Fairness and the World Cup

I've had some rather spirited discussions lately on the "fairness" of the teams going to the World Cup with a colleague recently.

You see if you go strictly by the numbers it does not seem fair how they decide the number of teams that will advance to the World Cup by continent.  The best example is to compare Europe and Africa.  Both have almost the same number of teams overall - 53 and 52 respectively.  But, the big difference comes in the number of teams each continent will provide to the big event.  Europe will send on 13 teams and Africa only 5.  So by the numbers this seems so unfair.  But, is it really?

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.  In this case how many people will try and watch let alone attend in person a game if you have a bunch of so-so teams no one has ever heard of?
European teams have a long history within the footballing sport.  For that matter Football was invented in England.  Some African teams have just a few years history and little or no governmental support or infrastructure.  Add that up and it is clear why FIFA chooses to send the number of teams that it does from each continent.  The one with the highest percentage of teams attending is South America.  It's in the 45 percent range.  Oceania has the lowest with a mere 4.5%.  Europe has a 25% ratio, Asia 10-11 percent and North America 10% and Africa about 10%.
Statically, and numerically this is not fair but, it provides for a quality tournament worth watching.



Let's examine why this works better then going by pure numbers in a bit more detail.  The easiest way to do this is to see a list of those that made the final since the World Cup began and the champions.

National team	Finalists	Winners	Runners-up
Brazil	7	5	2
Italy	6	4	2
Germany	7	3	4
Argentina	4	2	2
Uruguay	2	2	0
France	2	1	1
England	1	1	0
Spain	1	1	0
Netherlands	3	0	3
Czechoslovakia	2	0	2
Hungary	2	0	2
Sweden	1	0	1

It is very easy to see where the teams that win come from.  Europe and South America.
I'm not even sure how many times teams from Asia or Africa have even made it into the semi-finals.  The USA for example has begun to consistently make it out of group play to the round of 16.  They have been improving and down the road there may be a chance at making it to the final.  For the time being they become one of the many wild card teams that may play that perfect game and really give a contender for the cup a run for their money.

So there is that trade off.  Do you want to be fair numerically or do you want to have a quality game?

The quality of the game is more important to the world Cup then to say some other sporting events or activities.  For the World Cup you are looking for the very best teams the world over.  You don't want the best proportion of teams the world over, but, the best teams of the world.

In younger youth sports that do not have a financial incentive attached things change.  You might require fairness in the games played at school or by those still in primary grades.  This keeps things positive and helps get away from the "win at any cost" issue.

Now some start to say there should be fairness in hiring practices, school admissions, and other societal things.  But, what are you really achieving?  What is your aim in forcing things to be fair by some predefined criteria?

Brazil has begun to implement affirmative action when it comes to university admissions.  Federal university is free in Brazil (tuition at least) if you can make it in.  Thus there is a big process each year to see who can gain one of the few slots available for a specific area of study.  Many people take training courses there much like the ACT or GMAT trainings/testing here in the USA just so they have a change at passing Vestibular.   Now, what ends up happening is that the more well off families can afford to pay for such courses.  Poor families are highly under represented.  That does not mean poor people are not taking the test to see if they can get into university.  Thus they are starting to implement affirmative action.
A very large portion of the population in Brazil are of mix-race.  And the majority have some African blood.  Negros are highly under represented at university and then it goes down from there.... the more Caucasian you are the more you are likely to go to university. Not a guarantee but, statically the reality.
So with affirmative action you basically declare we have to have 10% of college applications, or students say be Amer-Indian or negro. Now this creates a different problem of fairness.  Are you being fair by saying if your race is X percent of the population therefore you automatically get X percent of the college admissions slots?


This leads to some people that might wonder - 'Did I get into this school simply because I'm ______ race?'
Now your not getting into school based on merits but, race.  And do you use merits after race since you will always have a limited number of slots?
One small problem you begin to find in Brazil is the number of people claiming they are negro to take advantage of the affirmative action but, at the same time looking white as heck.  They may have some African blood in them but, when do you cut it off and say you have to be at least 30% African blood or 45% Amer-Indian blood?  Is that provable blood or not?  Some people may look dark as heck and could qualify as Amer-Indian possibly but, can not prove one way or another their background.

These and many other issues arise when you begin to get involved in correcting social injustices by way of quotes and the like.  Abuse of the system will exist.  It could also do some good and right some wrong however, is their a better way to handle this.

It appears no one has found it yet since, places like Brazil are now trying affirmative action just like the United States did over 35 years ago.



