I Want a New Blog (Huey Lewis Parody)

He he he.

I may be dating myself a bit here. There was a popular band in the 80s called Huey Lewis and the News. One of their songs was 'I Want a New Drug'. This song was going through my head the other day and I substituted drug for blog (I need to get a life). I wondered what the other lyrics might be like if changed a bit to address LDS blogs. As it turns out about half the lyrics I left as original - they seemed to apply quite well. They turn out to be a anti extremist approach. What do you think of the hypothetical blog that is described here? Does an LDS blog like this exist? Any recommendations? Hopefully Small and Simple and Blogger of Jared match this somewhat. What do you think?



I want a new blog - one that won't make me sick,
One that won't make me question my testimony,
Or make me feel dense and thick.
I want a new blog - one that won't hurt my spirit,
One that won't make me bored to death,
Or make me want to spit.

One that will make me righteous,
Knowing what to do.
One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you,
When I blog with you.

I want a new blog - one that can spell,
One that doesn't just waste my time,
Or condemn me to Hell.
I want a new blog - one that won't go away,
One that won't keep me up all night,
One that won't make me sleep all day.

One that will make me righteous,
Knowing what to do.
One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you,
When I blog with you.

I want a new blog - one that says what it should,
One that won't make me feel to bad,
One that won't make me feel to good.
I want a new blog - one with no doubt,

One that will make me righteous,
Knowing what to do.
One that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you,
When I blog with you.




He he he.

Hope you enjoyed that.

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Small and Simple

There have been several who have made attempts to evaluate and define their own blogs and the bloggernacle lately. I might join in the throng, and sort of evaluate and define this little blog. I might start with the name.


I had just found the Mormon Archipelago and started making a few comments here and there. I was kinda proud of myself. What a great thing I had found. I had no idea about blogs really. I had assumed that all of you had written your own html code from scratch to create these things. Surely I was amongst faithful geniuses. Why would so many people go through such an effort? I had never entertained the idea that I would ever have my own blog. Such a thing was surely out of my reach.

I was then talking to a friend of mine in my home ward, who has since moved, about what I had found. I talked with him because I knew he was a web site guy who did some web site design professionally. He apparently knew all about the bloggernacle. I began to wonder if he might be able to put a blog together. Maybe in a few months we could put something together. He then told me that he had his own blog, and that setting one up was incredibly easy. Once he told me about blogger I began to realize that I might be able to have my own blog that day. Wow.

I then realized that I would need a name for the blog. Small and Simple. It just popped into my mind. I knew that would be the name. Decision time over. What should it look like? What shall I post on? The whole thing flooded into my mind in milliseconds. So why Small and Simple? I don't know. It just popped in there. It was not strategic, it was not planned. I just knew. I am not claiming revelation on this. I don't really think God cares whether I have a blog or not, let alone what I name it. But it felt right.

I set up the basic blog that evening. It was a snap. I was so naive I did not even check to see if the name was taken. As far as I know it wasn't. I haven't heard anybody complain that I stole it. It seems odd that it wasn't already being used.

Since then I have felt the name fits me and this blog quite well. I'm a small and simple guy. I way 150 pounds, not exactly intimidating. I live a very simple life. I have a very simple testimony. I have a tendency to simplify things - even oversimplifying at times. I don't think I am a very complex person. I think Small and Simple fits. I also think the name should serve as a reminder to me to keep my expectations low. This will probably never become a wildly popular site. Visits and comments will probably always be somewhat low. I think that is probably all that any solo blog that comes along can hope for now that the bloggernacle has grown so much.

At present I don't see Small and Simple changing very much. My pace is slowing some. Part of that is my participation at Blogger of Jared, I generally post there once a week. If that participation continues to grow this blog may become more and more personal.

I am hoping that those who have read some of my posts here do not feel that I have wasted their time. This is getting a little long itself. I think this experience has been good for me. I hope there have been and will continue to be benefits for others as well. If you have read this whole thing you deserve something. I'm not quite sure what it is though.

See you around.

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The Prophet Hall of Fame

I am a sports fan, so I often fall into that type of thinking. So I hope you don't find this inappropriate, but I thought today about what it would be like if there were a Prophet Hall of Fame started. And if so, who would get in on the first ballot. The way this works in many sports halls of fame is that there are a certain amount of people who get to nominate proposed members. Anyone who is on a certain percentage of the ballots (say 75%) gets in. Anyone with less than that does not get in. If I had to vote on who would get in to the Prophet Hall of Fame I would nominate:

Joseph Smith
Yes, he would be my first choice. The head of the last dispensation - enough said. No it's not. The First Vision, THE vision (D&C 76), translating the Book of Mormon, all those revelations in the D&C, The KFD, a martyr to boot. Are you kidding me? The stats just jump out. And then there is the statement that Joseph has done more for the salvation of men than anyone save Jesus. Joseph Smith is a sure first ballot Hall of Famer.

