text:
Questions That Matter – Engaging with Mormons
Back to series
By Randy Newman, Corey Miller, on September 23, 2022 CSLI Podcasts, Questions That Matter Podcast, Corey Miller, Randy Newman
Listen or Download the Podcast
EPISODE 50: Engaging with Mormons
Knowing how to engage in good conversations with Mormon friends and acquaintances is crucial in our pluralistic world today. Former Mormon and apologist, Corey Miller shares his very helpful insights from his experiences and study.
Recommended Resources:
Engaging with Mormons: Understanding Their World; Sharing Good News by Corey Miller.
Ratio Christi is a global movement that equips university students and faculty to give historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons for following Jesus Christ.
Welcome to Questions That Matter, a podcast of the C.S. Lewis Institute. I'm your host, Randy Newman, and I'm delighted today to have as my conversation partner Corey Miller. Corey, welcome to Questions That Matter.
Fantastic to be here with you, Randy.
Mormon Anatomy
Cory Miller is the president of Ratio Christi Ministries, an apologetics ministry on college campuses. I'm going to let him tell a little bit about that. He comes to faith in Jesus as the Messiah out of a Mormon background. And Corey and I both got to be participating in a book series on "engaging with." He wrote the one on engaging with Mormons. I wrote the one on engaging with Jewish people. We'll have a link in the show notes about that series. There's Engaging with Muslims, Engaging with Atheists. It's a growing series.
And Corey Miller and I actually served together for a while on Campus Crusade staff, now called CRU, with a faculty ministry. We explored the world of ideas through this sub team that we called The Academic Initiative. That was really fun, while it lasted, that is. And so, Corey, tell us a little bit about Ratio Christi. I really want our listeners to know about this ministry. That's not the focus of our conversation today, but it would be horrible to just skip over that because it's a great work you're involved in.
Sure. Yeah, it's my privilege to be part of it. I've been president now for over seven years in it, and it's growing. It is an apologetics campus ministry that focuses on evangelism, but asking the tough questions and trying to address answers to those questions. So what separates us from every other apologetics ministry, Randy, is that we're on the campus. What separates us from every other campus ministry is that we do apologetics evangelism. And our heart really is thoughtful Christianity, transforming lives on campus today, changing culture tomorrow. We've been around for just over a decade, and we're on about 150 campuses. We have a professor's ministry, a high school ministry, and ordinary university sized ministry, but focused like a laser beam on apologetics evangelism.
I love it! I love it! And I know that, when I was doing campus ministry, Ratio Christi, they would come alongside our staff and our students. When we got hit with the really tough questions, we brought in the Marines, you guys with Ratio Christi. So I should tell our listeners also you have a PhD in philosophical theology. You have masters level degrees in theology or religion and philosophy. You taught philosophy for a number of years on a secular university, but you have the heart of an evangelist. I know that about you. It's not just, "Let's kick around these ideas and come up with, 'Aha! We got the better answer.'" You really want to see people come to faith in Jesus. So I love your resources. Anything else you want our listeners to know about this resource? How can they find out more about you?
Yeah, no. My heart is evangelism. That's what pushed me into philosophy initially as well. I wanted to be able to engage at the highest levels and reclaim the intellectual voice of Christ at the universities. They can go to ratiochristi.org, check out some of our ebooks publications that are very concise, written mostly by scholars, and at a 9,000-word level. So concise, accessible, 11th grade reading level, on a plethora of topics, from the problem of evil, reliability of the Bible, the issues of science, all the way to race, class, sex, gender, ethnicity, and so forth on the other end.
Man, that's great. I'm sorry to say that I think you're going to be needed for a very long time.
Yeah. In fact, I'm sure it's growing in the need, so I'm really thankful for you.
We're in constant litigation. I've got at least three to six cases at any one time going on, because of that. We won a Supreme Court victory last year, have three Federal court victories behind us, working on a fourth right now, and are engaged with the Biden Administration's Department of Education as well. So that's not our modus operandi, but ADF, Alliance Defending Freedom, helps keep the lights on for us so that we can continue to present the truth of Christ on the campuses and appeal to our American citizenship and our rights to be able to do so.
I don't think I knew this about it. So, in other words, you're in need of legal fighting in order to have a right to even be on the campus. Is that right?
Yeah. It's not just free speech anymore. It's cognitive liberty. If you even believe the wrong things, in certain campuses, then you've violated certain blasphemy laws and pay the penalty. So, yes, that either comes down to the all-comers policy, for a lack of better words. They insist that you will allow atheist or Buddhist or acting homosexuals to be student officers of your club or you cannot be an approved club on campus. We say no to that. We have fair, open ended for anyone to be a member, and many times half of our clubs are atheists, skeptics, leaders of other movements on campus, Muslim leaders, and so forth. But our officers need to be Christians because we're a Christian organization.
What a radical idea.
Yeah. And so they often push back on that. We're very patient. We don't sue happy, but on occasion, universities need to have continuing education, and we're happy to provide that for them.
Oh, my! All right, well, I want to turn things to this recent endeavor of yours, of writing this book, Engaging with Mormons. But let's hear your story first, because it's an important story that paves the way for the writing of this book. Tell us how you became a believer. You don't need to give us the two-minute version. Take your time, because I want people to hear about your background and how the Lord worked.
Okay. So I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a seventh-generation Mormon. My ancestor was converted in 1836, six years after the publishing of the Book of Mormon. And I didn't really know all that history until after I came to know the biblical Christ and started doing research and investigation into it. I was told I had come from a family of healthy stock, and what they mean by that is one of my ancestors, following in the footsteps of Joseph Smith, took five wives and had 36 children, of which I'm a descendant.
So I grew up in that background in Salt Lake and had a friend, when I was about 16, invite me to go spend the summer with him and his father in California and spend the whole summer at the beaches. But it was conditioned on me going to this Christian camp for one week, and he would pay for it. And I thought, "Okay, that's not a bad deal. One week, I can handle that. I've got my religion still, but the beach all summer long. It's much better than the Great Salt Lake, especially today with the drought."
But I got there, and the speaker spoke on hell, and I tell people that scared the hell out of me and heaven right into me. It rocked my world. In Mormonism, you don't really talk about hell, other than it being a cuss word. But grace isn't really gracious if you don't know the background for why grace is important. And when I saw my sin for what it was for the first time ever, now the gospel of Jesus Christ, whose Name was supposed to be the Name on our church, made sense for the first time. And it was so impactful that I packed my bags at the end of the summer, moved to California for my junior year of high school, and I lived with a Christian family, was discipled there, came back my senior year of high school to graduate in Utah, and that's when things really got rough, because now my extended family and friends and so forth began to challenge me. That, "Look, you left what you knew to be true. You're an apostate, and you may well be a son of perdition," and that's worse in the eternal scheme of things than Hitler. "And so do you really want to read the Book of Mormon again and pray over it one more time?"
And so I thought, "Yeah, I better do that." And I did so. And that's when my eyes were just opened in new ways, and I could not believe what I had been raised with and believed and found it utterly fraudulent. And what that did to me, Randy, was made me wonder, "Okay, I'm glad I've left Mormonism, but have I made the right move now?" Because I grew up believing that the Bible… The eighth article of faith says, "We believe the Bible is true as far as it's translated correctly," which implies it's got problems. "But don't worry, about it. We've got living prophets and apostles, and we've got the priesthood. So not a big deal. We've got other scriptures."
Now, I don't believe in those other scriptures or those apostles or prophets or that priesthood anymore. So what about this book full of holes? Can I really stand on this? Maybe my experience was just some encounter that I had in California that summer. How do I know God exists? And if so, which God? And that's what sent me into this trajectory of philosophy and comparative religions, which has been an insatiable pursuit of truth. And that's where I'm at today, in part because of my leaving Mormonism and coming to know the biblical Jesus.
Man, this is so exciting and encouraging. And I want to just underline something. You said you left and went out to California and did your junior year living with a Christian family and them taking you in. All right, let's just pause there for a second. They took in this high school kid who went to a camp and heard the gospel and responded, and they poured their lives into you, and they loved you, and they discipled you, and now you're the president of an apologetics ministry.
Lots and lots of our listeners open their home for someone coming and doing an internship or a summer something, and I'll bet a whole lot of them, the young people coming, are young to the faith. You just never know where that investment will pay off. So that's just kind of fun. And again, not that we'll explore that a whole lot, but…
All right, so we do need to pause at this point, because I do think you and I may be assuming something that maybe our listeners may not be. And I know that it's very, very popular and common for a lot of people to think, "Oh, Mormonism, it's just another denomination. You got Baptist, you got Presbyterians, you got Methodists, and you got Mormons. They're another denomination." But you don't believe that, and your book makes that clear. What do people need to know? Why isn't Mormonism just another denomination within Protestantism, for example?
Yeah. We may say that, according to Webster's Dictionary, a person is a Christian if they believe in Jesus. And the Mormons say, "Look, Jesus is on the name of our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Yeah, but I can call the microphone in front of me or the computer in front of me, I can call it Jesus, but that doesn't give it any saving power. It spells the same way. God spells the same way, G-O-D. But once you start to define or characterize what that God or that Jesus is like, it's completely someone that is not the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus of history, not the God of Western theism. It doesn't have anything in common with Judaism, Islam, or Christianity's concept of a God that is utterly transcendent, omnipotent, omniscient, eternal. The Mormon God has more in common with the device that your listeners are listening to right now than it does with the Western theistic concept of God, because it's utterly finite, it's limited. It's a being that evolved to be whatever it is today. Same species, different continuum.
