Windy Sydney

Let's pretend there is a God up there... (I am not saying there is, I am not saying there isn't).

This God is a loving, caring, compassionate creator. He has the ability to not only watch every move you make, but every move everyone else makes as you go about your life on Earth. He knows your heart, your mind, your dreams, your secrets. He knows about the Snickers bar you stole from the gas station when you were 8, the time you "accidentally" kicked your little brother in the shin when you were playing soccer and the time you cheated on your math test (sorry).

This God loves you anyway.

Does this God need an organization of any kind to facilitate a relationship between the two of you? In order to go to heaven and be with this loving God again, is it truly necessary that I go to another human being that also has faults and secrets and confess mine? What makes this other human better than me? The fact that the human being happens to be a man and not a woman? Why must I confess anything to a human being when I could just say a prayer and talk directly to God, Himself?



Oh sure, many assume it just doesn't work this way. And to those people, I ask, "Why not?"

Why do so many people assume there has to be a go-between?

I don't have a whole lot of "sins." Really. I was a good kid, and I did normal kid stuff. I don't sleep around with random men, I don't steal money from work, and I treat people the way I want to be treated. If I ever have anything I need to confess to God about, I think I will just talk to him about it.

Andee

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I tried to watch General Conference this weekend. Really, I tried. Honest. Swear. Promise. I even had the entire weekend off and that is rare.

The first thing I did on Saturday morning was turn on my computer and television. My right thumb was fighting me when my brain gave it directions to change the channel to KBYU. It hovered over the number keys in protest as if to say, "Wha? You kiddin' me?" Nope. Not kidding. I am serious. Serious and insane.

Why would I waste my time? Because a couple of my believing Mormon buddies kept sending me emails promising that there would be some major revelation... something important I needed to hear. I knew better. There is always much gossip about conference beforehand. There is always some major announcement, event, or revelation that God wants us to hear. Why do people keep falling for that?

I didn't last long.

How do people deal with the sheer dullness that is LDS inc.?

At times I was staring at the television screen consciously reminding myself to pay attention. To let their words sink in. To truly listen. Couldn't do it. I am a grown woman who has a fantastic attention span, honest. I can sit down to watch lectures or read scientific studies with no problem. I do that all the time. I love to learn.

I just zoned out. Almost immediately.

General Conference is boring as HELL.


How is it that some of my believing Mormon friends want their small children to dress up in their Sunday best and watching everything? Are you kidding? A grown adult can't even handle it? You expect a kid to be able to sit down and listen to an old white guy talk about how lovely the spirit is?

Every single talk is recycled. The words change (not much) but the message is the same. Every person up there seems like they are having a competition to see who can talk in the most reverent voice, or use words like "exceedingly." Most of the people up on the stand use more words than are truly necessary. It would be fun to see if you could take out every 4th word and still get the same meaning. The more adjectives they use to describe their topic, the better.



Nearly everyone cries at one point. That is par for the course. If you cry, you must be feeling the spirit, and it is therefore proof that you are truly an apostle/prophet/whatever and the church must be true. Yes, my friends, tears=love of the Lord.

It kind of made me wonder how conference was back when old Briggy was in charge...

Now, Brigham Young was a man who wasn't afraid to make a statement. He would go off on these giant tangents about women's duties or men living on the moon... Hell, he even told everyone that Adam was God!

Brigham Young wanted people to know that he spoke with God. If people didn't like his revelation, he wouldn't change it. If the Lord said it, Briggy said it. It didn't matter how wrong, or strange the revelation was, he went with it.

The leaders of the church have learned from Brigham Young. They know fully well what Brigham Young (and many others) told people at conference... and they know that they were not telling the truth.

Quaker like people do not live on the moon.
Adam is not God.
Blood atonement is bad.

If Monson were to get up and actually reveal something that could be proven wrong, all hell would break loose.

So, instead, we are treated to long talks about tithing and placing faith before knowledge (riiight). We are told that women should only have one piercing in their ears. We are told that Mormon mothers should iron their children's clothing to perfection. We are told the same things, over and over and over again.

There is so much going on in the world today. There are wars, children are starving, men and women are dying horrific deaths all over the place. I believe God would have something important to say. I believe that if you could truly talk to the creator, He would give you more direction than "Your future is as bright as your faith."

Lets also take into account how much time is taken up by the constant meetings at LDS Churches/conference. We could be spending that time with our families, assisting the needy and helping the world around us. Why would God want us to sit like drones for hours each week when there is so much that needs to be done???


So, Monson, I challenge you. I challenge you to actually step up and prove you are a prophet of God. Say something that God has said to you. Tell the Saints something that isn't already common sense or common knowledge. If you are a prophet, act like one. Be a seer.

It kills me how many people believe he is a prophet when he hasn't done one thing to prove it. Good lord people...

THINK.

Andee

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I hope the Salt Lake Tribune doesn't mind me sharing a little nugget from their wonderful publication:

By Donald W. Meyers

Provo » The phone call Rich Evans got Monday morning wasn't good news.

