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Washington, D. C.– Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl,(R-Ariz.) had high praise for Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and sent a strong endorsement for his bid for re-election.    Kyl, who has served with Hatch on both the Senate Judiciary and Senate Finance Committees, … Read More

WASHINGTON– Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands, responded to comments made today by U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Ken Salazar that the DOI “want[s] companies to develop the … Read More

Just a quickie — interesting article in the NYTimes about weight and obesity.

The Times has run a bunch of articles like this. This one (click) is by a mathematician who makes it all sound so simple, just eat less and exercise more, although other articles have made it clear that some people almost can’t be too careful about what they eat because of their body chemistry.

Then there’s the food addiction problem, which is very real and not easily dismissed. Mathematics can explain the problem, but the solution is vastly more complex.

Still, this guy’s basic premise, that we eat too much because there’s too much food around and it’s too cheap is a good place to start.

Just a quickie — interesting article in the NYTimes about weight and obesity. The Times has run a bunch of articles like this. This one (click) is by a mathematician who makes it all sound so simple, just eat less and … Read More

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) Why do so many church lessons about the power of prayer always have to follow this format: Either the man upstairs magisterially — like a genie — grants your frantic plea for personal safety or personal betterment, or he prompts you, with a warm fuzzy feeling, to check on somebody or something, or pull over on the highway, etc., thereby sparing you or a loved one(s) an unfortunate accident or death.

Why can’t the power of prayer be defined as a tool that allows you to offer to God your gratitude for just being on earth, and having prayer as a component — along with Scripture study and following the Golden Rule, etc. — that helps make you a better person? Why does its power have to be attached with “believe-it-or-not” testimonials that would sound cheesy even on a late-night infomercial?

I’m not making this stuff up. In priesthood we had a mostly useful lesson on the power of prayer. Prayer is a device, that if you value it, can get you through the night, or a life, if needed. But it’s not a “get-out-of jail-free card.” I concede that two “real-life” examples of prayer’s power may not be intended to show that God plays favorites, but I can’t see how the countless unfortunates who didn’t get a miraculous hand from God can feel otherwise.

The first involved a young man who went to swim beyond the breakers in the Southern California. Not surprisingly, the foolish swimmer, presumably alone, was carried away by high waves. About to drown, he prayed furiously to God that he could clutch the barnacle-encrusted pier pillar he was moving toward. Despite cutting himself, he hung on to the log pillar and was able to pray himself to shallow water. Prayer saved him is the moral of the story.

Or it could be that God looks after fools. I was a lifeguard a long time ago, and I do know that anyone who goes into deep water with waves alone is a fool. Did prayer save that man? I don’t believe so. My God respects natural law. Only a person who has never carried in — too late — a drowning victim to shore would believe such Pabulum that was pitched in a priesthood manual. Millions of unfortunates — foolish or otherwise — who have drowned no doubt furiously prayed for deliverance until incoming water silenced their pleas.

The second example of prayer’s power involved the true story of a father in Salt Lake City who suddenly felt inspired to pray for his young toddler son. Later, dad learned that junior had fallen into the Provo River. Just before the youngster was to be permanently thrust under water and slashed and brutalized by stones and rocks, a wave, presto, erupted out of thin air, lifting the lucky toddler out of the water and onto the shore. Prayer saves the lucky one again!

On Sunday morning, it was impossible to read that “miracle” without thinking of the unfortunate toddler, Corbin Anderson, 4, of Layton, who fell into the Weber River in late April. There must have been prayers by the dozen from the youngster’s horrified family members as his father tried in vain to save Corbin. Pleas to save his life were not answered.

The late Christopher Hitchens was no fan of prayer, I imagine, but he did understand gratitude. To survive the many obstacles that nature puts to us from the time we are conceived until birth is quite a gift, he wrote. To give thanks for every second of the gift of life is appropriate. To ask God to look after you, even protect you from harm, is appropriate. To ask God to give you the strength to survive adversity is even better. On Sunday, a man cited prayer as a contributing factor to his finding Corbin’s body, thereby bringing peace to his grieving family. That I can believe.

I’m sure most of us, if in a desperate situation, will pray to God for deliverance. That is human nature. If we stop for a hamburger and miss being a participant in a tragic event because of that, we may foolishly think it was divine grace that led us to the burger.

But keep such boasting to yourself, and please omit it from religious lesson manuals.