So you're saying that it's actually the very core doctrine of God that we disagree with them about. Is that right?
Yeah, Randy. When I taught comparative religions at Indiana University, I was teaching philosophy and comparative religions there for a dozen years. When I would teach comparative religions, I have the great Western religions, the great Eastern religions, and then I'm thinking, "Well, Mormonism is about the same size as Judaism. Certainly I should at least mention it." And I'm thinking, "Where should I put it? Should I teach it in the Western religion section because it talks about Jesus? Or should I put it in the Eastern religion section because it has more in common in its theological understanding with Hinduism than it does with Judaism, Christianity, or Islam?" At least in Hinduism, they like to say there are 330 million gods. I don't know whoever counted them all, but at least they've got a limitation. If the universe is eternal, and this concept in Mormonism of becoming gods has been going on for all eternity, then 330,000,000 is just getting started.
What is spiritual warfare? And does it really matter or does it really affect my everyday life? C.S. Lewis, in his introduction to The Screwtape Letters, said this: "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight." Isn't that brilliant? Well, we're doing an event about spiritual warfare with our good friend and C.S. Lewis scholar Jerry Root. Dr. Jerry Root was professor for many years at Wheaton. Now he's Professor Emeritus at Wheaton College. And if you were fortunate enough to be at Wheaton and study under Jerry Root, you know that he is brilliant and a delight to listen to, one story after another and brilliant insight. And he's doing a special event for us about spiritual warfare.
This one is an in-person event. So if you're in the Washington DC area and you're interested in learning more about spiritual warfare, this event is for you. It's going to be at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Annandale. There is a cost for this event, it's $10 per person, and there will be a question and answer period following Dr. Root's presentation. Please click Here to register for the event.
I'm learning something in this podcast, which I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but there I go, because I always thought it was the doctrine of Christ where we disagreed. And I'm pretty sure that we do, in that the Mormons deny the deity of Christ, and that's not some minor technicality, that's core belief. So we do disagree about the deity of Christ, right? But it's like we also disagree about the nature of God.
Yeah. What might be striking to many of the listeners is that Mormonism doesn't have a distinct theology, the study of God, and anthropology, the study of man. It's really a study of anthropotheism. There isn't a separate distinction of God and man in two different classes. There is a spectrum of evolution from man to God. Mormons believe that God is eternal. They'll go ahead and agree with Psalm 90. God is eternal. But so are you, and so am I. God was once as we are now, and we will be as God is, potentially. But both of us together, even before that, came from the pre-existence, and Jesus and Lucifer as well came from the pre-existence and were spirit-matter for all eternity. And so there's a question of whether it's humanized divinity or divinized humanity. That depends on where you're at in the spectrum, on the evolutionary chart.
Isn't this ironic, then? So they have too low a view of Jesus and too high a view of everybody else. Am I close to accurate on that?
Yeah. I mean, Jesus is just like you and I and everybody that's gone before Him and will go after Him. We all have this opportunity: As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become. It's called the law of eternal progression. And every one of us, including Heavenly Father, has had an opportunity for that goal.
So I'm really hoping our listeners are catching these aren't like minor little technicalities. I mean, if you really wanted to talk about, let's just say, what are some of the biggest differences between Baptists and Presbyterians? Well, it's some disagreements about who you baptize and when you baptize people. That's relatively minor compared to the deity of Christ and the nature of God and the nature of what it means to be human.
So let's talk about how we interact with them, because your book, this series, is Engaging with Mormons, and I love the subtitle of every one of the books in that series is "Understanding Their World, Bearing Good News." So I know I was challenged when I was putting together my volume in this of, "Oh, I need to spend the first half of the book, or close to half, of 'Let's just try to understand the culture and who these people are, not only their beliefs, but their flavor, and how they view life.'"
So tell us just a little bit from that first part. By the way, I'm always in danger of asking an author to share too much about their book, so that people don't buy it. We don't want to do that. No, no, no! Please buy Corey's book. This is just a flavor. Just a little taste. So what is it you'd want people to know about understanding their world?
That Mormonism is not merely a cult. By that, I mean a deviant understanding of key doctrines about God and salvation. It is a culture. And sometimes not only do we fail to acknowledge that about Mormonism, but Mormonism internally may be characterized more by sociology and psychology than it even is by its theology. Most Mormons aren't particularly interested in logic and theology when it comes to religion. Logic when it comes to the rest of life, yes. But they divide religion and the rest of life by the… what I call Mormon-ese, by experience, by the testimony. It's very, very subjective. And they see themselves as the one true church. They have their own exodus story, so to speak, of how they've arrived with solidarity as a people group from early persecution in the Midwest, in the Northeast, all the way to taking the pilgrimage, the trek westward to Utah, where they see themselves as the chosen people of God. That's their exodus.
And so they define themselves sociologically. "Families are forever." That's a phrase that everyone must know about Mormons. It's very pragmatic. In fact, out of all philosophies in the world, the one philosophy that's indigenous to America is pragmatism. If it's not broken, don't fix it. It works. Families are forever. I may not be interested in this thing for truth. I'm in it for families. It's very practical. It works.
Well, I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, but I just have this feeling that some of our listeners are at least curious. I mean, all that you just said about how important the family is and families are. But I think a whole lot of Mormons believe in men having more than one wife. Is that just a rumor or is that really the truth? And how does that square with their emphasis on the importance of the family?
Yes. I mean, there are 60,000 Mormons who still embrace fundamentalist Mormonism, polygamy and the blood atonement laws and blacks not having the priesthood and so forth. But since 1890, there has been The Ban, as they called it. They never said polygamy is wrong. It was banned simultaneous with the state of Utah trying to acquire statehood in the nation. And I mean, this goes back to my origins story too, where Joseph Smith… the highest defecting Mormon ever was a family friend of my family. He was the second counselor, his name was William Law, of Joseph Smith.
In Mormon hierarchy, you have the prophet or the president and his two counselors. The second counselor, Joseph Smith at the time, in Nauvoo, Illinois, was busy assigning other men's wives to himself, for the next life, but also for this life. And he looked at Brother Law and said, "Brother Law, your wife Jane and I—well, I've had a revelation," and Brother Law said, "Take the hand. No, thank you." And that became the first splinter group.
Since then, there have been about 400 splinter groups of Mormons, and part of my family went with the Laws, part of them went with Joseph Smith, and this whole issue of polygamy that started lasted, with Brigham Young taking them to Utah and other splinter groups along the way. The biggest one people think of is the Utah group, though, the Brighamites. And that lasted until 1890. It'll happen again in heaven, but right now it's a temporary ban. So, no, the Salt Lake church does not practice polygamy. Mitt Romney and other presidential elected hopefuls think of it as kind of an embarrassment, I think, on the Salt Lake church.
Yeah. Well, so very pragmatically. That wouldn't be the place for Christians to start the conversation. So let's talk about that. Let's say some of our listeners are listening and they say, "You know, I just found out my next door neighbor is a Mormon," or, "The guy at the cubicle next to me at work is a Mormon." So where do they start? Where can they begin a dialogue that can move toward the grace and the wonder of the gospel in productive ways? What would be some practical tips you would offer?
Ministering to Mormons
First, they need to begin the dialogue, because these are people for whom Christ died, and they are wrong, eternally wrong, on the essential doctrines of God, Christ, and how to get to heaven, how to get your sins forgiven. And so the dash approach is not going to work, where we just close our blinds, shut the door, say, "I've got a religion." No, we want to engage these people. Second, the bash approach doesn't work. That's where you take the biggest Bible and try to knock them over the head with as many verses as you can. You need to try to get to know the person. Anytime you have five different Mormons, you may have six different opinions. And so you figure out, "What is making this Mormon tick? Is he a Mormon for theological reasons? For reasons of the family? Is he a lukewarm Mormon? Otherwise a Jack Mormon?" You need to get to know the person first. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason, so that you listen more, and then make your approach next.
And I say, stay focused, this would be number three, on the essentials. Who is God? Who is Christ? How does man get to heaven? There's a lot of nonessential interesting things about the religion, but ultimately you want to be able to focus on that. Fourth, ask a lot of questions. Socratic evangelism. Your book on questioning evangelism. I remember talking with you about possibly writing one, questioning Mormonism.
And Mormon missionaries are out there, with 70,000 of them thinking that they are the teachers, they are the elders, and you are the student. So the way to go about conversation with them is a little jujitsu, I suppose, and allow them to take what they think is their strength and use it against them, asking good questions, because they enjoy that. They come across thinking they are the teachers. And we're leading them down this track about God, about Christ, about how to get to heaven. And then eventually, once we've asked a lot of questions, they'll turn that around, and start asking you questions. And now it's time to share. You've given them plenty of time to share, and now it's time for your testimony, that they've given testimony plenty of times to before, but you're adding objective testimony, not just your subjective testimony. You're adding the word of God to this and not just your personal experience, which is really all they've got.
