THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER

THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER

An amateur photographer was invited to dinner with friends,
and he took along a few pictures to show to them. The
hostess looked at the photos and commented, "These are very
good! You must have a good camera."

The photographer didn't make any comment, but as he was
leaving to go home, he said, "That was a really delicious
meal! You must have some very good pots."

Received from Thomas Ellsworth.

The above joke came to me from my friend Jackie. I had to gulp and hope I hadn't said something similar to my photographer friends, although a camera's quality can make a big difference. LOL!

*****

There was a blurb running across the bottom of the Northwest Cable News channel yesterday, saying that the Mormon Church (which I was born and raised in) was celebrating the 30th anniversary of the "revelation" which gave the Mormon priesthood -- which is held only by men -- to blacks.

I did a search on Google about this subject as I was curious as to how the event was going to be celebrated. I found an interesting article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the subject (which you can access by clicking on the link in the first part of this sentence). It covers both positive and negative aspects of the LDS Church's handling of the blacks in the past and a current example of a black convert.

Until the time of the "revelation", individuals with any black blood in them at all were unable to attend the Mormon temple ceremonies. I have a good friend who went through these ceremonies quite a few times (they are done in proxy for people who are dead), only learning a few weeks before her mother died that her father had been partly black. According to Mormon doctrine, she shouldn't have gone through the temple ceremonies before the change in beliefs, but of course she had no way of knowing that.

I have written my LDS friend Fran in Utah to ask what the Mormon Church is doing to celebrate this anniversary, but I haven't heard from her yet.

I still believe that the "revelation" was one of convenience, as so many of them seem to have been, because at the time, college football teams were threatening to boycott BYU's team due to the church's stand on the blacks not being able to hold the priesthood.

Brigham Young and other early church leaders had said that blacks would never hold the Mormon priesthood, and Young had gotten even pithier than that, with very strong statements about what he would do to a mixed-race couple. Perhaps his adament anti-black thoughts reflected the thought of a majority of whites during his time; I don't know.

I am truly glad that those times have changed, to the extent that we have a black candidate for President of the U.S. But that is going onto a different subject. I do think that black individuals who are interested in the LDS church should do some research to see what the LDS church once believed about them. If they can live with those old beliefs, then fine. I'm not sure I would be able to if I were in their shoes.

*****

There is still no word on my brother-in-law Stan's condition. I have quite a few members of several lists praying for him. I am hoping and praying that he will have a good quality of life for a long while, despite what I have read on his daughter's blog about the possibility that he could have kidney failure.

*****

I am about ready to eat lunch, take another Vicodin, and then nap. (The neighbors' dogs are out and barking, which may make napping difficult, but maybe they will be back in the house by the time I try to get to sleep.) The Vicodin may get me through the barking if it continues. ;-) The arm got some exercise, taking the recycling out today, so has been sorer than the Vicodin could readily handle this morning, but that should change this afternoon.

I am really hoping that an evaluation of my arm will show that it is getting better on its own, and that it will just take time. I can guarantee that I am going to be more careful in what I insist that this 60-year-old body does!