It was an employee at Brigham Young University's The Daily Universe , where Evans is the editorial manager. There was a typo on the front page.

"It was the worst possible mistake," Evans recalled.

The error? A caption on a photo from this weekend's LDS General Conference stated that "Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostates and other general authorities raise their hands in a sustaining vote Saturday morning. ..."

The newspaper staff retrieved as many of the 18,500 copies of the paper as possible and reprinted them with the correction. And it issued an apology to the apostles. The staff also explained how it happened: an error in spell-checking.

It started when a student misspelled the word "apostle" when writing the photo caption. When the caption was put through the editing software's spell checker, it was flagged, and the editor accidentally clicked the first word that came up on the correct list: "apostate." The mistake made it past two proofreaders before being sent off to the printing press.

"It would have been worse if it were done intentionally, as some have thought," Evans said. "But after talking to the people, we found it was an innocent mistake." He said one of the students involved was in tears over it.

A story on the Universe's Web site stated this was the first time in more than 30 years that the paper had to trash an edition. Evans said the staff will be implementing efforts to prevent a recurrence.

"This appears to have been an honest mistake," said BYU spokeswoman Carri P. Jenkins. A church spokesman declined to comment.

Student journalists aren't the only ones to make mistakes in print. Last week, The Salt Lake Tribune misidentified LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson in a headline. It identified the LDS leader as "Gordon Monson," the same name as a Tribune sports columnist.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

You have no idea how much I wish it was intentional. Gawd, that would have been funny.

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Look at what I just finished off...


I was starving.

I had nothing to eat.

I raided my freezer and found an ancient box of Belgian Waffles. My first thought was, "Crap! I am out of butter..." but I didn't let that stop me. Hell no.

After browsing the fridge I found chocolate chips and caramel sauce. I even had a little bit of whipping cream. Melted the chocolate, drizzled over the caramel, and pigged out.

Now I need a nap.

Andee

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Check out what I just found...

Watch it... you will find yourself saying, "Awwwww...."

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Now, a word of caution to all, both young and old, both male and female. We live at a time when the adversary is using every means possible to ensare us in his web of deceit, trying desperately to take us down with him. There are many pathways along which he entices us to go, pathways that can lead to our destruction.

Advances in many areas that can be used for good can also be used to speed us along that heinous pathway. I feel to mention one in particular, and that is the Internet. On the one hand it provides almost limitless opportunities for acquiring useful and important information. Through it we could communicate with others around the world. The church itself has a wonderful web site filled with valuable and uplifting information and priceless resources. On the other hand, however, and extremely alarming, are the reports of the number of individuals who are utilizing the Internet for evil and degrading purposes.

-- Pres. Thomas S. Monson, 179th Semiannual General Conference, Apr. 5, 2009

He then goes on to mostly talk about porn (I guess thats a huge problem with the Saints?) but the message also rings in the fact that they don't want you to listen to anyone but them.

They are going out of their way to make it seem as if every source out there that doesn't agree with the church's official position on things like racism, sexism, homophobia, polygamy, the book of abraham, the kinderhook plates (the list goes on and on and on) are LYING.

Nevermind the fact that most of the sites they consider "anti-Mormon" have more truth on them than the church's own website. That doesn't matter. The truth, honesty and integrity are obviously not important.

Yes, my friends. These websites are the tools of Satan. WindySydney is a tool of Satan. Now go fetch me a small baby to eat for breakfast.

Andee

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One of my pals from Orlando just sent me an email telling me they saw my blog. Holy Crap. I guess there are tons of people reading this, huh? First my cousins and now my buddies a continent away? Kick ass. I don't know why you read, I am not funny or thought provoking. I mostly just rant and ramble, but Hell... whatever floats your boat...

This pal asked me if I would do one of those internet memes people do on MySpace (I have a MySpace but I haven't logged into it for over a year) and on Facebook (same thing... never look at it). He was raised Baptist, and he is very interested in all religions, so he asked me to do a religious slant on the meme. The original Meme mentions listing 20 things, and I am not super-creative today. 6 is all ya get.

Peace.


1. I daydream about being excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I would actually LOVE for this to happen. Bring it on. I have written a resignation letter and I have it printed and signed, but I would much rather have the church tell me I am not good enough to be in their expensive little club.

I daydream about sitting in one of those hard plastic chairs. I will wear jeans and flip-flops, and I will audio tape the whole freaking thing. When they start to bring up the reasons that they called me to a "Court of Love" (Yes, dear Orlando buddy... that is what they call it) I will politely tell them that their church isn't good enough for me. The lies, the cover-ups, the half-truths... and they have the nerve to tell *ME* I am not good enough? Hahaha... oh, that would be a YouTube top hit. I promise you that.

2. I daydream about walking into a random LDS Church during a testimony meeting and keeping track of how many times people use the phrase, "I know this church is true" because it isn't, and the mind control is fascinating to see once you are on the outside.