Is it possible to be a scientist and a person of faith at the same time? Are Christianity and science at odds with one another? I think there are a whole lot of people in our world who think that. Well, these apologetic questions and others are going to be explored in a prerecorded interview that we did with scientist and philosopher and mathematician and brilliant mind Dr. John Lennox. He is going to examine some of the latest scientific research and theories surrounding questions of the origins of life and concepts of the mind. He will demonstrate why a Christian approach to an understanding of the universe makes the most sense. So if you're a believer who's looking for a way to explain the validity of the Christian worldview to some of your friends who are more scientifically minded or scientifically oriented, this is a really, really important event, and it's free of charge, but you do need to register for it because we'd like to be able to have all those kind of connections in place. So to register for this, please go to Cosmic Chemistry. We sure hope you can make it for this event.
This is really helpful. This is good. Again, I want to underline: You said you talk to five Mormons, you'll get six different opinions. I think that's so really important. Get to know the individual person and find out what they personally believe, because they may not be as Mormon as we think they are. Or they may not hold to crucial doctrines of the Mormon faith the way we think they do. And so it is important for us to know, "Well, here's, generally speaking, what they believe, and then here's what they teach," but then it's so important to hear, "What do they believe?" And I think that that's—well, it's certainly true in Jewish evangelism. It's true in any time. Yeah, we want to get to know the religion they hold to, but then we want to find out just how consistently they do hold to it.
And, by the way, I don't imagine it's all that helpful to point out inconsistencies, in the sense of, "Hey, wait a minute, you're a Mormon. You're not supposed to believe that." I don't know how fruitful that is. You mentioned about the word of God. I'm assuming that getting them into reading the Bible, reading the Bible together, doing a Bible study together is a good idea. Where do you think it would be good to start?
I mean, sure, if you're going the salvation path, I would say take them through Galatians or the book of Romans. Agree to read along through the Book of Mormon with them if they'll take you up on reading through the biblical passages, because the Book of Mormon quotes the Bible quite a bit. Mormons like to boast that it mentions Jesus every 1.7 verses, Him or His ministry somehow, but it actually plagiarizes a substantial amount of the Bible as well. But you're engaging them with the biblical text, and they're going to start to see some serious differences there. One of my favorite approaches is the salvation approach because you've got to get to that anyway, and using the law for the sake of evangelism. And I outline how to do this a little bit in this book, Engaging with Mormons. That's one way. Another way might be pointing out the differences on our understanding of God. Using the same G-O-D letterhead doesn't necessarily describe the same entity.
Once we start to… "You've got a mom? I've got a mom." "Can you spell that backwards?" "I can spell it." "Maybe we're brothers," or maybe you start to describe your mom, and she's quite a bit different from my mom, and we start to see that's not the same mom, and they both cannot exist. And so at the beginning, one of them might be right, the other wrong, or maybe they're both wrong, but they cannot both be correct because they're not even talking about the same being. And I think addressing the testimony, which is something that I do in this book, and not a lot of books on Mormonism do this, but it's something that I focused in on with my dissertation as well, just thinking about testimonial knowledge and knowing God. What does that look like? And what do we do when the Mormons go-to is to bear the testimony? "I know the church is true. I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and the Book of Mormon is the word of God," and they begin crying.
And yet the fundamentalist Mormon says the same thing and contradicts the Salt Lake Mormon. And the Community of Christ Mormon says the exact same testimony and contradicts the previous two. It's like a police line-up. You try to get them each to see which one is the culprit here, which one is the real McCoy. And they all say the exact same testimony, but they contradict each other at fundamental points, and they all say they're the one true church. And what that does is show that, at best, only one of them can be right. The rest can't be. And then I say, "So do you think that those other Mormons out there are lying?" "Oh, no, no, no. I would not judge. You shouldn't judge, lest you be judged." "So you think they're deceived, those other sects of Mormonism?" And there are numerous other sects. "Oh, yes, they're deceived." "So what you're telling me is that a subjective personal testimony is capable of being deceived. How do you know you're not the one being deceived?" So I create room for doubt in their own armor. The testimony. The testimony. The testimony. Which is the buck stopper for the average Mormon. And that then gives me the right to bear testimony and share what Scripture says about the nature of testimony, and the one who has the true testimony is going to have something significant to say about salvation. And that's where I take them to 1 John 9:5-13. But it's all in the book. They've got to get the book, Randy. And today it's on sale for 40% off.
I'm thinking that the book of Colossians would be particularly helpful in this endeavor, not necessarily for having them read it and you discuss it. I'm thinking more for the Christian to prepare themselves. Am I right? Well, would Colossians be a good book to read together with a Mormon?
Sure. I mean, Colossians 1 deals with the deity of Christ. Colossians 2 deals with salvation. It depends on, again, which approach you want to do. I encourage people, if you're going to meet with missionaries, and by the way, I'm finishing a book right now with six former Mormon missionaries, all now Christians, and we're taking on the Mormon missionary discussions. So each one of those ex-missionaries is going to be writing their chapter on that particular missionary discussion, and it will be a resource for people. Hopefully, it will be out later this year, if not early next year, on unmasking the Mormon missionary mirage. So I encourage people. If you're capable… Maybe bring a friend, especially if you're a new Christian don't do it alone, but meet with the Mormon missionaries, two ears, one mouth for a reason. Get to know them a little bit, know what they believe by their own articulation of it, and then that earns you the right to be heard. And now you have a better understanding of Mormonism. You've shown respect. It's brought up the opportunity for reflection, not deflection, because you are now, by their count, an investigator, a prospective convert. And now you're going to have that much more power in the words you use, because now you've read some of their stuff, you've engaged with them, and they sort of owe it to you to listen.
I'm listening to you and I'm thinking about the flow of the logic of the book of Colossians, and again, for both our own strengthening, yes, as you say, it starts with the deity of Christ. And because Jesus is God, therefore He could atone for sins, and therefore we can have a salvation based on grace, not based on works. And therefore, as the second half of Colossians unfolds, we can live a life of freedom, we can live a life of grace, and we endeavor to be involved in spiritual formation and spiritual growth, but it's all motivated out of grace and gratitude, not, "Oh, I have to earn it," so this topic of the deity of Christ, it's not just some theoretical minor point. Because Jesus was God, His atonement is complete, our salvation is complete, and we live a life out of grace and gratitude. So your resources are helpful for talking to the person who may be Mormon in name only and not really believing much of it, someone who's pretty observant or strict, and even the Mormon missionary.
So you've done a great service for the body of Christ, and I'm really grateful for it. Let me give you the last word. Any last things you want to tell our listeners about Mormonism or apologetics? I want to wrap things up, but I want to let you share what you'd like.
Yeah. Mormons are generally not only an affluent organization, but an influential people. 2% of the US are Mormon, but 6% of the US Senate is Mormon. These people make their moves in culture, and it's a strategic group to reach, not only for that purpose, but mostly because God sent Christ into the world to die for people, that if we present the gospel, they receive it, they can spend eternity with God, and we should love these people as well.
And second is just perish the thought again that it's just doctrinal ping pong. There's not just a theology here. It's not just a religious deviant cult. It's a culture. And if you don't get to know their sociology, their psychology, their person, you may be barking up the wrong tree in your witness encounter.
Okay. Great. I'm so grateful for the way the Lord has opened up this opportunity for you, both with Ratio Christi and out of your background and the writing about Mormonism. I remember conversations we had quite a while ago about, "Where is the Lord leading us?" And so I'm really thankful for how He's worked in and through you. To our listeners, I want to show you the show notes below of some different resources that Corey Miller and his team at Ratio Christi have put together. And of course, please do visit our website, cslewisinstitute.org. Lots and lots of resources. Our website just recently won an award. Some of you may know we revamped our website, and it's won some awards. So check out the resources that are there. We pray that God uses all of these resources to help you all love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Thanks.
Brought to you by the C.S. Lewis Institute and the Questions That Matter Podcast with Randy Newman.
COPYRIGHT: This publication is published by C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Electronic copies of the PDF files may be duplicated and transmitted via e-mail for personal and church use. Articles may not be modified without prior written permission of the Institute. For questions, contact the Institute: 703.914.5602 or email us.
Questions That Matter – Gavin Ortlund and Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn't
by Randy Newman, Gavin Ortlund on January 27, 2023
In a confusing and often crazy world we...Read More
Jim Phillips: Great Books as Great Bridges
by Jim Phillips on January 27, 2023
The Side B Stories – Ken Boa
by Jana Harmon, Ken Boa on January 20, 2023
Reflections: Seize Any Time And Place
by C.S. Lewis Institute on January 1, 2023
C.S. Lewis's consideration of practical issues about finding...Read More
Reflections: The Poem Itself
by C.S. Lewis Institute on December 7, 2022
How Can I Help People Who Are Suffering?
by Nancy Guthrie on December 1, 2022
0 All Booked 0.00 All Booked 0.00 All Booked 17553 GLOBAL EVENT: 2023 Study Tour of C.S. Lewis' Belfast & Oxford https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/?event=global-event-2023-study-tour-of-c-s-lewis-belfast-oxford&event_date=2023-06-24&reg=1 https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr 2023-06-24
Next coming event
GLOBAL EVENT: 2023 Study Tour of C.S. Lewis' Belfast & Oxford
On June 24, 2023 at 12:00 pmat Belfast, Northern Ireland & Oxford, England
CSLI Podcasts
Questions That Matter Podcast
Corey Miller, Author, is the President/CEO of Ratio Christi. He has served on pastoral staff at four churches and has taught numerous colllege courses in philosophy, theology, rhetoric, and comparative religions at Purdue, Indiana University, Multnomah University and Ecola Bible College. He is also the author or co-author of Leaving Mormonism: Why Four Scholars Changed their Minds, Is Faith in God Reasonable? Debates in Philosophy, Science, and Rhetoric, In Search of the Good Life: Through the Eyes of Aristotle, Maimonides, and Aquinas and Engaging with Mormons: Understanding their World, Sharing Good News. Dr. Miller holds masters degrees in philosophy, biblical studies, and in philosophy of religion and ethics and received his PhD in philosophical theology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Starts 8:21 am