Have you ever thought how it would be to have a color blind job interview?  One were the interviewer and interviewee don't even really see one another.  Where the voice and/or face are distorted or blurred.   Imagine how this changes the make up of a company.  because now a days you can't judge someone just by their name.
There are Garcias that don't seem Latino at all and McDaniels that are so Black their appear blue.  You can't judge a person just by their name.......



So we have to be careful with how fair we want to be!
For we can go to far to the other side in trying to right past wrongs or making up for racial injustice perpetrated hundreds if not thousands of years ago.  You might just say the Holocaust is an example of over stepping ones bounds to right a perceived wrong carried out years earlier.

We must guard against be fair for all the wrong reasons



Buaidh - NO - Bas

Minha Experiencia de Avião no Brasil

Na recente viagem ao Fortaleza, Ceará para visitar parente a gente usou GOL Linha Aerea por dentro do Brasil.

No passado somente temos usado TAM.   Então nem sabia que esperar com GOL.   Muito tem mudado nas nuvems desde de que eu fui prá missão 20 anos atrais.  Naquela epoca tinha VASP, Varig, Transbrasil, TABA e outros.  Maioria destas nem existam mais.  No lugar deles vem companhias Aereas como GOL, Azul, TAM, e os demais que só vi no aeroporto como Aviança, e Webjet.

 No passado que a gente usou TAM tinha comida incluido no vôo de São Paulo para Fortaleza.  Bom por uma viagem de pouco mais de 3 horas.  Nos EUA um vôo como este teria comida para comprar e algo para beber oferecido.  Então, comido e bebida incluido é bom de mais.   Sem conhecer o GOL nem sabia que esperar.   Bom para nós que tivemos lanche conosco que era para comer no aeroporto de Guarulhos SP.


A fim indo para Fortaleza todo os serviço de comida e bebida era para comprar.  Nada nem, água foi incluido.  Vem saber que isto está acontecendo faz tempo.   Sorte nosso que tivemos biscoitos na bolsa.   Um homem no vôo reclamou em frente dos commissario de bordo (Aerea-Moça) que a comida parecia um xerox.   Ele comprou por parencia café e um sandwichezinho de peru (R$15.00 ~ $7.50).   Nem olhamos no menu achando tudo isto sem graça.   Acustomado com TAM e aquele jeito fique supreso.  Maioria das linhas Aereas podem ter mudado para este novo formato.   Mais sobre isto na frente.

 Estes novos linhas aereas aparecem "Budget" ou "Low-Cost Airline"  Mas, parece que foi um pouco de mais.  Salvar um Real e no processo nem oferecer água é de mais.  No minimo mantenham isto nos EUA.


Agora GOL pegou a fama de nao oferecer na gratis no vôo e tudo mundo sabe disto.   Posso dizer que parece isto mudo no final do mês de Agosto.  No começo de Agosto todo mundo tinha que comprar comida e bebida.  No final de Agosto estava oferecendo bebdia e biscoito gratis.  Bem diferente.   Mas, por que?  Nem sei.    Talvez suficiente pessoal reclamou e forçou a mudança.

Minha opinião de viagems aereas mudou desta vez.  A opinião de que serviço no Brasil era superior mudou.  Pode estar devido uma nova linha aerea.  Pode estar que nao.  Nem sei.   O mundo está mudando, e Brasil vai com ele.

Falando do aeroporto de Guarulhos.  Está um pouco melhor ali.  Mas, a comida ainda está bem caro.  R$6.00 por refrigerante e o mesmo preço por uma coxinha. E é difícil achar coisas ali.  No minimo foi melhor passando alfandage.  Passei um pouco mais rapido do que minha familia esta vez.  Tinha mais brasileiros no vôo desta vez.   

Mais brasileiros estão viajando.  Especialmente, por avião em vez de ônibus.  Mas, a infrastratura nem tem melhorado muito.  Guarulhos necessita em novo terminal.  Tem tão poucos portões que desci pessoal na pista e leva por ônibus para o terminal.   Isto é sistema velha.  Tem que mudar isto ante do Cupo do Mundo e os Olimpídas.

Muito no Brasil necessita mudar antes o Copo do Mundo.  Transito está ruim em muito lugar.  Hoteis nem estâo perto do estadios etc.   Oh vai estar interesante na epoca.   E os homem vão ganhar; não os meninos mal trainado.  O calor e clima de locais como Fortaleza comparado com Porto Alegre é grande.   Ficamos doente devido o calor os primeiros dias.  Pensa nos atletos e trainadores!

