Tidbits

The Economic Crisis Hits Home

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My employer just let go 1/3 of our workforce today, which amounts to 7 employees, some of which were good friends.  I am grateful and fortunate that I still have my job.  They will also be discontinuing our national retail brand and line of products, for which I have spent thousands of hours working over the past 3 years.  Our work will now return to focus on our original business – promotional products.

Even though it seems that something like this should be expected with everything that is happening in the economy and world today, it is still quite a shock when it hits so close to home.

Be prepared and count your many blessings, name them one by one.

“Latter-day Saints and the Environment” Survey

A couple months ago I was approached by Brandon, author of the blog Latter-day Sustainability, with a proposal to team-up on administering an informal survey about the environment to Latter-day Saints and those familiar with Latter-day Saint teachings.  The goal and objective was to learn more about Latter-day Saint members’ views on the environment, including how the LDS Church informs those views.  I thought it was an interesting project, and so I agreed.  Peter, a member of the LDS Earth Stewardship group, also joined our team.

Over the last couple months we have been engaged in compiling, editing, and reviewing a survey to be taken by anyone who is familiar with the LDS Church or its teachings.  We split up the task of producing questions, and of editing them.  We also each sent out a test survey to several people to get their feedback.  We believe we’ve come up with a good survey which will help us gather good data on LDS views on the environment.  There was no cost to us in administering this survey.

The survey will be open until November 15th.  Comments are intentionally closed to help prevent discussion before taking the survey.  Please feel free to share the link of the survey with your family and friends, or anyone who is familiar with LDS teachings.  After the survey closes we will analyze the results and post those we find most interesting for discussion.  Results will also be available to anyone with a reasonable request.  More information is available on the introduction page of the survey.  To contact the administrators with questions or comments about the survey, please email ldssurvey at gmail dot com.

To take the survey, please click the following link:
http://tinyurl.com/environmentsurvey

Our prayers are with you

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Dr. Kathy Larsen has been a regular reader, commenter, friend, and selfless supporter of TempleStudy.com and many others, and has sadly been recently told that her cancer is returning.  It sounds like it may have been in remission for a time, but is now coming back.  We would just like to get the word out so that as many as possible may keep her in their prayers.  We will be sure to put her name on the prayer roll of the temple too.

David at HeavenlyAscents.com and I will be fasting for her this coming Sunday, October 19th.  If you would like to join with us in this fast, you are welcome to.  We pray that this difficult time will be a time of peace, comfort, and consolation to Dr. Larsen and her family, and that the Lord may bless them.

“And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up… and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:15-16).

New Webpage for BYU SANE Symposium on Temples on November 7th

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Flyer

Flyer

The BYU Religious Studies Center has posted a new webpage with information about the Students of the Ancient Near East Symposium entitled “Temples and Ritual In Antiquity” that will be taking place at BYU on November 7th.  They have the date, time, location, maps, schedule, phone number, flyer, and other information available.  See it here:

http://www.rsc.byu.edu/comingSoonAntiqua.php

I’m really looking forward to this conference.  I am working with the organizers of the symposium to hopefully videotape all the presentations and make them available online later.  I might even be able to live broadcast one of the rooms to the internet, so those that are unable to attend can still participate.  Stay tuned…

Liveblog: 178th Semiannual General Conference

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LDS Conference Center

LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

In my most ambitious liveblogging yet, I’m going to attempt to liveblog General Conference.  I must admit, this will probably be more of a notetaking project for me than anything else, but it might turn into something interesting and fun if we start getting other people participating online here (like you!).  You will be able to enter your name, and your comments, all live and in real-time.

Clearly, I will not be rewriting everything that is being said.  The Church’s English video stream will be embedded alongside the liveblog, so you can watch and listen while participating in a discussion and commentary about what is being said at the same time.  If you visit TempleStudy.com over the next two days the homepage will display the video and liveblog and nothing else to distract.

I am looking forward to learning at the feet of the Lord’s prophets and apostles over the next two days.  How blessed we are to live at this time, and to be instructed by prophets, seers, and revelators!

Update 10/5/08: The liveblog notes from Conference are below. Click on the circular replay button in the center below to read them.