The resiliency plans seem to be a continuation of the Bloomberg administration and the recommendations from the SIRR [Special initiative on Rebuilding and Resiliency] report , which is a great ten-year plan but not completely funded at the end of the day.
Posted in Changemakers, Resilience and tagged with Adaptation, Bill de Blasio, Bloomberg, Changemakers, climate change, disaster preparedness, flooding, infrastructure, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, resilience, Sandy, waterfront. RSS 2.0 feed.
« SPECIAL REPORT: Assessing Resilience Planning: Is the City Preparing Smartly for the Rising Risks of Climate Change?


Will Israeli consulate closure impact Phila.-Israel trade?
"Philadelphia reasserted its position last month as a top "go-to" location in the United States for Israeli companies when eleven innovative start-ups participated in the Israel Technology Conference there, October 27-28. From the enthusiastic reports on both sides, it was a landmark event where business relationships were established and nurtured." Read more.


text:
Hitler executed 84 German Generals
SS Blood Group Tattoos.
The sexuality of the German Soldiers in WW2.
Hitler's dog Blondi
Did You Know 2
Dirlewanger's killers of the 36th…
Anneliese Kohlmann who whipped inmates…
The most evil women in history, Ilse Koch.
Martin Bormann's wife Gerda Buch
Hans-Georg Henke – 16 Year Old…
Dogs at World War 2
What did the German soldiers of WWII think…
//hide the elements on login user
SS Oberstgruppenführer Sepp Dietrich, the one-time butcher's apprentice and beer-hall brawler.
Josef Dietrich, by-name "Sepp", born May 28, 1892, Hawangen, died April 21, 1966, Ludwigsburg, West Germany, German SS officer who commanded Adolf Hitler's (did you know) bodyguard and later led an SS Panzer Army in World War II.
A butcher's apprentice still an animal lover, Dietrich joined the German army in 1911 and rose to the rank of sergeant during World War I. An early acquaintance of Hitler, he joined the Nazi Party's paramilitary organization, the SA (Storm Troopers) , in 1923, worked at various jobs after the failure of Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch that year, and rejoined the Nazi Party in 1928, becoming a member of the SS , the elite corps of the party.
He soon became the commander of Hitler's bodyguard and acted as Hitler's chauffeur during automobile tours throughout Germany. Dietrich was elected a Nazi member of the Reichstag, German parliament in 1930, and by 1931 he had achieved the rank of Gruppenführer. The special SS unit that Dietrich founded in 1932 evolved into the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LAH), which served as Hitler's personal army and later became a division in the Waffen-SS. As a reward for the role played by the LAH in the violent purge of Ernst Julius Röhm and other high-ranking SA officers in June 1934, Dietrich was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer. An able field commander with good battle intuition, Dietrich continued to head the LAH, leading it into battle at Kharkov and Kursk on the Eastern Front. In 1943 the LAH was expanded into the I SS Panzer Corps. In June 1944 this unit was called to the Western Front, where Dietrich joined the desperate resistance to the Allied invasion of Normandy. Promoted to SS-Oberstgruppenführer, he was given command of the regrouped, though much depleted, Fifth Panzer Army, which served as the rear guard of the German retreat across northern France. Other famous commanders of the 5th Army, Generaloberst Jürgen von Arnim, General Geyr von Schweppenburg and General Hasso von Manteuffel.and Generaloberst Josef Harpe. The 5th Panzer Army was encircled and trapped in the Ruhr Pocket, and surrendered on 17 April 1945. In October 1944 he was placed in command of the Sixth Panzer Army, which spearheaded the German offensive through the Ardennes in the Battle of the Bulge. He led this unit in Hungary and Austria during the closing phase of the war.
Upon surrendering to American forces in May 1945, Dietrich was held partly responsible for the murder of American prisoners at Malmédy by SS troops during the Ardennes offensive. In 1946 he was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment, and he was released after serving 10 years of his sentence. In 1957 he was convicted in a German court for his role in Hitler's purge of the SA in 1934 and served another 20 months in prison on this charge. He died in 1966 of a heart attack and 7000 old comrades attented his funeral.
Blog //hide the elements on login user
The Royal family's flight to England on May 13th 1940
General of the Artillery, Wilhelm Stemmermann.
World War II facts.
Rüsselheimer massacre, killing pilots.
Adolf Eichmann killed a Jewish baby personal.
Hitler's doctor Karl Brandt.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Israeli Scooter Brand Inokim Dips Into the Sharing Economy
The local brand is set to launch its scooter sharing service in March, joining global players Bird and Wind which started operating in Tel Aviv in recent months
Amarelle Wenkert | 16:12 28.01.2019
Israeli electric scooter brand Inokim dips into the sharing economy with Leo, a new scooter sharing service. The company is set to launch the service in Tel Aviv in March, joining Los Angeles-headquartered Bird and Berlin-based Wind, which launched operations in Israel in August and January, respectively.
For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Speaking with Calcalist Monday, Inokim owner Kfir Ben Shushan said that the company would start by operating 500 electric scooters, going up to 3,000 units in May and expanding the service to Northern port city Haifa and Southern beach town Eilat. By the end of 2019, the company intends to operate 10,000 scooters, Ben Shushan said. Additionally, he said, the company intends to introduce an electric bike sharing service under the same brand.
Leo brand scooter. Photo: Allenby Concept House
Like its competitors, Leo will charge a flat fee of NIS 5 (approximately $1.4) for each ride and additional NIS 0.5 (approximately $0.14) per minute. LEO's app-based service will allow users to book scooters up to 15 minutes in advance, as well as to briefly put the scooter they are using on hold for a nominal fee, Ben Shushan said.
Berlin-Based Wind to Launch E-Scooter Sharing Service in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv Suburb Becomes Unlikely Hub for Smart Mobility
Bird's Scooters Service Marks 25,000 Users in Tel Aviv, Says Exec
In September, Calcalist reported that San Mateo, California-based electric scooter-sharing company Lime is also looking to enter the Israeli market. Lime posted a job listing on LinkedIn, saying it is looking to hire an operations manager to lead a team of between four and 20 people in Tel Aviv.
"ElectricScooter""SharingEconomy"LEO
No Comments Add Comment


At Tonic Hairdressing, we are proud to offer a full range of hair styling and beauty services for all. From standard haircuts and blow dries to hair colouring and eyebrow shaping and tinting, we've got you covered. We take pride in having so many regular customers throughout the Belfast area, as we are very popular for our elegant wedding hair styles, our convenient opening hours and impeccable service.
We only use the highest quality of hair care products such as L'Oreal and Inoa ammonia free hair colouring, as well as many more top branded hair care products. For a blow dry service that will give you that permanent, straight, silky haired look, get in touch with our welcoming team for further information.
All our friendly team are all highly skilled hair stylists and fully trained colour technicians, who happily welcome all customers of all ages. Specialising in ladies' hairdressing and formal up-styles such as wedding days, we are also pleased to offer our men and children's hairdressing too.
Experts in children's hairdressing, we are also more than happy to cater for both men and women's haircuts, as well as provide our senior citizens rates which take place Monday to Wednesday.
For a great hairdressing salon who provides haircuts and styles for all the family, get in touch with our team today and get your appointment booked on 028 9062 5560.


Do you have room in your heart and home for a child?
Do you have room in your heart and home for a child who is in transition and needs a safe, supportive home in which to live and grow? There is need for a few good homes in this area. Please call Candy Picka, Lutheran Social Service Treatment Foster Care, for more information at (612) 242-7553. LSS provides in-depth training, 24 hour staff availability, respite care, weekly coaching, and monthly non-taxable reimbursement.


