that, in a personal time of need with illness in the home and shortage of money, that we had to turn them away and suddenly the stream of beggars stopped coming to our door. We still have the occasional beggar, but we rarely give them something unless they are prepared to work for it, but do sometimes give something small when prompted to do so, with the instruction to not come back to us, but to go to the soup kitchen where they can be assisted to get themselves out of the gutter rather than simply remaining in the gutter.

My thinking yesterday reminds me that we should be encouraging people more purposefully that, as is stated in two clauses right next to each other in the Founding Provisions of the constitution of South Africa:

Citizenship
3. (1) There is a common South African citizenship.
    (2) All citizens are—
          (a) equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship; and
          (b) equally subject to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.
    (3) National legislation must provide for the acquisition, loss and restoration of citizenship.

We need to encourage people to meet their responsibilities - meeting the rights, respect, needs of others - instead of simply asking for others to meet their rights or needs. This is tough, but love is tough.

We need every person in the nation to be contributing to the extent that he or she is able, using their own unique strengths, talents, abilities to build a better South Africa for all. We need builders and not wreckers; producers rather than consumers; givers rather than takers.

I firmly believe in the principles given in the talk by Spencer W. Kimball - Welfare Principles: the Gospel in Action. May I contribute what I can, and work towards helping others to contribute to the extent that each is able.

Some reflections on racism

Received from a friend: Nice Joke:
1) Racism will never end....as long as white bread still costs more than brown bread!!!
2) Racism will never end ....as long as we still wash white clothes first, then other colours later!!!!
3) Racism will never end.....if people still use black to symbolize bad luck and white for peace!!!!
4) Racism will never end....if people still wear white clothes to weddings and black clothes to funerals!!!!
5) Racism will never end.....as long as those who don't pay their bills are blacklisted and NOT white listed😂😂😂


My reply: Ai!

Aye!

In physics I learned that when all primary colours (red, green, blue) are combined in transmitted light they give prefect white light. When all primary colours are absorbed then no light is reflected, giving prefect black.

So, when all light and truth shine from the heart of a dark skinned person, what colour is that person? When no light or truth shine from the heart of a light skinned person, they just absorb it all and keep it to themselves, what colour is that person?

Where does racism reside in Zion? 🤔

When someone reflects light and truth, then they just see the good in others and hope, as the loving God and Father of us all hopes, that their enemy, the rotten scoundrel, the bad okes, will repent, come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him. I hope that includes me.

Somehow, I don't see Him thinking 'Yay! I'm rid of that one! He is going to hell.' He hopes that all, as in 2 Nephi 26:33, will come unto Him.

This complicated thought process arose as I read Alma 34:36 this morning and thought of this joke 😊

Have a wonderful 💓💛💙 day and let 💓💛💙 glow in your countenance 😉 as it usually does.

Sorry - the emojis have a black heart, but not a white one. Djy wiet, hulle moet sieker rassisties wies!(That translates to 'you know, they must surely be racist'.)😔

In response to this blog post, I was referred to a really interesting and thought-provoking talk by Marvin Perkins.