Words of the Prophets

“I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world.
“I testify that the church and kingdom of God is increasing in strength. Its numbers are growing, as is the faithfulness of its faithful members. It has never been better organized or equipped to perform its divine mission.
“I testify that as the forces of evil increase under Lucifer’s leadership and as the forces of good increase under the leadership of Jesus Christ, there will be growing battles between the two until the final confrontation. As the issues become clearer and more obvious, all mankind will eventually be required to align themselves either for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of the devil. As these conflicts rage, either secretly or openly, the righteous will be tested. God’s wrath will soon shake the nations of the earth and will be poured out on the wicked without measure.”
— Ezra Taft Benson, “I Testify”, General Conference, Oct 1988
 
Source: I Testify 

Good morning

I’m off work today. On work days I’d be leaving about an hour ago. Just before leaving I set up the water for the chickens and ducks. (My wife lets them loose after sunrise.)

The views have been magnificent.

As I approach the barn (from the north, looking south) Scorpio hangs majestically over the barn. It’s dark enough here that you can see the reddish tint of Antares, the heart of the scorpion. To the right (east) Sagittarius the Archer aims his bow at Antares.

As I said, magnificent. Sadly, all attempts to photograph the view with my cellphone have failed. Sigh… Have to settle for this view of the coming sunrise.

(view from the front door this morning)

Playing around with GIMP. By trial and error I managed to extract this image from my ‘failed’ attempt to photograph Scorpio in the early morning sky over the barn.

Social Security in Dire Straits

“It gets worse. A big part of this started in 1964, when the Imperial City decided to move Social Security “Trust Fund” receipts into the general fund. This meant that our elected officials were free to spend that money, as they usually do, to buy votes, and that since then the Social Security “Trust Fund” has not existed; it’s a box full of IOUs from a government that is thirty-two trillion dollars in debt. In case you’re wondering, that’s about a quarter-million dollars per taxpayer.”