Sunday, April 22, 2012

Today's Spiritual Message: The Sting of Death Is Swallowed up in Christ

A classmate of mine at law school recently passed away.  I write this post with full respect for his memory and for his family's grief for, even though the Savior knew He would momentarily raise Lazarus from the dead, the scripture reads, "Jesus wept."  John 11:35.

Having lost my own father at a young age, I have experienced the loss of a loved one at an immensely personal level.  However, although I sometimes feel stricken with the absence of his society and the inability to personally know him any better than I did as a little boy, I will always remember how I felt at peace when he died, even at that tender stage of life.

An ancient Book of Mormon prophet, Abinadi, explains why I could so peaceably accept my father's sudden and unexpected departure from my life:
6 And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption.
7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.
Mosiah 16:6-9.

Thus, because Jesus Christ is "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25) of all mankind, such that all will be resurrected (1 Cor. 15:22, Alma 11:42-45), I am and was able to accept the death of my father or of anyone else as only a temporary parting, a brief season of separation.  Indeed, a living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, likewise answered Job's question, "if a man die, shall he live again?" by declaring, "he shall live again."

The true meaning of Easter is so much more than tasty chocolates or enjoyable Easter egg hunts:  It is the resurrection of all mankind.

Truly, what sweeter words can we hear than, "Why seek ye the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen."  Luke 24:1-7.  As Paul explained,
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20 But now is Christ brisen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Cor. 15:19-22.

While we rightly and  invariably grieve for those we have lost, knowing that Jesus Christ died so that we all may live, again, we boldly proclaim, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"  1 Cor. 15:55.  As Abinadi concluded, "But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ."  Mosiah 16:8.

I know and testify this is true because the sting of my father's death was and is swallowed up in the resurrection of Christ.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Chrome 20 Has Landed On Chrome OS Dev: What Happen'?


I have a lot of mixed feelings, here. On the whole, I think I'm disappointed with how the OS has changed: I feel like a lot of precedence has been given to making the system feel like a traditional OS, rather than to ease of use . . . It's almost as though Google got freaked out it was too forward thinking and had to take a few steps back to a desktop-like feel.

Before, I could easily see what time it was, what my battery/network were like, and even if I had caps lock on. Now, if I want to see those things, I have to dedicate a solid chunk of my screen or flip my mouse down, anytime I want to see them (thank goodness for extensions like Cool Clock).

Why move the apps section to a spot only on the launcher? I liked before, how it was right on my new tab page, ready to go. I feel like I'm taking a step back, having to go all the way down to the tile icon, rather than typing ctrl+t.

Is the reworked OS a step forward or, ironically, a step backward?
What's with the hold and drag down to minimize a window?? Is that the revolutionary anti-desktop thinking in this version?

What happened to the keyboard shortcuts to re-size windows?

WHAT HAPPENED TO PANELS??!!? Panels were one of my favorite parts of Chrome OS. I gather that whole concept's been jettisoned. WHY OH WHY?

This is a smattering of my initial reactions. Maybe things will change or maybe I'll get used to the newfangled-ness.

At the end of the day, I feel like I'm using a glorified Linux without the native applications. What gives, Google?

Am I simply having a knee jerk reaction, or has anyone else had similar reactions?

Thursday, April 19, 2012

New, Online General Conference Music Player

Cross-posted from my Google+ account

lds.org has added a simple, dynamic, and awesome General Conference music player at http://www.lds.org/general-conference/music?lang=eng

A user can listen to music from every General Conference session, dating back to October 2008, with more apparently on the way.

The player includes snappy features like click-to-play, group selection, randomization, and, perhaps my favorite, keyboard shortcuts (space bar for play/pause and arrow keys for skip).

Rejoice!
I'm also pleased to see there's easy access to downloads. On the other hand, I'm failing to see any bulk download options. If there are bulk download options already built-in, and I'm simply missing them, would someone please let me know?

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Today's Spiritual Message: Happy Easter!

Cross-posted from my Google+ account:

On this Easter Sunday, I would like to share my brief witness of Christ's divinity and His centrality to our post-mortal life:

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor. 15:22

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 1 Cor. 15:19

And [Christ] suffereth [the pains of all] that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day. 2 Nephi 9:22

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world. Doctrine & Covenants 11:28

I know these scriptures are true and that Jesus Christ is who He said He was: our Savior and Redeemer, the author of our salvation and the resurrection of all people.

Please join the discussion at mormon.org/easter and learn more about the resurrection at http://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/resurrection.p4?lang=eng&letter=r


Monday, April 2, 2012

Finally, organize files in Docs, while they're open

Cross-posted from my Google+ account:

Wahoo!

The moment we (i.e., I)'ve been waiting for.

Yesterday's Spiritual Message: What the Prophet Said

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormons), there are many prophets and apostles.  On the other hand, there is only one president, like Peter, who is authorized to exercise all authority delegated to man.  The name of this president is Thomas S. Monson, and he gave his principal address ("talk"), yesterday, morning.  I hope you enjoy it.

To watch or listen to any message given during the five sessions of General Conference over the weekend, please visit this link (text will be available Thursday).

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Memo to MSM and other liberals: Harry Reid is (also) a Mormon(!)

Cross-posted from my Google+ account:

Occasionally, I see headlines like the one below (The Mormon factor won't go away for Romney), and, over the next few months, as the MSM rolls out a vigorous defense of its liberal-in-chief, I'm certain we'll see plenty of whispers and silent gasps that Mitt Romney is a Mormon (and he was even a Mormon Bishop before he became a politician!)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/29/mitt-romney-mormon-bishop_n_1386592.html

What's this man's religion?
On the other hand, how often do we hear that the, arguably, second-most-powerful man in the world, Harry Reid, is also a Mormon? Hmm.

Maybe the MSM and its liberal friends would bluster, "Well, Harry Reid's not really a Mormon!" Excuse me? In 2007, I physically sat in attendance when Senator Reid declared, "I am a Democrat because I am a Mormon, not in spite of it" (italics mine). http://byudemocrats.org/?p=32

Wait, so why attack Mitt Romney for his odious beliefs and, let's face it, weird lifestyle, when Senator Reid says they're the very reason he's a Democrat?

As I shared this past December, 76% of Republicans said they were comfortable with having a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a Mormon) as President of the US. Democrats? Only 46% said the same:

https://plus.google.com/110524638589641892271/posts/iCdBL3RvZSW

WHY?

Dare I be so recklessly bold as to submit the survey results were likely contextual to Mitt Romney's presidential run and merely represent liberal opposition to a conservative president? Are Democrats simply ignorant of Senator Reid's declaration of faith or do they brush it under the rug, so long as he supports abortion and ballooning the size of government and the welfare state?

So, tell me, my liberal friends and MSM, when are we going to start gasping and whispering that, horror of horrors, SENATOR MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID IS A MORMON!?