Para uma outra vez de falar sobre a economia etc.

Buaidh - NO - Bas

Trip to Brazil

I recently returned from a 3 week long trip to Fortaleza Ceará Brazil to visit with some relatives.

Many things have changed since we had visited 4 years prior.  For one the slow down in the world economy had occurred, and thus the repercussions were being felt everywhere.  However, from everything I've been able to read it seems like Brazil was one a roll starting back then and has been buffeted a bit from the over all slow down.  They did not have a house crash like the in the USA.  They don't have a massive debt debacle hanging over their head like Greece.  In fact they were having 6-7% growth as late as two years before.  It has markedly dropped off recently.

What seems to have changed so much in part is how expense things have become.   We found that toys in general are nearly double the price.  Oddly it includes products from Brazilian companies as well as brand names more familiar to us in the US.
Also we found that there has been an increase in car ownership.  Motorcycles for that matter too.  Thus an increase in the over all traffic in the area.  Since most commerce happens downtown it sure has made a mess of things.   The light at the end of the tunnel is the fact that more shopping centers are being built further out from the city center, and more super markets are being built.

Unfortunately, it is apparent that the infrastructure has not been keeping up with the changes.  The amount of additional traffic on the street where we stayed was just amazing.  Tons of people walking, or jogging early in the morning or just before dark to beat the heat.   Tons of extra cars, and the noise.  Lots of extra noise.

Another main thing that has changed is the perceived and real crime that is occurring daily.  It may not be as bad as some would lead you to believe, but, with just a few reports on TV about it you never know.  It has gotten so bad that some people will leave their cell phone home if they are going to certain parts of town which might include downtown.

Many people who want to take advantage of the beach do so at locations outside of town due to this phenomena.  The local beaches have been left to the unsuspecting tourist.  A said state of affairs though I'm not sure it is any worse then being in certain parts of Los Angeles or New York City.


There has also been an increase in the number of people traveling within Brazil.  This is in part due to the fact that there are now several budget air lines within the country.  Sadly, by all reports many of the airports have not been updated to handle the increased traffic.  In some cities that have gone off and built a new airport.  Then one of the budget companies will use the old one to help keep the airfare down.  This appears to be the case with AZUL, that was founded by the former head of Jetblue.
We happened to fly on GOL inside of Brazil and had a mixed experience.  These companies have helped to change the way things are done int he airline business in Brazil.  Both are less then 15 years old.  They are new millennium companies.  Thus taking people from using buses as the main mode of transportation between cities and changing it to flying.


Brazil is without a doubt a country in development.  It can not longer be called a 3rd world country.  It's been 2nd world country for quite some time.  it still has a long way to go and hopefully due to the World Cup in 2012 and the Olympics in Rio in 2016 things will change for the better.

Eles defitivamente estão um País em disenvolvemento.  Nâo pode mais dizer que estão do triceiro mundo.   O gigante finalmente acordo.   Infelizmente acordo com certas dores de cabeça.

Viva Brasil!  

Buaidh - NO - Bas

Things are changing for Brasil (Nossa viagem no Consulado)

Ontem tivemos a necessidade de ir no Consulado Brasileiro em Los Angeles. Quatro anos atrais a experiencia foi bem diferente. Esta vez muito mais da applicação de passaporte é electronica, e o consulado em si mudo muito também.

Brasil e consulado está fazendo tudo para que pode entre como parte do Primeiro Mundo. Com uma economia que está crescendo quando Europa está morrendo, oportundidades que não tem em outro lugar algo tinha que mudar.

O consulado em Los Angeles é a face do Brasil para o exterior na maioria dos estados oeste do Rocky Mountains. No passado a gente sentiu que ninguém importou e tudo era difícil de fazer. Eles fizeram tudo para estar mais trabalhoso. Bem diferente agora. Os cores nas paredes, a sala de espera, as janelas de atengimento, a sistema de espera, e os funcionários mesmo fez com que a gente sentiu que Brasil chegou no primeiro Mundo. Os passaportes e vistos estão mais caro agora do que no passado mas, também estão Biometrico que inclui pegando as marcas dos dedos nas duas maos.

Vamos ver se pegarimos os documentos, passaporte, e tudo em menos de 20 dias.

Para que quer saber -

• Para passaporte de menores tem que fazer um novo documento autorizando viagems. Ombros os pais tem que assinar e autorizar que a criança pode viajar. Eu tinha que fazer minha assinatura no notário devido que estou estrangeiro. Brasileiros assinim papelado no consulado em frente do funcionário. 

