Panama Papers

                The topic of discussion for this Freedom Friday concerns the Panama Papers and the effects of the dealings revealed in them.  The Panama Papers are “leaked confidential documents from a law firm in Panama,” and they “exposed how some of the world’s most powerful people were said to have used offshore bank accounts to conceal their wealth or avoid taxes.”

                The people named in the leak may or may not have broken any laws, but the leaks are already causing problems for them.  According to Liam Stack, the following actions have taken place:

                . “Relatives of President Xi Jinping of China and two other members of the Communist Party’s most powerful body were linked to offshore companies incorporated by the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca.

                . “On Wednesday, the Swiss authorities raided the headquarters of the Union of European Football Associations.

                . “The prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, stepped aside on Tuesday.

                . “Gonzalo Delaveau Swett, the president of Transparency Chile, a branch of a global anti-corruption group, stepped down on Monday.”

                James M. Roberts of The Heritage Foundation looked at the Panama Papers in a slightly different way.

“As The Atlantic has reported, `[d]isclosures from the Panama Papers are rocking the global political elite.’  Although not all of the activities alleged in the papers may ultimately be determined to be unethical or illegal, it is instructive to look at the connections between many of the people named in the papers and the scores of their countries of origin on The Heritage Foundation’s `Index of Economic Freedom’ corruption indicator.”

                Mr. Roberts then proceeds to name Pakistan, Russia, and Ukraine and how those nations rate on “freedom from corruption” on The Heritage Foundation’s “Index of Economic Freedom.”  Maybe nations would have more economic freedom if they had more honest leaders.  What do you think?

Cruz Struggles in NY

                Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) left Wisconsin with a rosy glow but faced only insults in New York.  It appears that Senator Cruz is not welcome in Donald Trump’s home state of New York.  Senator Cruz will be in New York for a few days to campaign before April 19 when the state holds its primary.  Mr. Trump is currently 31 points ahead of the Senator in New York.

                Senator Cruz “met privately with supporters and community leaders Wednesday afternoon” in “a working-class neighborhood made up largely of blacks and Latinos.”  “One Jewish supporter” was present in the Chino-Latino restaurant Sabrosura 2 with a couple of other supporters waiting patiently to shake Senator Cruz’s hand.  The rest of the people in the restaurant were press.  It does not appear likely that Senator Cruz will win in New York.

Cruz Cruises

                Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) won the Republican presidential primary in Wisconsin.  He won 49.1 percent of the vote while Donald Trump won 34.6 percent and John Kasich won 13.8 percent.  Cruz still has a thin line to victory!

                According to a national Reuters poll today, support for Senator Cruz increased nearly 20 percent.  Cruz has 35.2 percent support to Trump’s 39.5 percent support.  With a margin of error of 4.8 percentage points, the two candidates are virtually tied.  This is good news!

Thomas S. Monson

                Thomas S. Monson is the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; he is also the prophet, seer, and revelator of God for the entire world.  He spoke to the world on Sunday at the General Conference of the Church.  What do you think a prophet of God would say to the world?  Here are some of his words.

                To the priesthood brethren on Saturday evening, President Monson shared a principle that applies to everyone:  “Remember who you are and what God expects you to become.  You are a child of promise.  You are a man of might.  You are a son of God.”  We are all children of God.

                President Monson spoke again on Sunday and said, “May we choose to build up within ourselves a great and powerful faith which will be our most effective defense against the designs of the adversary – a real faith, the kind of faith which will sustain us and will bolster our desire to choose the right.”

                President Monson is a great story teller and taught a principle by using a few lines from Alice in Wonderland.  Alice found herself at a crossroads and asked the Cheshire cat which path she should take.  The Cheshire cat answered, “That depends where you want to go.  If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which path you take.”  President Monson then reminded us that we know where we want to go; we want to return to live with our Father in Heaven.  We must “maintain the courage to defy the consensus” and choose “the harder right instead of the easier wrong.”  “As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day – whether to make this choice or that – if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice.”

                There is the counsel of the prophet of God to guide us for the next six months until our next General Conference:  Remember that you are a child of God.  Choose faith.  Choose Christ.  If we follow this counsel from the prophet, we cannot go wrong.

Democracy vs. Communism

                The topic of discussion on this Constitution Monday is democracy versus communism.  I wrote a post about a week ago about capitalism versus communism.  Now let us look at how communism fairs against democracy.

                The foundation for this post comes from an article by Mary Ramirez titled “10 Things Communist CountriesTotally Do Better Than Capitalist Countries.”  Ms. Ramirez was obviously writing satire, but she does give a want-a-be communist something to think about. 

                Among the ten “accomplishment” listed in Ms. Ramirez’s article are:  (1)  “They know how to get really  creative with food …[by serving food such as] … cornmeal, wheat chaff, dried nettle leaves, weeds, and mix it together with water and a little salt.”  (2) “The population never gets out of control….  This ideology and its responsibility for nearly 100 million deaths worldwide certainly seems to do the trick.”

                I suggest that you read her article for yourself, especially if you are leaning toward socialism or communism.  Remember, she has eight more items just as interesting as those listed above!

Sustaining the Prophet

                The two general sessions and the priesthood session of the 186^th annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were held today.  It is customary in the general conferences to call new members to leadership position and to sustain existing Church officers.   This afternoon President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency read the names and asked for a sustaining vote.  There were apparently some dissenting votes.

                In the April 2015 General Conference there were also some dissenting votes, possibly the first time since the 1980s.  After consulting with President Thomas S. Monson, President Uchtdorf returned to the podium and acknowledged the dissenting votes.  He said that President Monson invited those with opposing votes to contact their Stake Presidents for further questions or answers.

                My Book of Mormon instructor sent his last screen cast for the semester.  Because it is General Conference weekend, he spoke about sustaining the prophet.  He shared the story of Elijah in Zarephath from 1 Kings 17.  As you may remember, Elijah sealed the heavens from rain and then hid from the king.  While he lived in the brook Cherith, ravens brought bread and flesh in the morning and again in the evening.  One day word came from the Lord that he was to go to Zarephath and be sustained by a widow.

                Elijah arrived when the widow was gathering wood to use the last flour and oil to make a cake for her son and herself before they died.  Elijah told her to give him the first cake and then make more for her family.   She was obedient to the prophet – and then received the blessing.  Her “barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:16).

                My instructor stated that we too can be blessed by sustaining the prophet.  He suggested three things that we should understand about sustaining the prophet:  (1) We sustain him by not only our sustaining vote but by being obedient, (2) The Lord will often ask us to give Him more/first even when it appears that we have so little to give, (3) We will always be blessed as we follow the prophet.

                I do not know why the dissenters at conference decided to go against the prophet.  I do know that I received confirmation from the Holy Ghost that the prophet speaks for Jesus Christ.  I am grateful for this confirmation because now I know that I need not fear.   I sustain the prophet!

The Savior's Love

                Families, communities, and nations are strengthened when we feel the Savior’s love for us. This weekend is the annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Prophets, apostles, and other general leaders will be speaking to the world about the Savior and His love for all mankind.  I will be watching the conference sessions held on Saturday and Sunday in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I hope you will tune into the conference  and feel the Savior’s love for you.