text:
Name: 2172660 -- Moore & Swett
Updated: 08-12-2020 22:08:32. Owner: Karen Moore
Wiliiam Bostock: Birth: ABT 1190 in , Cheshire, England.
William or Randle Bostock: Birth: ABT 1125 in , Cheshire, England.
William Bostock: Birth: ABT 1450 in of, Cheshire, England.
Bostwick: Birth: 29 Sep 1841 in Rossie, Jefferson, New York. Death: 19 Feb 1842 in Rossie, Jefferson, New York
Abel Bostwick: Birth: 15 Jan 1734/1735 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Abigail Bostwick: Birth: 19 Sep 1707 in Woodbury, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 1764 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Abigail Bostwick: Birth: 20 Jul 1737 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 9 Aug 1758 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Abigail Bostwick: Birth: 28 Sep 1725 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Abigail Bostwick: Birth: 24 Sep 1700 in , , Connecticut.
Abraham Bostwick: Birth: 5 Sep 1702 in , , Connecticut.
Adolphus Frederick Bostwick: Birth: 1 Mar 1767 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts.
Alice Jane Bostwick: Birth: 23 Nov 1873 in Rossie, St. Lawrence, New York. Death: in Brooklyn, Kings, New York
Almon Bostwick: Birth: 4 Jul 1773 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 14 Jan 1777
Amos Bostwick: Birth: 1743 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Ann Julia Bostwick: Birth: 11 Oct 1830 in Rutland, Jefferson, New York. Death: 6 Sep 1872 in Oxbow, Jefferson, New York
Annis Bostwick: Death: BEF 1753 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Arthur Bostwick: Birth: 28 Jun 1729 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 10 Jan 1802 in Jericho, Chittenden, Vermont
Arthur Bostwick: Death: AFT 1680 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut
Asel Bostwick: Birth: 9 Mar 1775 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 17 Oct 1778 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Assenath Bostwick: Birth: 23 Dec 1769 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Benajah Bostwick: Birth: 8 Feb 1717/1718 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Benjamin Lord Bostwick: Birth: 14 Feb 1812 in , , New York.
Benjamin Ruggles Bostwick: Birth: 5 Sep 1762 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Benjamin Bostwick: Birth: 1683 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut. Death: 15 May 1739 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Benjamin Bostwick: Birth: 2 May 1724 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Betsey Maria Bostwick: Birth: 8 Jun 1791 in , , New York.
Betsey Maria Bostwick: Birth: 31 Aug 1771 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts. Death: 23 Nov 1840
Betsey Bostwick: Birth: 23 Mar 1714/1715 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Bushnell Bostwick: Birth: 16 Nov 1712 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Caroline Eliza Bostwick: Birth: 24 Jul 1839 in Rossie, St. Lawrence, New York. Death: 4 Jul 1868 in Rossie, St. Lawrence, New York
Catherine W. Bostwick: Birth: 1 May 1820.
Charles Bulkeley Bostwick: Birth: 21 Jan 1839 in Troy, Rensseler, New York.
Charlotte Bostwick: Birth: 11 Oct 1804. Death: 12 Feb 1887
Chester Bostwick: Birth: ABT 1790 in New Lebanon, Columbia, New York.
Clarissa Bostwick: Birth: 20 Feb 1778 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts. Death: 4 Jan 1855
Cordelia Bostwick: Birth: 11 Oct 1835 in Rutland, Jefferson, New York. Death: 4 Mar 1837 in Rutland, Jefferson, New York
Daniel Warner Bostwick: Birth: 1 Nov 1782 in New Canaan, Columbia, New York. Death: 18 Mar 1873 in Waterloo, Seneca, New York
Daniel Bostwick: Birth: 1708 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 25 Dec 1782 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Daniel Bostwick: Birth: 22 Aug 1737 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
David Bostwick: Birth: 8 Jan 1720/1721 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
David Bostwick: Birth: 1736 in Bedford, Westchester, New York.
David Bostwick: Birth: 19 Feb 1691/1692 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut.
Ebenezer Bostwick: Birth: 1693 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut. Death: 1753/1754 in Brookfield, Fairfield, Connecticut
Ebenezer Bostwick: Birth: Jan 1717/1718 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Edmund Bostwick: Birth: 17 Sep 1732 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Electa Bostwick: Birth: 1 Dec 1764 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Elijah Francis Bostwick: Birth: 2 Feb 1811. Death: 11 Nov 1891
Elijah Warner Bostwick: Birth: 21 Dec 1820 in Bridgewater, , New York.
Elijah Bostwick: Birth: 18 Aug 1767 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 22 Feb 1847 in New Lebanon, Columbia, New York
Elijah Bostwick: Birth: 8 Jun 1740 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 18 Jan 1825 in New Lebanon, Columbia, New York
Elijah Bostwick: Birth: 17 Apr 1768 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 19 Apr 1768 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Elijah Bostwick: Birth: 25 Oct 1786 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Frances Bostwick: Birth: 19 Apr 1798 in New Lebanon, Columbia, New York. Death: 19 Jul 1845
Elizabeth Bostwick: Birth: 1 Oct 1677 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut. Death: May 1716 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut
Elizabeth Bostwick: Birth: 12 May 1704 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut.
Elizabeth Bostwick: Birth: ABT 1713 in , , Connecticut.
Emerson Mc Allaster Bostwick: Birth: 24 Apr 1843 in Rossie, St. Lawrence, New York. Death: 1909 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York
Emma Stillwell Bostwick: Birth: 8 Sep 1854 in Troy, Rensseler, New York.
Ephriam Bostwick: Birth: 1706 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut.
Esther Bostwick: Birth: 3 Dec 1754 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Esther Bostwick: Birth: 17 Sep 1749 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Etta May Bostwick: Birth: 18 Jul 1868 in Rossie, St. Lawrence, New York. Death: 17 Jul 1940 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York
Eunice Bostwick: Birth: 21 Aug 1744 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 24 Feb 1804 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Eunice Bostwick: Birth: 6 Nov 1772 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Eunice Bostwick: Birth: 23 Jan 1733/1734 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Eunice Bostwick: Birth: ABT 1715 in , , Connecticut.
Ezra Bostwick: Birth: 26 Oct 1770 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 18 Jan 1777
Fitie Bostwick: Birth: 12 Oct 1773 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts.
Francis William Bostwick: Birth: 21 May 1837 in Rutland, Jefferson, New York. Death: 16 Feb 1870
George Edward Bostwick: Birth: 10 Dec 1843 in Troy, Rensseler, New York.
Gershom Bostwick: Birth: ABT 1727 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Gesie Bostwick: Birth: 5 Oct 1775 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts. Death: 3 Jul 1780
Gesie Bostwick: Birth: 25 Jun 1784 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts. Death: 3 Jul 1860
Gideon Bostwick: Birth: 21 Sep 1742 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 13 Jun 1793 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut
Hannah Bostwick: Birth: 1716 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Hannah Bostwick: Birth: 3 Jan 1704/1705 in , , Connecticut.
Hannah Bostwick: Birth: 22 Oct 1711 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Harriet Elizabeth Bostwick: Birth: 26 Dec 1836 in Troy, Rensseler, New York. Death: 17 Apr 1860
Harriet Bostwick: Birth: 15 Mar 1814 in Bridgewater, , New York. Death: 11 Apr 1874
Henry Drelincourt Bostwick: Birth: 28 Mar 1848 in Troy, Rensseler, New York.
Henry Bostwick: Birth: 3 Apr 1782 in Great Barrington, , Massachusetts.
Ichabod Bostwick: Birth: 13 Dec 1747 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 15 Sep 1776 in Provincial Army, Kingsbridge, , New York
Ichabod Bostwick: Birth: 15 Nov 1780 in New Lebanon, Columbia, New York. Death: 8 Jan 1838 in West Troy, , New York
Ichabod Bostwick: Birth: 1 Sep 1737 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut. Death: 16 Aug 1755
Isaac Bostwick: Birth: ABT 1738 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Isaac Bostwick: Birth: 6 Sep 1730 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Jane Bostwick: Birth: 13 Apr 1680 in Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut.
Jemima Bostwick: Birth: 29 Aug 1720 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.
Jerusha Bostwick: Birth: 15 Jul 1717 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut.


text:
The moon beckons again – for U.S., 8 other nations
By Mike Swift | Mercury News
July 25, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
In hopes of discovering clues to the origin of life on Earth, the United States and eight other nations signed a landmark agreement at NASA's Ames Research Center this week that scientists hope will lay the groundwork for a new generation of lunar exploration and science.
Unlike the all-American Apollo program, the new agreement sees a multinational fleet of robot spacecraft returning to the moon in coming years, with the maturing space programs of countries like India, Germany and South Korea playing key roles in an effort that ultimately would lead to the return of astronauts.
"It's sort of like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, like at the end of 'Casablanca,' " James Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, said at Moffett Field this week.
"Many of these countries are quite interested in the manned program. They want to provide astronauts to be the first Canadian or the first Italian or the first French man or French woman on the moon."
NASA and the eight other countries – Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Britain and France – plan to formally announce the agreement Tuesday. The multinational agreement capped a momentous week at Ames, including the largest NASA science conference purely devoted to the moon since the 1970s.
A multinational moon effort would allow NASA to share costs. The United States budgeted money for four landers, but scientists want up to eight spacecraft on the surface. Representatives of the space and science agencies of the nine countries spent Thursday at Moffett Field working on a plan to launch lunar landers and orbiters, establishing a network to monitor the moon's seismic activity that would stretch from the poles to the far side.
"The exploration of the moon in the next decade will not be human, it will be this international flotilla," said David Morrison, interim director of the newly created Lunar Science Institute at Ames. "Ultimately, I think we will send people to the moon, but we don't have to wait for that."
Nearly ignored since the last Apollo landing in 1972, the moon is a unique place for scientists to perhaps answer one of the most basic questions of science: When did life originate on Earth?
Apollo moon rocks in recent years have yielded the surprising suggestion that the early solar system was more like a game of cosmic billiards than a placid hierarchy of planets.
That planetary havoc may have indirectly sparked life on Earth, one reason scientists say it is so important to return to the moon.
"What's happening right now is that a revolution in planetary science is going on," Green said. "We are taking these small pieces and we are starting to put together the puzzle, and we are surprised by what we find."
Because the moon has not been resurfaced by plate tectonics, volcanoes or erosion, it is the only body in the solar system where scientists might still read that most ancient of histories, a report by National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences concluded last year.
What some scientists call the "terminal cataclysm hypothesis" suggests that Uranus and Neptune were once inside the orbit of Jupiter, until the powerful gravitational field of the largest planet cast them toward the outer regions of the solar system.
That epic migration of planets may have triggered a bombardment of Earth and the moon by asteroids and icy comets. The strikes could have been the source for 65 percent to 85 percent of the water in the oceans, Green said.
Lunar scientists believe the record of a "late heavy bombardment" between 3.8 billion and 4 billion years ago – just before life may have first emerged on Earth – can be studied on the moon.
"How much of the oceans would have been brought to Earth by that bombardment? We don't know," Green said. "But we can go back to the moon to find out."
The wave of scientific interest in the moon is coupled with the fact that space capability is no longer an exclusive club. For countries with emerging space capabilities, going to the moon "is the next logical step," Green said.
Already, India hopes to send its Chandrayaan-1 probe to orbit the moon this year. China's Chang'e probe and Japan's Selene are already there.
One sentiment at the conference was that moon exploration should be an international effort.
President Bush said in 2004 that the United States should return to the moon, as a stepping stone toward the human exploration of Mars. A generation of robotic explorers will lead the way.
Ames is directing one of those first crucial missions, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which will crash a rocket booster into the moon in 2009 to see if ice might exist in a perpetually shadowed crater.
This week's lunar conference brought together Apollo-era veterans with younger researchers who hope to take part in a new multinational generation of lunar exploration.
"It really marked a new era," Morrison said.
In sessions ranging from the toxicity of lunar dust to the implications of lunar exploration to human society, scientists grappled with issues as far ranging as the need for environmental protection on the moon.
One session asked: If NASA strip-mined the moon, would it provoke environmental opposition? And what about preserving the Apollo landing sites?
"A leg of the Apollo 11 LEM – the lander?" Green said. "Can you imagine what that would fetch on eBay?"
Contact Mike Swift at mswift@mercurynews.com or (408) 271-3648.
Mike Swift


Gents Raymond Weil Toccata watch with a simplistic white dial and black roman numerals. Date feature. Gold coloured bezel and hands. This is a slim and lightweight watch. 50m water resistance. Genuine leather strap with a gold plated buckle. The size of the head on this watch is approx 40mm diameter.


Scientific research has proven that a quick, power nap is refreshing and rejuvenating but experienced men in uniform say the opposite. A sleepy soldier is impossible to resist for his colleagues as it was firsthand experienced by ' a few good men' in this video.
Funny enough, I came across this video once I myself was about to doze off and the way the soldiers were 'manipulated' by their colleagues alerted me full time. The first thing that you will do on seeing it will be to look around you and find a sleepy target for testing one of the tricks.
Putting items in mouth and nose are common even in schools but the soldiers take it one step further where they even burn the crotch. Shrink wraps are also handy at such occasions and getting a pastry or two are sure to add creamy fun to one's face.
So if you are feeling sleepy, look around you to make sure that none of your friends is in sight because he or she is going to be the 'catalyst' in making you 'famous' for the world. But if you are adamant to sleep, do not forget to keep a pistol between your legs but even that might not save you from your close friends.
So my advice for the soldiers getting bored to death is to stay awake, stay anonymous.


text:
Q: sql azure beginner- getting error for an simple insert statement I am trying to insert a row of data into a table in SQL Azure --
This is the insert statement--
INSERT INTO cloud_storage_credentials (cloud_provider,api_key, api_secret)
VALUES("Rackspace", "<random_value>", "<random_value>");

However I am getting the following error--
Msg 207, Level 16, State 1, Line 2
Invalid column name 'Rackspace'.
Msg 207, Level 16, State 1, Line 2
Invalid column name '<random_value>'.
Msg 207, Level 16, State 1, Line 2
Invalid column name '<random_value>'.