Moses
Moses has to get in. Leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, all those miracles, parting the Red Sea, the 10 commandments, the burning bush, serpents on a stick. Get out of here! Moses has to be on your list.

Abraham
The grandfather of the whole house of Israel. Heard of the Abrahamic covenant? The sacrifice of Isaac. Gotta go with Abraham on this.

Isaiah
Prophecies Galore. If you get quoted that often by Christ and other prophets you must be doing something right. Great are the words of Isaiah.

Nephi

Yep, Nephi. Look in the BofM index under Nephi and you see the term 'great prophet'. As far as I can tell nobody else in the BofM gets 'great prophet' billing in the index. Getting the brass plates, getting asked to build a ship to cross the ocean and all he wants to know is where to find ore. Ore! I'm an engineer, and I would be asking a lot more questions than where to find freakin' ore. The interpretive vision of the tree of life, jedi-like shock powers. Great prophet indeed.

Well, there is my top five for my initial ballot. Feel free to give your own ballot and nominate your own Hall of Fame Prophets. Go ahead and argue with me about my selections. Feel free to list more than five if you wish, but remember that part of what makes the Hall of Fame special is who is not in.

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A Tale of Two Bishops

I know two particular men who served as bishops in the same ward consecutively. I served in callings that allowed me to attend PEC and Ward Council and Welfare meetings with both of these bishops, so I was able to see them in action up close. I will call them Bishop X and Bishop Y. In many ways they could not be more different from each other.

Bishop X was the perfect image of a bishop. He really looked and acted the part. He always seemed to have a way of saying and doing exactly the right thing all the time. He was very cautious and deliberate in all of his decisions. He had a way of studying it out in his own mind very thoroughly. When he called someone to a calling the general reaction would be something like a firm head nod by the members of the ward. A logical choice. The right person for the job. Exactly who I would have called.

Bishop Y was not exactly what you would expect from a bishop. A very good man of course, worthy in every way, including being worthy of admiration and respect. But he did not necessarily look like a bishop. He was a little unpredictable in what he might say and do. Rarely seemed to have a plan. But this did not stop him from taking action. He had a way of flying by the seat of his pants so to speak. When he called someone to a calling, there might occasionally be a gasp or two heard. Not all that logical of a choice, maybe even one of the last people you would think to call to such a position.

Again, I want to say that I have total respect and support for both bishops. I also should say that some of the unexpected callings that were extended by bishop Y worked out quite well, some worked well enough, others were disasters. The same could be said perhaps of the callings extended by bishop X however.

The differences between these two bishops to me is quite obvious and striking. It makes me wonder which one was following the spirit of inspiration more? Bishop X (the cautious, thorough one, who always wanted to do the right thing), or bishop Y (the one who appeared to wing it at times).

There is the 'study it out in your mind' scripture in D&C 9, and there is 'being lead by the spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do' in 1 Nephi 4.

With the differences so obvious, which one was more likely following the spirit, X or Y? Could two approaches that seemed so different both be inspired from the same source? Could bishop X be planning and thinking to much to be inspired sometimes? Could bishop Y be just doing the first thing that comes to mind and not patiently seeking inspiration? Let me know what you think.

(There may be a couple of people out there from this ward who know exactly who I am talking about. Please do not mention names or even guess. The last thing I want to do is stir up any trouble. I hope to maybe learn something about church leadership and seeking inspiration from this.)

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Bloggin' Man (A Rush Parody)

The following are modified lyrics to "Workin' Man" by Rush. I have been using my lyrics whenever I listen to this song or when it goes through my head. It says a bit about what I feel about blogging sometimes.



Bloggin' Man

I get up at 7 yeah
and I start to blog at 9.
Got no time for livin' yeah
I'm bloggin' all the time.

Seems to me, I could live my life,
A lot better than I think I am.
I guess that's why they call me,
The bloggin' man.

They call me the bloggin' man,
I guess that's what I am.

I get home at 5 o'clock,
And I make myself a float, but first the root beer.
Always seem to be wonderin'
why there are no comments on here.

Seems to me I could live my life,
A lot better than I think I am.
I guess that's why they call me,'
The bloggin' man.

They call me the bloggin' man.
I guess that's what I am.

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