Why do so many church lessons about the power of prayer always have to follow this format: Either the man upstairs magisterially — like a genie — grants your frantic plea for personal safety or personal betterment, or he prompts … Read More

(UPDATED WITH MARX and TILLOTSON RESULTS) At left is Ogden MMA 170 to 180 pounder Justin Roberts, (seen winning at left) who is 2-1 (2 KOs) in his pro career. Here at the blog we’re starting a series of short … Read More

WASHINGTON – Citing the Obama Administration’s failed energy agenda, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called on the Democrat-led Senate to advance the Western Economic Security Today (WEST) Act in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday. The measure, introduced by … Read More

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as several dozen other leftist Catholic clergy, have decided that Jesus Christ does not approve of GOP Rep. Paul Ryan’s 10-year deficit reduction plan. According to these left-wing heirs to the previous generation’s Falwellian “Moral Majority,” Ryan fails to meet Jesus’ criteria “for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the jobless.”

The Wisconsin Republican is made to look frightfully evil. Only a look at the truth reveals otherwise: Ryan’s budget wants to grow government by 3 percent a year. President Obama’s budget, which presumably is God-approved by the Bishops, wants to increase the government by 4.5 percent a year. So what the lefty clergy is telling us is that adding 3 percent to federal spending a year is a really evil thing to do.

The Old Testament tells is that “a gentle answer turneth away wrath.” Not in today’s hyperspending era for pols, where any talk of lessening cradle-to-grave dependency for “Julia” turns you into a heartless cur. Is it any wonder why those worried about the deficit are pessimistic about the future. Efforts to even slow the growth of government are attacked as assaults on kindness, Christianity and morality.

The real moral of this tragedy is that when the deficit is too great to ignore and U.S. credit is as worthy as Greece’s, it’s the poor who will take the most pain.

Pols and others serious about reducing the deficit can expect such tactics from opponents, secular or otherwise. They’ll offer no serious counter-proposal that will reduce the deficits long-term and preserve Social Security, tax-funded retirement plans, or Medicare. Instead, they will describe budget-cutting as cruel, callous, Randian, unchristian, hateful … choose your adjective.

Demagoguery, or appeals to divine justice, are preferred tactics of those without facts.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as several dozen other leftist Catholic clergy, have decided that Jesus Christ does not approve of GOP Rep. Paul Ryan’s 10-year deficit reduction plan. According to these left-wing heirs to the previous … Read More

Yes. The opening chapters in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon all draw attention to marriage between a man and a woman and the family unit. It is not just the opening chapters. Genesis and … Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) issued the following statement today after President Barrack Obama reversed his position and announced that he now supports same-sex marriage: “I’m glad the President finally laid out his position to the American people, … Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, today joined with senior Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives in questioning whether a Health and Human Services’ (HHS) $3.8 billion loan program … Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement today after Senate Democrats tried to jam through legislation that would impose massive tax increases on America’s small businesses while raiding the … Read More

Just because the Jazz are through playing basketball this season doesn’t mean Tyrone Corbin is through watching and learning.

After getting swept out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, the Jazz returned to EnergySolutions Arena on Tuesday and cleared out their lockers, boxed up their belongings and held exit interviews.

But Corbin said he won’t be taking a break from the game anytime soon.

Asked when he would start preparing for the 2012-13 season, the 49-year-old coach said he has already started.

“I enjoy basketball, so I watch games,” he said. “I enjoy watching the games but also I’m picking up stuff. I’m studying coaches, I’m studying the strategy, I’m looking at plays. I’m looking at matchups and tweaks that different guys make a different times.”

Just as with a few of his players, 2012 marked Corbin’s first foray into the postseason (as a head coach).

He said the Spurs’ series was an eye-opener for him personally and indicated he needed to get better as a coach.

“This is a great time of year for me personally to continue to grow and continue to learn,” he said. “I watch the games to do that. I don’t consider it work all the time it’s what I do and I enjoy doing it. I need to get better, I need to understand situations, I need to just continue to see if there’s things other teams are doing, that are still playing, that we need to incorporate. Whatever it is that’s going to give us a chance to get better, then I want make sure we’re crossing it and at least considering it.”

Corbin also indicated he looked forward to chatting with former coach Jerry Sloan.

Corbin played for Sloan and spent several years as one of his assistant coaches. When Sloan resigned in February of 2011, Corbin stepped in.

Corbin said he wanted to give Sloan some space and was reluctant to bother him with too many phone calls and questions.

Recently, Sloan came to see his former team play. The timing was such that he and Corbin were not able to speak.

“I think he had a good amount of time off, so it’s time for him to do something,” Corbin joked. “I’d like to call and talk to him. I’ll find a time (to call). It was so difficult (not to talk to him when he attended games).

“I was great to see him at the game the other night and to see him back in the building. He wanted time away from it and I didn’t want to pull him back by putting my problems and my concerns on him. He’s had some time now and I think it’s time to make a few more calls to him.”

