Some thoughts from "The Master-Key To Riches"

There are some things that I learn and I wonder, "how I've gone for 26 years without knowing this?" I feel this way each time I pick up The Master-Key to Riches by Napoleon Hill. Sometimes I have to take breaks from the book to just let things sink in for a minute. He says at the beginning of the book to read every line and read the book twice. I'm sure he does this because the information is so powerful and you really have to focus on it in order for it to change your life.

Yesterday I was reading a really neat part of the book and thought it would be interesting to you. Hill says, "Men consist of two forces, one tangible, in the form of his physical body, with its myriad individual cells numbering billions, each of which is endowed with intelligence and energy; and the other intangible, in the form of an ego -- the organized dictator of the body which may control man's thoughts and deeds.
Science teaches us the tangible portion of a man weighing 160 lbs. is composed of about 17 chemical elements, all of which are known. They are:
95 lbs. of oxygen
38 lbs. of carbon
15 lbs. of hydrogen
4 lbs. of nitrogen
4.5 pounds of calcium
6 oz. of chlorine
4 oz. of sulphur
3.5 oz. of potassium
3 oz. of sodium
.25 oz. of iron
2.5 oz. of fluorine
2 oz. of magnesium
1.5 oz. of silicon
and small traces of arsenic, iodine and aluminum
"these tangible parts of man are worth only a few cents commercially and may be purchased in any modern chemical plant."

Isn't this amazing... that our bodies alone are only worth a few cents? How much is our mind worth? If our mind is the most valuable thing, are we constantly nourishing it with valuable information? I don't want to take credit away from our Father in Heaven who made us by a combination of these simple chemical elements. Our bodies are amazing and I'm thankful for my body. I'm also thankful for my mind and spirit which really holds all the value!

Jill

Primer

Get it here.

http://primer.freecapitalist.com/

Sunday School Answers

Typically when we ask the question, why did we come to earth, we receive the same 1 or 2 answers, to gain a body and to prove ourselves worthy.  Both are accurate, but what if this was taught consistently in our homes.  And how would we approach that question differently as we teach it?

It is one of Satan's foremost ambitions to get us to waste the days of our probation here on earth. He is using the same tactics of diversion and confusion to get people to waste their lives today as those which he used so successfully in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. One "wastes" his probation the moment he becomes pre-occupied with things other than what we were placed in the second estate to obtain. We came to this life to do a number of things. Here are some of them:

1. To get a mortal body and make it subject to our intelligence, mind or spirit.

2. To get an eternal companion.

3. To produce a large posterity in whom we might have joy.

4. To learn as much as possible about temporal laws.

5. To learn how to become economically self-sufficient.

6. To learn how to live and serve one another as a family of our Heavenly Father.

7. To comply with all the ordinances and formalities related to the orderly kingdom of God.

8. To fulfill all the covenants made in connection with those ordinances.

9. To learn how to give enthusiastic obedience to the eternal principles of progress laid down by our Heavenly Father.

10. To bring our lives under the cleansing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ by repenting of our sins and having them forever blotted out.

11. To learn why God's pattern of attaining the "fulness of joy" is the ultimate and only perfect way to achieve complete self-realization.

If anyone would like the source for this info, it is Treasures from the Book of Mormon by W. Cleon Skousen.

MW

Ayn Rand

I think I figured out where Ayn Rand had it wrong.  You cannot be saved on Principle alone.  That is why the Gospel is so great!  After listening to conference talks with a new "abundant" ear, I can hear the principles taught over and over.  The Church is not just a club, it is the true principles with the saving ordinances which help us become who we were meant to become!

At some point, principled people will realize that they do not have what it takes alone to return to the God who created them and who is the Author of their Prosperity.  This, to me, seems like a logical reason for why Ayn Rand was agnostic. If she admitted that saving ordinances existed, then she would know that she didn't have them and she would thus live an unfulfilled life.  Because she tried to remove principle 1, she deceived herself into thinking she had reached true happiness.  Although I believe that she did receive a huge amount of happiness maybe even more happiness than many members of the True Church. If this is the case, which I believe it is, it proves that the Saving ordinances without the principles are not enough either.  You must follow both to receive the full measure of happiness.

MW

Giving

I really liked this quote by Rick Koerber about giving in a lecture he gave:

"The best way to help the poor and needy is to begin by giving of your substance which is not that which rusts and moth corrupts, it’s something you take with you when you leave this earth. It’s something you’ve experienced and learned, it’s something that’s much harder to give than a twenty dollar bill. It’s time and talent, it’s knowledge and training. You will feed more hungry and clothe more naked by imparting what you really have than by trying to feel good giving something that’s probably not yours to begin with."

AR

Power of ONE

Last night we had a great experience which showed me the power of ONE and followed the principle that people are assets as well as the principle that agency implies stewardship.  

Some friends in the neighborhood invited us over to their house for family night and my wife Michelle (being the good steward that she is) mentioned that we should take out the weeds in a common area that is owned by the Home Owner's Association.  We talked to our friends who had invited us if they would like to help and within about 20 minutes both of our families were making good progress.  Another family in the neighborhood was out for a walk and saw us and they asked if they could join in.  Within 30 minutes of beginning a task (that would have taken Michelle and I about 4 hours to complete) we had 10 people working together for a definite purpose and we accomplished our task in a little over an hour and had great conversation while doing so.  Michelle proved that ideas have consequences and that great ideas when put into action have the ability to inspire others along the way.   

Think of something right now that you are a steward over- What can you do right now to improve the situation?  Go and do it and get one other person to help you!!!

Ideas have consequences, How are your ideas working for you?

MW

MW

Knowing what you know right now....

Could you answer any of the following questions, knowing what you know right now?

1. According to the Lutz-Hyneman study approximately what percentage of the Founders' "great ideas" came from the Bible? In the days of the Founders what kind of organizations sponsored every major college and university in America? Was a study of the Bible required?

2. Which of the Founders became president of the American Bible Association? What book did he consider to be the most reliable world history? What prevented him from signing the Declaration of Independence?

3. Who was the Founder who described what a nation would be like if it adopted the Bible as its only law book? Why did he think the Founders were a body of divinely appointed political scientists for the modern age? Did he believe there was an ideal system of government based on the "divine science" of God's law?

4. Name three great European scholars of political science who believed that the most reliable text for the study of good government was the Bible.

5. In the Northwest Ordinance adopted in 1787 -- the same year the Constitution was written -- what were the three things the schools were to teach? What was the biggest problem connected with the first item? Can you identify the five basic beliefs on which all "sound religions" agree?

6. Who said these five basic beliefs that constitute the "religion of America" actually constitute the "religion of all mankind?" Do these basic beliefs fit all the major denominations and religions with which you are acquainted?

7. What did George Washington say were "indispensable supports" to "political prosperity"? What did Washington consider a person to be who would undermine these important elements in our society?

8. When Thomas Jefferson was asked to contribute money for a wider distribution of the Bible, why was he surprised? As he travelled around the country what had he observed? Did he contribute anyway?

9. Which of the Founders is best remembered for his campaign to insure freedom of religion in all of the states? Why is he called the "Father of the Constitution?"

10. Can you think of at least two advantages a Bible-reading Founding Father would have over the vast majority of the politicians in our own day?

If you would like to have the text to go along with these questions, just email me and I'll send it to you.  Awesome info-

mwren@yesco.com

MW