What am I doing wrong here? I followed an SQL Server tutorial to write the above query...

A: change the " (double quotes) to ' (tick/single quote)
INSERT INTO cloud_storage_credentials (cloud_provider,api_key, api_secret)
VALUES('Rackspace', '<random_value>', '<random_value>');

A: Change your "s with 's. As it is, it thinks that the values you are inserting are name of columns.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


A trust is merely an agreement, like a contract, between two parties. The person establishing the trust (the "Settlor" or "Trustor") and the person holding the property (the "Trustee") hold property for the benefit of another (the "Beneficiary"). In a typical living trust, these three legal "persons" are the same person; you. The term "living trust" means that the trust is established and funded during your lifetime, as opposed to a testamentary trust which is created in your will and must go through probate to be funded. In order for a trust to be a valid, binding instrument; all that is necessary is for the parties executing it to have the legal capacity to enter into a contract, including age and competency, and for the trust to actually own something (the "corpus"). To fund the trust, you can assign, deed and transfer your assets into the existing trust, including your real property. Once the trust is signed, dated and acknowledged by a Notary Public, it is in full force and effect. Neither your trust nor your will need to be recorded, with the exception that the deed transferring real property is usually recorded with the applicable Recorder's Office.
A well thought out estate plan ensures that your plans for your medical care, guardianship for minor children, and management and distribution of your assets will be carried out according to your wishes and not left to the State or others to decide.
Yes. But your family may not like it. The government's estate plan is called Intestacy and guarantees government interference in the disposition of your estate. Documents to appoint an Administrator must be filed with the Probate Court and their approval must be obtained. If you fail to plan for your estate; you lose the opportunity to protect your family from a complex process that can be timely and costly; and which might have unwanted consequences in the distribution of your estate. Additionally, you have to consider estate taxes. There is much you can do in planning your estate that will reduce and can even eliminate estate taxes.
The court will appoint guardians for your minor children. The probate court may appoint a conservator or guardian to make decisions about your medical care if you are unable to do so. Without a valid estate plan all decisions about your estate will have to be approved through the probate court system.
What is the difference between having a "Will" or a "Living Turst"?
A Will is a written document that states who you wish to be the guardians for your minor children and how you would like your assets distributed at your death. The will names an executor to facilitate the management of your assets during the probate process.
Yes, a Living Trust is valid in all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia.
No. A Living Trust can help anyone protect his or her family from unnecessary probate and court costs, and federal and state estate taxes. Any person with an estate large enough to require probate will derive meaningful benefits from a Living Trust. In addition, only a Living Trust can avoid all of the problems, including court supervision, which can occur in the event of your incapcity.
If your estate is subject to either federal or state estate tax, a trust can save substantial taxes for a married couple. These savings are obtained by being able to use the exemption amount at each death, instead of just at the death of the surviving spouse. However, a Living Trust will not save any death taxes for an individual unless other deductions are available (for example, if you give a portion of your assets to charity).
Will my estate have to pay any Estate Taxes?
Whether your estate will be required to pay any tax on your estate at the time of your death depends on the size of your estate and the tax laws at the time of your death. Currently, an estate of under $5,490,000 does not have to pay any federal estate tax; however, many states have a separate estate tax. Our estate planning software, unlike most "on-line" services, takes into account the state death tax as well as the federal estate tax. Generally, any part of your estate going to a surviving spouse or to a qualified charity is exempt from estate tax. If your estate must pay tax, the federal estate tax rate is 40 percent. Typically state estate tax rates are considerably lower. Please note, that the exemption and tax rate are subject to change.
No. The purpose of creating a Living Trust is to avoid probate, guardianship, conservatorship, and reduce or even eliminate federal and state estate taxes; it is not a vehicle for reducing income taxes. In fact, if you're the trustee of your Living Trust, you will file your income tax returns exactly as you filed them before the trust existed. There are no new returns to file and no new liabilities are created.
Will a Living Trust protect my assets should I have to go into a nursing home?
If my estate will not have to pay an "Estate Tax"; why do I need a Living Trust?
Saving on estate taxes is just one of the benefits of a Living Trust. If your estate is over your state's "small estate" limit, then your estate must go through the expense and delay of a court administered probate proceeding at your death. Further, estate taxes have no bearing on the protections which a Living Trust (along with the appropriate health care power and general power of attorney) can provide in the event of your incapacity.
I have minor children; what happens if I die?
One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to protect your children, especially when they are minors. If you die, the Court will appoint a Guardian for any minor child; therefore, if you want to determine who that person will be, you need to designate your choice of the Guardian in your Will. Without a trust, the Guardian will also take charge of the assets going to the child, which will be under court supervision, until the child attains age 18. With a trust, when minors are the beneficiaries, your designated successor Trustee can manage and invest the trust funds, free of the costs and restrictions that arise when the Court appoints a Guardian. Often times, the person you may want to raise your children might not be the best person to manage the assets. With a trust, you can have the duties split or you can have the same person performing both functions. Additionally, with a trust, you can continue the management of a beneficiary's assets to whatever age you desire; certainly beyond age 18. The management of a beneficiary's assets in a trust can include disbursement of assets and/or funds in increments, according to your directions (e.g., 1/3 distribution at age 25, 1/3 distribution at age 30, and the balance at age 35). Of course, during this period, the trustee can use any, or all, of the trust principal for the benefit of the beneficiary for such beneficiary's health, education and support.
We are married; what type of Living Trust do we need?
A "probate avoidance trust" which continues everything in a single trust for the benefit of the survivor who maintains the complete right of change and/or revocability. Typically, this type of a trust is utilized when there will be no possibility of estate tax and there is no issue about the control the survivor will have over the entire trust.
A "disclaimer trust" which is like the probate avoidance trust, except the surviving spouse has the opportunity to disclaim any portion of the decedent's estate into an irrevocable tax avoidance sub-trust. This sub-trust is created, if necessary, by the terms of the trust after the first death, and then passes tax free at the survivor's death. This is a very useful trust given the uncertainty of the estate tax laws and the likelihood that most estates will not actually require the creation of a separate trust for tax purposes; it defers the decision of what estate tax planning is necessary until the time of the first death, when the size of the estate and the exact nature of the tax laws are clearly defined. Typically, this type of trust is utilized when there is no concern with the survivor having full control over the trust.
An "A/B Trust" is called that because, at the first death, the joint trust splits into two sub-trusts (originally labeled the "A Trust" and the "B Trust". The deceased spouse's sub-trust (which we call the "Decedent's Trust") is funded up to the maximum amount which can pass tax free in the year of death (currently $5.25M) and the surviving spouse's sub-trust (named as the "Survivor's Trust") receives the balance. The Decedent's Trust is irrevocable and is held for the lifetime of the surviving spouse (typically, the survivor is the sole trustee and has the right to all of the income and the right to use any or all of the principal of the sub-trust for her/his benefit); however, this sub-trust can be protected from creditors of the surviving spouse (including the "spend-down" for Medicaid) and survivor cannot leave the assets of the Decedent's Trust to anyone other than the children. The balance in the Survivor's Trust qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction and no tax is due at the first death. At the death of the survivor, what is in the Survivor's Trust is subject to tax, but only to the extent that the total is above the exemption amount in the year of the survivor's death. The Decedent's Trust, because it was already subject to tax at the first death and because it is an irrevocable trust, passes estate tax free at the second death. Because of the higher exemption amount and the loss of a potential income tax benefit at the death of the surviving spouse, this type of trust is not recommended for most situations (although it may still be beneficial for "non-traditional" couples).
With the 2010 Tax Relief Act and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, a new type of trust called a "Marital Deduction Trust" is now the recommended choice for many estates. At the first death, the joint trust again splits into two sub-trusts; the deceased spouse's sub-trust (which we call the "Decedent's Trust") is funded with the deceased spouse's estate up to the maximum amount which can pass tax free in the year of death (currently $5.43M) and the "Survivor's Trust" receives the survivor's estate. As with the "A/B Trust", the Decedent's Trust is irrevocable and is held for the lifetime of the surviving spouse (typically, the survivor is the sole trustee and has the right to all of the income and the right to use any or all of the principal of the sub-trust for her/his benefit); as with the A/B Trust, this sub-trust can be protected from creditors of the surviving spouse (including the "spend-down" for Medicaid) and survivor cannot leave the assets of the Decedent's Trust to anyone other than the children. The balance in the Survivor's Trust qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction and no tax is due at the first death. At the death of the survivor, because the Decedent's Trust is treated as part of the survivor's taxable estate (even though no tax must be paid), the assets in this trust receive a new basis adjustment (a "step-up") and the heirs can sell the entire estate with no capital gains tax.
Another version, the "ABC Trust", has the excess of the deceased spouse's estate above the exemption amount going to another sub-trust often called a QTIP ("qualified terminable interest property trust" - which we label as the "Marital Deduction Trust"). The Decedent's Trust (as well as the Marital Deduction Trust, if applicable) is an irrevocable trust held for the lifetime of the surviving spouse. Typically, the survivor is the sole trustee and has the right to all of the income and the right to use any or all of the principal of the trust for her/his benefit; however, the survivor cannot leave the trust to anyone other than the beneficiaries initially named. The balance of the assets which are not allocated into the two irrevocable trusts are placed in the Survivor's Trust which qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction and results in no estate tax at the first death. At the death of the survivor, what is in the Survivor's Trust is subject to tax, but only to the extent that the total is above the exemption amount in the year of the survivor's death. The Decedent's Trust, because it was already subject to tax at the first death and because it is an irrevocable trust, passes estate tax free at the second death. The Marital Deduction Trust is only subject to tax to the extent that it and the Survivor's Trust exceeds the available exemption amount at the time of the survivor's death.
You are not required to try to figure out the correct type of trust for you; our software will determine which is the best type of trust for your situation by using our unique "matrix" which analyses your responses to certain questions, as well as the most up-to-date status of the federal and state tax laws.
You have the option to prepare a Joint Trust along with all of the matching supporting documents for a "Non-traditional Couple". Our software will determine the best type of Trust for you after taking into account your estate tax situation. Please note that only a legally married couple can use the Federal Estate Tax "unlimited marital deduction"; this means that, although the full exemption [currently $5.490,000] is available at the first death, if the deceased party's estate is greater than the exemption, there will be a tax due at the first death (even with the trust). However, by properly structuring the trust, you can keep the exemption amount from being taxed at the second death (which means the two of you can leave up to almost $11M in assets free of Federal Estate Tax!
Yes. A non-citizen surviving spouse can be required to pay substantial estate taxes at the first death if a proper estate plan is not in place. Depending on the size of the estate, it may be necessary to have your Living Trust set up as a "Qualified Domestic Trust" to avoid the payment of any taxes at the first death. Our software will create the appropriate trust for you based on the information you provide in the assembly process.
Other than making sure that you title any newly acquired asset in the name of the trust, the simple answer is "nothing". Once a trust is created and funded, it will continue on until it is revoked or it is distributed pursuant to its terms. There are no on-going costs or fees to establishing a Living Trust; nor are there any separate accountings or tax returns required during your lifetime. IRS Regulations provide that a revocable living trust uses the tax identification number of the Grantor -- your Social Security Number -- as its identification number and no separate tax returns should be filed for the trust. Instructions on how to transfer or title assets into the name of the trust will be provided.
What if I need to make changes to my Living Trust?
Should a change be necessary, you can create a Restated Amendment at any time in the future. A Restated Amendment completely rewrites your estate plan; so it will have all the new language if there have been any legal changes which would affect your trust; and will allow you to implement any changes you need to make to keep your trust current. However, the Restated Amendment keeps your existing trust name and date, so you do not need to re-title any of the assets already titled in the name of the existing trust.
Yes. In most cases, all real estate should be transferred into your Trust. Otherwise, upon your death, depending on how you hold the title, there will be a probate in every state in which you hold real property. When your real property is owned by your Living Trust, there is no probate necessary.
Can I transfer US Savings Bonds into a Living Trust?
You can transfer United States savings bonds to a revocable living trust without any tax consequence. The transfer is made by having the bonds reissued in the name of the trustee. The form that must be used to make the transfer is Department of the Treasury Bureau of Public Debt, Form PD F 1851 E (Request to Reissue United States Savings Bonds to a Personal Trust). Complete instructions for reissuing the bonds are set forth in Form PD F 1851 E.
This form may be used to transfer all savings bonds, including Series EE, Series E, Series HH, Series H, and Series I. Use Form PD F1851 to describe the bonds. If more than 13 bonds are to be transferred, use Form PD F 3500 (Continuation Sheet for Listing Securities).
You should be aware, also, that your signature (as the bond holder) must be certified by a certifying officer (this includes authorized employees of insured depository institutions and corporate central credit unions). For a complete list of certifying officers, see Department of Treasury Circular No. 300 31CFR Part 306. This is not the same as having your signature acknowledged by a notary public.
Since you will be transferring your savings bonds through the mail to a Savings Bonds Processing Site (there are five sites specified in the instructions), you should send them by registered or certified mail with a return receipt requested.
What is the difference between a "Living Will" and a "Living Trust"?
A "Living Will" is a document that describes your wishes regarding life support if you are ever in a terminal condition or irreversible coma (think Terri Schiavo). As mentioned above, a "Living Trust" deals with your assets either in the event of incapacity or at death. Both are very important and necessary parts of a proper estate plan and both are included in our Trust Package.
Unfortunately, you may have to become the subject of a conservatorship or guardianship proceeding. If you become mentally disabled before you die, the probate court can appoint someone to take control of your assets and personal affairs. These court-appointed agents must file a strict accounting of your finances with the court. A Living Trust will help avoid this process because your assets are titled in the trust; and you have already appointed someone to act as the successor trustee of your trust if you are no longer able to act. Additionally, if you have created a Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care power; you have already given someone else the ability to make both financial and health care decisions on your behalf. In short, with a properly drafted and complete estate plan, you can eliminate the need for a guardianship or conservatorship.
I have heard that my old health care proxy may be invalid; is this true?
Yes. New federal regulations known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") imposes strict privacy regulations on the disclosure of individually identifiable health information. This necessitates the addition of specific release and consent authority in all health care powers before any health care provider can release medical information to your agents and interested persons. Because HIPAA has no "grandfather" exceptions, previously executed estate planning documents may now be useless unless the documents specifically address the HIPAA requirements. All heath care documents and the living trust included in our program are specifically HIPAA compliant and the HIPAA release provisions are made effective immediately.
I have a pet which I want to make sure is cared for after my death; can I do that with a Living Trust?
You can create a "Pet Trust" as an option; this trust can be for a specific animal or animals or for whatever animals survive you. You can designate different trustees for the care of the pet and the amount allocated for the care of the animal. You will also have the option to designate a trust "enforcer"; this person is a third party who has the right to make sure the funds are actually being used for the care of the animal.
I'm hearing about "Social Media Wills"; how do I protect my digital assets?
Your digital assets and/or rights (including any "social media", on-line accounts and/or email accounts) will be automatically transferred to the Trust with the "Assignment of Personal Property" (created as part of the trust package); both the trust and the Durable General Power of Attorney also specifically authorize the Trustee and Agent to deal with digital assets and/or rights. However, it is important to maintain a list of all of your digital assets and print it out on paper; this list should include all of your on-line accounts as well as a list of usernames and passwords. This is sensitive information, so protect this information by keeping it in a secure place. Some people will put this information in a sealed envelope to be opened only upon death or incapacity. Wherever you keep this information, make sure you tell your successor Trustee (and agent under the Power of Attorney, if different) where this information can be found. You should update this list at least yearly. In addition, tell your successor Trustee what you want done with your digital assets. If you have a social networking site, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, let your successor Trustee know whether you want the site maintained following your death or whether you want the site removed (some sites have specific policies regarding what happens when a person dies or is incapacitated, so make sure you check each site's policy). If you have a collection of music or photographs, tell your successor Trustee what you want done with those.
I'm very concerned about internet security; how safe is your site?
Our site is the safest possible. All information you provide is sent via a 128 bit secured SSL connection. Further, we do not ask for any truely sensitive information; although we provide you with the option to input account numbers for the transfer letters to your banks and other financial institutions, you can always leave the account number field blank and enter the information by hand before delivery.
What do I do to begin creating my estate plan?
Click the Pricing button above and chose the Trust Package or Will Package you wish to purchase. After payment has been made, you will be taken to a page of instructions. You will then click on a button to start creating your revocable trust.
When you click the button you will be taken to a screen where you will be required to enter some basic information. Afer you have entered the required information, click on the "Continue" button.
The next screen will advise you to check your email for an "Account Activation" email. In the email, click on "Activate My Account". You will then be taken back to the Everythinglivingtrust website, where you will enter the security code and click the "Activate My Account" button. You are now ready to click on the "Client Sign In" button.
Once you sign in, on the next screen click on the "Proceed to Registration Agreement" button. Once you have read and agreed to the "Legal Stuff", click on the "Proceed to Interview" button which will take you screen by screen through the context sensitive question and answer process. You can save your answers and come back at a later time to finish.
Once you have finished the Interview, click on "Finish", and the software will automatically prepare your revocable trust and all supporting documents based upon your answers, and you will be able to review the documents on your computer, and make changes to your answers if necessary.
Also, once you have finished your review, please send me an email or call me at the contact information below and we will make arrangements for you to sign your documents in my office (if you have purchased a package which includes Notary Public fees) or for your documents to be either mailed or emailed to you with instructions on how to proceed with signing your trust and funding your trust. That's it; once signed, witnessed and acknowledged by a Notary Public, your estate plan is in effect.
If you have any questions at anytime, please contact me at (775) 324-1111 or at JohnClarkson@everythinglivingtrusts.com.
Start Your Estate Plan Now!