Just because the Jazz are through playing basketball this season doesn’t mean Tyrone Corbin is through watching and learning. After getting swept out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, the Jazz returned to EnergySolutions Arena on Tuesday and … Read More

WASHINGTON– House Natural Resources National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Chairman Rob Bishop (UT-01) praised the Department of Interior for approving 3600 new natural gas wells in Uintah County, Utah. “Natural gas is an important part of our nation’s diverse … Read More

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) We have an online letter in our newspaper, describing homosexuality as a crime against nature. (Read) Not surprisingly, it’s generated a lot of heated responses, most opposed. I find the letter offensive. It calls homosexuality a disorder, no different than bestiality. Appalling? I’d say so. Yet, I wonder how many of us would be surprised to see similar rhetoric in one of the LDS Church’s most popular books, “The Miracle of Forgiveness,” by the late prophet Spencer W. Kimball. (link)

Kimball is arguably one of the most progressive LDS prophets. Besides ending the ban on blacks receiving full membership privileges, he was an advocate of helping American Indians and expanded the church’s efforts into Latin America. Yet, on homosexuality, here is Kimball in Chapter 6 of the book, called “The Crime Against Nature”:

“Homosexuality is an ugly sin, repugnant to those who find no temptation in it, as well as to many past offenders who are seeking a way out of its clutches. It is embarrassing and unpleasant as a subject for discussion but because of its prevalence, the need to warn the uninitiated, and the desire to help those who may already be involved with it, it is discussed in this chapter.

“This perversion is defined as “sexual desire for those of the same sex or sexual relations between individuals of the same sex,” whether men or women. It is a sin of the ages. It was present in Israel’s wandering days as well as after and before. It was tolerated by the Greeks. It was prevalent in decaying Rome. The ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are symbols of wretched wickedness more especially related to this perversion, as the incident of Lot’s visitors indicates. (See Gen. 19:5.) So degenerate had Sodom become that not ten righteous people could be found (see Gen. 18:23-32), and the Lord had to destroy it. But the revolting practice has persisted. As far back as Henry the Eighth this vice was referred to as “the abominable and detestable crime against nature.” Some of our own statutes have followed that apt and descriptive wording.

“Sin in sex practices tends to have a “snowballing” effect. As the restraints fall away, Satan incites the carnal man to ever-deepening degeneracy in his search for excitement until in many instances he is lost to any former considerations of decency. Thus it is that through the ages, perhaps as an extension of homosexual practices, men and women have sunk even to seeking sexual satisfactions with animals.”

“The Miracle of Forgiveness” is not an now-obscure 18th or early 19th century Mormon text that we discourage from lessons or conversations. It is still widely read and cited. But there is a paradox here: Despite what Kimball writes, his opinion, if one is to base it on recent actions of the LDS Church, is not shared by the faith’s hierarchy. Consider what happened in October 2010, when LDS Apostle Boyd K. Packer stated that God would never make one of his children gay. The ensuing uproar led to the LDS leaders revising Packer’s statement. The statement, “Some suppose that they were pre-set and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn tendencies toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Why would our Heavenly Father do that to anyone? Remember he is our father,” was changed. Officially, it reads, “Some suppose that they were preset and cannot overcome what they feel are inborn temptations toward the impure and unnatural. Not so! Remember, God is our Heavenly Father.”

Some may argue this is a small change, but I disagree. Packer’s original comments were far milder than Kimball’s in his book, yet they were rebuffed through editing after protest. Consider what Kimball wrote on this matter in “Miracle of Forgiveness,” and not his use of the word “tendency.”:

“Next in seriousness to nonrecognition of the sin is the attempt to justify oneself in this perversion. Many have been misinformed that they are powerless in the matter, not responsible for the tendency, and that “God made them that way.” This is as untrue as any other of the diabolical lies Satan has concocted. It is blasphemy. Man is made in the image of God. Does the pervert think God to be “that way”?”

In recent years, LDS Apostle Dallin Oaks has drawn distinctions between homosexual sexual activity and same-sex attraction. The latter is not considered a sin. The LDS Church has supported efforts to end discrimination against gays and lesbians. These are admittedly small steps, but they are evidence that the LDS Church is slowly, but consistently, moving to more tolerance of homosexuality.

Kimball’s chapter on homosexuality, with its fire and brimstone sermons against the “crime against nature,” is becoming a relic. It’s best compared to old church texts, such as “The Way to Perfection,” still published in the mid-70s, that defended the ban on blacks and argued that Saints who were born in the U.S. had been more valiant in the pre-existence than those born in third-world countries. Those ideas have passed into disrepute. It will be very interesting watching how LDS leaders respond in the coming years to homosexuality, gay marriage, and other issues.

(To see Cal Grondahl’s cartoon that goes with this post, click here.) We have an online letter in our newspaper, describing homosexuality as a crime against nature. (Read) Not surprisingly, it’s generated a lot of heated responses, most opposed. I … Read More

Salt Lake City, UT–The Hatch Election Committee announced today that it has agreed to a final debate between Senator Orrin Hatch and his primary opponent Dan Liljenquist.  The debate will take place on the Doug Wright Show on KSL News … Read More