Month: August 2008

  • The Election, Economy, and Business

    I hope God will have His hand on the upcoming election (and He will since our God is a Sovereign, Provident God whose Will cannot be thwarted). I don't like the platforms of any of the candidates, but as my friend Sarah mentioned from the humour in the great movie "Master and Commander", I intend to vote of the lesser of the two evils (i.e, vote Republican). Only once in my history of voting have I voted for a Democrat (5th Congressoinal District - VA), but that was 15 years ago in my college freshman year. He was later replaced with another Liberal who thankfully turned Conservative. Ever since, I've always voted Conservative. These bail outs (and subsidies) that Congress is handing out (and the longstanding federal commodity quotas such as the Sugar Quota) concerns me because I think it stifles free trade/enterprise and interferes with the natural way and course of business. I don't like for a business to fail, but if a failure will teach how a business to become more efficient and warn others to become more efficient, then let inefficient businesses fail to promote free enterprise and not waste money through quotas and subsidies. (I advocate a laissez faire approach to the economy with minimal subsidies, more WORK-fare, and minimal quotas; but the British tyranny during the Irish Great Famine is laissez faire to an unnecessary extreme.)

    Welfare (known as the Dole in the UK and Ireland) is fine, but it is being constantly abused by those who can work but choose to remain lazy. We taxpayers are footing the bill for those lazy abusers on welfare. Welfare should only be given to those on medically verifiable disability (i.e, those who truly can't work).

    If a Government resorts to pay farmers not to grow something (as the US does and as Christian author Larry Burkett mentions in his book "Business by the Book"), then that Government (whatever world State) is a sorry Government indeed.

    BTW, these issues are only indicators/fruit of the root problem. The root problem is not welfare, liberal vs. conservative, or the quota and subsidy system. The root problem is our nation's forsaking God (and not recognizing the giver of true liberty) for the last 230+ years. Fix that root problem, then a huge majority of other problems will be resolved.

  • Re-opening contact (conditionally) with the LDS

    ___________
    ___________, MD ______
    August 1, 2008

    Mr. ___________, __________ Ward Bishop
    ______________
    ___________, MD ______

    Dear Bishop _______:

    This letter is being sent to you by certified mail, return receipt requested. Its purpose is to inform you of reinstating contact and to express thanks to you and President ________.

    I am informing you that effective immediately, I have opened conditional contact with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (hereafter LDS Church).   The related condition regarding contact is that any future contact by an LDS member is not purposed to persuade me to return to the LDS Church.    The reinstatement is due to 2 main reasons:  (1) necessarily having to discuss business with LDS that are on my business marketing team and (2) LDS friendly acquaintances (from your ward and also elsewhere in the US) that have expressed interest in retaining contact on a non-spiritual level.   If an LDS person tells me about his/her involvement in the ward or about LDS history, I am accepting of that, but I will neither entertain nor tolerate spiritual conversation purposed toward LDS apologetics or to persuade me to return to the LDS Church.    Again, if an LDS member is experiencing a physical emergency, I will indeed help them to the best of my ability if the member calls me since I will help all people in emergencies regardless of religious creed.    However, there is still no intention or desire whatsoever to return ever to the LDS Church.

    Regarding your past concerns about people in your ward being swayed from being in contact with me, they are valid concerns.   Your concern should be minimal since all of my friendly acquaintances in the LDS Church are currently not open to converting to orthodox Protestant Christianity.   If a person (of whatever religion) is not open to converting, then I always will treat them with biblical charity.    It is very unfortunate and deplorable that, in the early days of the LDS Church and even in isolated cases today, some non-LDS Christians in various unbiblical ways have not treated their LDS neighbors in the Lord with biblical charity.   Though LDS and non-LDS are not brothers and sisters in the Lord, LDS and non-LDS are certainly neighbors in the Lord, and Christ in the 2nd greatest Commandment (upon which hang all of the Law and the true Prophets) exhorts us to love our neighbors as ourselves.   This is not to say that I will never evangelize LDS.

    On the evening of July 31, 2008; I received a telephone call from an LDS sister missionary.   I could not recognize the voice and the caller ID didn’t match the missionary numbers at your ward.    I believe she mistakenly called me since the missionary was asking to speak to another person.   She did enquire if I had my copy of the Book of Mormon, and I answered her in the affirmative.   (I still have my LDS “Quad”.)   To her credit, she respected my wishes when I expressed that I was not interested in the LDS Church.    Since I am taking the missionary’s telephone call to be an honest mistake, I am forbearing the incident.

    On July 2, 2008; I received a letter from the membership and statistical records office of the LDS Church in Salt Lake, and that letter is written confirmation and acknowledgement that I am no longer a member of the LDS Church. I express great and sincere thanks to you and President ______ for respecting my desire and acting according to my wishes in a very quick and efficient manner.

    Sincerely,

    (Signature of full name)

    Whitney ______
    _____________
    ____________, MD _________

    I write this letter and bear this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.