text:
KGO-TV (San Francisco) – May 2015
Sunnyvale wedding dress event to benefit nonprofit
An upcoming wedding dress event in Sunnyvale that will offer gorgeous gowns at discounted prices will benefit a nonprofit that grants weddings to people with serious or terminal illnesses.
By Michael Finney
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (KGO) —
If you or someone you know is getting married soon, you might want to let them know about a huge sale of wedding gowns beginning Friday in Sunnyvale. You may not only find your dream dress, but also make someone else's dream come true. It's an event that benefits a nonprofit that grants weddings to people with serious or terminal illnesses.
Ric and Renee Schmitt Wilbourn had been engaged for 15 years. They finally were able to get married a month ago thanks to the generosity of Wish Upon A Wedding.
"We love each other so much and we were meant to be," Renee said. "There was just something always that came in our way to hold us back."
Renee has lived all those years with an autoimmune disease that affects her spine. Three years ago her husband was diagnosed with a form of cancer. Add financial difficulties to all that, and the couple says the time was never right. Despite that, their love never wavered.
"Whatever the outcome is, all three of us support each other," Ric said.
The third person in their life is their 9-year old son Tyler. He lives with asthma.
This is where Wish Upon A Wedding comes in. The organization grants weddings to couples dealing with serious illnesses.
"Wish Upon A Wedding provides all the basic needs," said Elisheva Basser with the nonprofit. "We found really generous donations from all sorts of wedding professionals and wedding vendors."
Fifty percent of the proceeds from a wedding dress sale this weekend in Sunnyvale will benefit Wish Upon A Wedding.
The sale is put on by the for profit group Brides for a Cause out of Portland, Oregon.
In three years, the company says it's donated about $300,000 to Wish Upon A Wedding.
All the wedding dresses are donated.
"We wouldn't be able to exist without generosity from people from brides who donate their dresses to bridal stores that want to support our cause," said Erin Scharf with Brides for a Cause.
Five hundred wedding dresses will be on sale this weekend ranging from size 0 to 30 with prices as low as $150.
A Jasmine Bridal wedding dress with a fun skirt and lace detail retails for $1,200, but is on sale this weekend for $300.
A silk Jenny Yoo wedding dress has a long train and a sweetheart neckline. Retail price $1,200, but you can get it for $400.
"This is a Pronovias dress," said Scharf. "So when I mention high end dresses, we have them. This is some real nice crochet lace with a real nice train here."
The dress retails for $2,000, but is on sale for $500.
A VIP sale begins Friday night at 6 p.m. at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale. Admission is $20 for a bride and a guest. Saturday and Sunday admission is free from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Click here for information on the Charity Wedding Dress Sale at The Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale, and click here for details on how to apply for your wedding wish from Wish Upon A Wedding.
We'd like to thank Andrew Hsu of StudioMSV.com for use of his photos and ExtremeVisionFilms for use of the wedding video.
Erin2022-03-30T17:35:27-05:00May 28, 2015|Bridal Blog, Press and Media|