3. I daydream about an apostle or member of the 70 coming clean about the church's past. Could you imagine the media circus this would cause? I am not trying to be overly dramatic, but I really believe that if any of the other brethren knew something like this was going to happen, this man would have an "accident" if you know what I am saying... and I think you do.

4. I daydream about an official apology from the Church to the people they have discriminated against. This includes blacks, women, and homosexuals. The church went out of their way to stop equality for every one of these groups, and one day they will have to be held accountable for the things they said and did. Excuses like, "It was all in the past" or "It was God's will" are ridiculous. An all loving God wouldn't have any part of discrimination of any kind.

For the record, I am not saying that someone should walk into a church or other LDS structure and start shooting to "make them pay." Far from it. Just in case someone thinks I am making a threat. Nope. Nope. Nope.

5. I daydream about making a documentary about people who leave this church, and about the true history that Mormons don't know much about. I daydream about this one a lot, and I really want to do it. Maybe I will.

6. I daydream about entire groups of people walking out of church in protest of the Church's involvement in Prop H8 and other political campaigns (ERA, anyone??). Nothing would speak louder than the churchs' own members taking a stand. That would be fantastic!

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Every few months I find myself browsing at GhostStudy.com. I have always been interested in the paranormal, but thanks to my now skeptical point of view, I find it harder and harder to believe in ghosts. I guess anything is possible, right? Hmm...

Regardless, these photos and the stories behind them are entertaining and strange. If you want to see more photos, go to GhostStudy.com. They have a HUGE website devoted to all things ghostie. You can also click on any of the photos to magically be transported to the photo source. Hopefully they won't be too upset with me sharing a small portion of the photos here.

Rob writes, "I'm not sure if I already sent this pic to you. I took this photo (DCS03522a) of my kids in front of the Carlyle house in Alexandria Virginia on May 29th. The house was built in 1752. Look at the upper window second from the left. Looks like a figure in the window. The house was closed for tours that day, so no one was in there. These photos were taken with a Sony F717 digital camera.

Call me crazy, but I don't buy this one at ALL. The house was closed for tours, but that does NOT mean there were no workers inside the building. This could easily be a living, breathing janitor for all we know...


There is no story to go along with the girl ghost photos. Looks like old fashioned clothing, doesn't it? All the lace on the collar of the dress? Weird.

I have seen this photo before, and I believe it was taken in a middle school somewhere. They claimed that the ghost was a little boy who died tragically and wanted to return to school. To be honest, this one looks like a shutter speed problem. The kids was there, then he wasn't, and the camera took too long to capture the image. Just a guess.

Jennifer writes, "this picture was taken February, 2002. I had just come from an overnight ghost hunt at an old Inn. We stopped to take pictures at this old cabin, which is used as an old General store. It was closed for the winter season at the time we stopped and I snapped this photo. As you can see, clearly in front of the window is face of some sort."

James writes, "My aunt gave me a digital camera for my birthday and since then my wife and I go to a cemetery to take pictures from the dirt road every so often (mainly because I'm too chicken to go inside in the dark). The cemetery is only about a 1/2 mile from my house and it also has a crematorium. The cemetery was est. in 1874 so it has some old graves. I've gotten 2 pictures of small orbs but nothing like this. To me it looks like the little girl is in a hurry to go somewhere (close-up above, full image below). The only thing is, I went back during the day to take a look and the little girl would have to be only a foot and a half tall. Take a look and tell me what you think."

Roy writes, "I work in law enforcement for a living, but I am an amateur photographer for a hobby. I was taking a picture of an old truck off of Honey Run Road in Chico, California. I swear that I saw nobody inside of this truck when I took this picture. I even walked right up to it. Later when I downloaded the picture onto my computer, I looked closer at what I thought was part of the rear window and it is clearly a face (close-up above, full image below). It appears to be looking right at me when I took this. Your thoughts? I am thoroughly creeped out."

I think that the person telling the story wants us to think he is a cop because people usually trust cops, right? Would a cop lie? Make this up? See!! It has to be true!

Just like the church...

Andee

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I have been busy practicing my fondant skills lately, and I think I am getting a little better. I really need to get some fresh fondant, because the crap I have left is old, gross, and crumbly.

This is what I have been working on:


Abbey likes them...

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Good for you, Iowa!

Gay marriage advocates began celebrating early Friday after the Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling finding that the state's same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples.

In its decision, the court upholds a 2007 Polk County District Court judge's ruling that the law violates the Iowa Constitution. It strikes the language from Iowa code limiting marriage to between a man a woman.

"The court reaffirmed that a statute inconsistent with the Iowa constitution must be declared void even though it may be supported by strong and deep-seated traditional beliefs and popular opinion," said a summary of the ruling issued by the court.

For the rest of the CBS News article, please click here...

Here's hoping the rest of the world realizes equality is a good thing...

Andee

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