I’ve started my own software company and I am in the process of getting a company logo designed by Layne Turner. We’ve narrowed the main design down, but I am undecided on the colors. Please help me decide by voting here:
Vote Here (click here to vote)
If you click on the pictures a bigger version will appear.
Or when speaking to most other Christians…
Now, when I say “speaking to” I don’t want to limit myself to solely a direct conversation with a person, but also I direct my comments to any person speaking within hearing range of a Mormon.
There are many things I could focus on in this blog post but I will limit myself to those I believe are most frequently said in my daily environment.
What not to say
I believe most people want to do good and don’t mean ill when they say the following things. I think much of the problem is that our culture has turned certain inappropriate words, phrases, and subjects into common speech which is used without really thinking about what is being said. I believe a great deal of this problem can be solved by helping others understand what they are really saying.
Inappropriate use of the name of God
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
The Apple Dictionary states that to take someone’s name in vain means “use someone’s name in a way that shows a lack of respect”. I feel that casual (vain also means useless) use of the name of God in one’s conversation is breaking this commandment (showing a lack of respect). When we use His name it should be for an appropriate purpose and not just when something unexpected occurs.
President George Q. Cannon, once an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said on one occasion:
“Do angels take the Lord’s name in vain? The idea is so ridiculous that we scarcely like to ask the question. … How dare we do that which angels dare not do? Is it possible for us to argue that that which is forbidden in heaven is praiseworthy on earth? …
“Though we are sure no boy can tell us any advantage that can arise from the abuse of God’s holy name, yet we can tell him many evils that arise therefrom. To begin,” Brother Cannon said, “it is unnecessary and consequently foolish; it lessens our respect for holy things and leads us into the society of the wicked; it brings upon us the disrespect of the good who avoid us; it leads us to other sins, for he who is willing to abuse his Creator is not ashamed to defraud his fellow creature; and also by so doing we directly and knowingly break one of the most direct of God’s commandments” (Juvenile Instructor, 27 Sept. 1873, p. 156).
Take Not the Name of God in Vain (this is a great speech given on this topic).
I hope we can reflect more on what we say and who we say it around. Should we even be saying it at all? There are many other things I don’t like to hear, including swearing, crude language, talking bad about others, and any other non-virtuous topic, but the one that bothers me the most is disrespect of the name of our Creator. No one would like to hear their father’s name be used as a phrase for when something bad occurs or used so casually as though it wasn’t important and we shouldn’t use the name of our Heavenly Father that way either.
Please post your thoughts in the comments.
How to relieve back pain with a tennis ball (details given to me by a physical rehab doctor)
Why a previous Linux fanatic switched over to Mac (and you should too)
What not to say when speaking to a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
And many more to come…
Please vote in the comments on which topic you are most interested in and I’ll blog in that order. Thanks.
So I finally started an official weblog (you’re reading it now). I started one a few years ago, but I never kept it up-to-date. I thought that I was too busy with college to spend some of my precious time writing a blog. I find that I’m just as busy now, but I don’t have set deadlines that push me to spend my nights and weekends slaving over a hot keyboard (phrase taken from Bro. Twitchell) working on my computer science projects.
On to what what’s on my mind…
If I’m just as busy, I ask myself, why am I starting a blog? Well, there are a few reasons…
1) I feel like I may have something to say that will help someone else’s life be better, or at least help them to better understand my point of view on things.
2) I love to learn and I hope I can share what I’ve learned with others.
3) To allow others to get to know me better.
4) I need practice writing.
5) I’m a computer geek that doesn’t have a blog (now I’ll no longer be an outcast among my peers).
6) Why not?
Hopefully this blog won’t also disappear into the cyber wasteland to never be updated again (see collinluke.blogspot.com for an example).