Logan might have bid the world farewell this year, but the rest of the X-Men are alive and kicking—in the past, anyway. Entertainment Weekly's cover story is all about X-Men: Dark Phoenix, the latest entry in 21st Century Fox's mutant franchise.
Jean isn't the only person wrestling with her newfound power. Director Simon Kinberg teases a more "arrogant" Professor X. Eventually, his pride gets "the better of him, and he [pushes] the X-Men to more extreme missions." That could be how they end up in outer space (for the first time in the film series), where they meet a shapeshifter played by Jessica Chastain.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix is due out November 2, 2018.


text:
Getting To Know Alicia Liera
by usctrojans.com
Freshman Alicia Liera is a distance runner from Lynwood, Calif. She graduated from Warren High in Downey, Caiif. She began her career at Lynwood High where she set the school 1600m and 3200m records. We had a chance to talk to her this week.
Q: How is your freshman year going so far?
A.L.: It's pretty good, it's interesting, very different, but I like it so far.
Q: What influenced your decision to attend and run for USC?
A.L.: I think I was influenced not only by the track program but just the reputation that USC has, especially for my major in business administration. Another big thing for me was that I wanted to stay close to home. I'm from Southern California, so I wanted to make sure that I went to a really good school in Southern California.
Q: What else went into your decision to major in business administration?
A.L.: I think I chose [the major] because, honestly, since I was very little, my goal was to open up a restaurant or a business, just something small. I feel like with business administration I could start off with a company and get some experience, and eventually, further down the road, if I ever want to open up a business, I feel like I'll have what it takes to do so.
Q: Do you have a favorite class from this or last semester?
A.L.: I mean I do, but they're not really business-related. I'm very into gender studies classes. So I'm thinking about taking a minor in something related to gender studies.
Q: What is your proudest achievement from high school?
A.L.: My proudest achievement might have been getting the school records for the mile and the two mile. I was actually able to get them on the same night. To race back-to-back, and still get that was kind of crazy.
Q: Do you have a favorite memory from a practice or competition?
A.L.: This one time, with my cross country friends, we went to New York for a race, and after the race we went to this restaurant. We got these milkshakes and I don't know what was in them, but my friends and I just kept laughing the entire ride and everyone was just looking at us… It was just such a funny night, like anything would make us laugh, it was so funny. I loved it.
Q: What are your goals for the rest of the season going forward?
A.L.: I think for now, my goal is just to be with my teammates and push each other to be our best. I guess, technically, it's a competition amongst each other, but it's really just trying to push each other and bring out the best in everyone.
Q: Do you have any random talents that most people might not know about?
A.L.: I'm not sure if this really counts but my thumbs are double jointed, so that's pretty weird! Or, I guess, I'm left handed… I really like cooking and baking, too.
Q: What kinds of foods do you cook and bake?
A.L.: For me, I just cook what I would usually have, but I guess to others it's very "cultural" food, so a lot of Mexican food.
Q: You mentioned earlier that you were thinking about opening a restaurant someday. What kind of restaurant would you want to open?
A.L.: Right now, I'm thinking of maybe a vegan Mexican restaurant. I feel like that's something that's not so common [as opposed to] just opening up a Mexican restaurant.
Q: My last question is, what have you been doing for fun in your free time? Anything you've been watching/reading/listening to?
A.L.: A lot of times, my favorite thing to do is to sleep and nap… love that. As for music, everyone says that they listen to everything, but I really listen to everything, depending on my moods. If I wanna be calm, I'll listen while I paint or draw, and if I'm cleaning up I'll play a little more upbeat music. Or sometimes when I'm driving, I just wanna put on old music, like One Direction.


text:
Counting the cost of Social Media
Social media is an integral part of modern life but a coherent social media policy is essential to manage risks. Liz Mulvaney explains why it is important your staff are fully aware of their responsibilities.
Most of us make use of social media daily. It is accepted that use of social media sites benefits communication, enabling active engagement with others about activities, services and events. Organisations like the Care Quality Commission use social media sites to share information and to gain 'intelligence' feeding risk profile scorings which in turn inform inspection decisions. Where would we be now without these sites, we might well ask?
However, as much as social media use may be good for marketing, improving staff relations and boosting reputations, uncontrolled use can also threaten disrepute and the well-being of individuals and businesses.
Some comments may breach professional codes of practice, such as the British Association of Social Workers' guidance which warns against 'accepting service users and their carers as online "friends".' Apart from attracting 'trolls' (persons wanting to vent anger at a service or individual online) unguarded comments might well be libellous, discriminatory, breach confidentiality or disclose sensitive information. Sites have been used to cause harassment, threaten harm and make obscene, grossly offensive or false remarks. At least half of the calls received by the Police about nuisance crimes have been reported to relate to social media site comments; prompting the Director of Public Prosecutions to issue guidelines as to when the Police and Crown Prosecution Service should be involved.
Active use of sites may be encouraged by all means but to 'show personality not genitalia' and with the clear caveat to engage brain and think about the consequences (both personal and professional) before making any posting.
An example of brain not being engaged in considering consequences is provided by the case of Taggart v TeleTech UK. Mr Taggart posted the comment, 'Quick question who in TeleTech has 'A' not tried to f***? She does get around.' TeleTech took the view that this was gross misconduct and the Tribunal agreed, costing Mr Taggart his job.
In Young v Argos the employee succeeded with an unfair dismissal claim having been sacked for 'liking' a comment on Facebook by a former employee which said that their manager was, 'as much use as a chocolate teapot'. Ms Young added, 'that this was the worst year in 15 years of working for Argos' and it is reasonable to speculate that at some level it wasn't a good year either for Argos.
Notably in the High Court, freedom of speech has triumphed to allow expression of views albeit at odds with upholding equality and diversity policies aimed at ensuring good relations in the workplace. In Smith v Trafford Housing Trust, Senior Manager, Mr Smith, posted links to news articles about gay marriages in church on Facebook adding comment 'an equality too far'. Consequently, he was demoted, but the High Court found the employer in breach of contract for imposing this sanction. This was because the Court considered that Mr Smith had used the site clearly for personal and not work-related purposes. Accordingly, even though Mr Smith had offended workplace colleagues holding different views, he was found to be entitled to express his lawful personal opinions without being subject to sanction at work.
Freedom of speech is, of course, not just the freedom to say agreeable things. Nevertheless, strongly held contentious views made public (via friends) do have the potential to reflect adversely upon individuals, their workplace organisation and overall sour workplace relations.
Each case will turn on its own facts as to whether work-related and going beyond silly banter to the point of warranting sanction. The cases mentioned highlight difficulties with maintaining boundaries between working and private life and between preserving freedom of speech whilst avoiding defamation and malicious injury. Costs for all are never neutral especially those related to bringing and defending cases which can be high.
Protecting your business and your staff is a 'must'. Access to websites can be blocked on work computers but ban on private use outside of the workplace, and outside of work-time, cannot be imposed. An employer can, though, make clear the boundaries of acceptable use.
Consider taking the following four steps:
Implement a social media use policy laying down the ground rules, and boundaries, making clear the sanctions to be imposed for acting contrary to the policy;
Raise awareness within the policy about Human Rights and Equality legislation;
Issue the policy to all staff, and provide training, drawing attention to the type of comments that will be considered to amount to misconduct whether occurring inside or outside of work;
Secure proof that staff are aware of the policy and associated sanctions for abuse of its terms.
The consequences of not having implemented a social media policy were made clear in Lerwill v Aston Villa FC. Mr Lerwill won his unfair dismissal claim because he was not given clear guidance about acceptable media use or the consequences of sanction in respect of his actions.
We see many cases where employers struggle to prove that the employee was aware of any restrictions on social medial use. Without a policy, and evidence of completed staff awareness training, the employer faces an uphill battle to satisfy an employment tribunal that it was fair to discipline an employee for any concerns about social media use. Speak with an HR adviser or employment lawyer about devising and implementing a social media policy to ensure you're protected.
Guidelines on prosecuting cases involving communications sent via social media:
www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/communications_sent_via_social_media/
Social care meets social media – what's holding the sector back? Guardian
www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/jul/10/social-care-social-media-digital-tools
www.freeths.co.uk/publications/counting-the-cost-of-social-media-the-four-key-steps-employers-must-make
Liz Mulvaney is National Head of Health, Healthcare at Freeths LLP.
Email: liz.mulvaney@freeths.co.uk