• Todos os pagamentos agora tem estar em MONEY ORDER os correio EUA. Nemhuma forma de pagamento estaria aceita. Bem diferente do passado. 

•  Applicações por passaporte etc estao feito electronica e só tem que entregar um papel com barcodes e o foto. Bem simplificado.

No consulado mesmo usa um kiosk para pegar um numero de espera. Bem mais organizado, e a sala tem melhorada muita também.

Em tudo a experiencia melhorou bastante desde que fomos ali no última vez.

Para Bems Brasil - Entrando no Primeiro Mundo.




Yesterday we had the need to go to the Brazilian Consulate in Los Angeles. Four years ago the experiences was very different. This time around more of the application for the passport was electronic, and the consulate itself is also very different.

Brazil and consulate is doing everything to show it is part of the First World. With an economy that is growing while Europe is dying, and opportunities that exist no where else something had to change.

The consulate in Los Angeles is the face of Brazil for the outside world in the majority of the states West of the Rocky Mountains. In the past the people felt that nobody mattered and everything was difficult to get done. They did everything by the more laborious means. Very different now. The colors on the walls, the waiting room, the service windows, to the system of wait prioritizing, and the way the workers dealt with that the people made you feel that Brazil has arrived in the first World. The passport and visa are more costly now then in the past but, also they are Biometric which included getting finger prints of the fingers on the two hands.

We are going to see if we receive the documents, passport, and everything in less of 20 days.

For those that want to know -
For passport for minors you should fill out a new document authorizing travel.  Both the parents should sign and authorize that the child can travel. I had that do my signature in the notary because I am a foreigner. Brazilians sign paperwork in the consulate in front of the member of staff.

All of the payments now must be in USPS MONEY ORDER. NO other forms of payment will be accepted. Much different then the past.

Applications for passport etc now are made electronicly and you only have to deliver a paper with barcodes and the picture.  Really simplified.

In the consulate you even use a kiosk to sign in and get a number to wait your turn. Much more organized, and the room has improved a lot also.

In everything the experience improved significantly since we were there the last time.

Congratulations Brazil - Entering in the First World.


If you want to know where the best beaches in the world are look no further. Brasil and especially the Northeast has them. Fresher fruit - look there as well. Want to experience fruits you have never heard of? head to the North or Northeast..... they make them into some of the most amazing ice cream and many are wonder as whole fruit or in juice form.



  The ConsulateBrasil Consulate - Los Angeles    Buaidh - NO - Bas

Templo de Manaus abre suas portas ao público

This post is solely in Portuguese.  For those wanting the English version please click on the original post http://wisdomofancestors.blogspot.com/2012/05/manaus-temple-open-house.html

A Primeira Presidência da Igreja (o conselho governante mais elevado da Igreja) anunciou que o templo será aberto ao público a partir da sexta-feira, 18 de maio de 2012, até sábado, 02 de junho de 2012. As visitações com um guia serão realizadas às segundas-feiras, das 9h às 17h, e de terça a sábado, das 9h às 21h30. O templo está localizado na Avenida Coronel Teixeira, 3162 - Ponta Negra.

http://www.saladeimprensamormon.org.br/artigo/templo-de-manaus-abre-suas-portas-ao-publico



Então porque estou includindo algo sobre a casa aberta do Templo de Manaus?  Não é nada perto de onde eu moro ou por parencia tem algo a ver com as coisas que geralmente escrevo aqui. Deixa me explicar.

Eu servi minha missão no norte do Brasil na meio das 90’s. Eu começei na costa leste (Fortaleza - Ceará) e devagarmente progredindo para terminar literalmente na selva Amazonica. A cidade foi accesivel somente por barco.  Eu ouvi falar de um ônibus que vai para uma cidade vizinha mas, de novo de ali tem que usar um barco para outro cidade maior. E a mais proxima cidade grande usa um avião com voo de 1 ½ horas da sede da missão em  Belém Do Pará. Esta Região é cheio de Selva, Floresta e rio em todo canto.  Viajiando pode lever muito tempo e muitas familias pode ir dentro de pouco kilometros a vida enteira.
Segundo, este Templo é importante em que vai facilitar para muitos a oppotunidade frequentar.   No passado membros foram para locais tais como São Paulo, Brasil, Recife, Brasil or Caracas Venezuela. Qualquer uma desta viagem demoria dias na ida e dias na volta. Somente uns poucos membros mais ricos pudia fazer com que a viajem estaja menos de uma semana.     Muitos membros devido circumstancias financeiras  salvaria dinheiro por anos para fazer a viajem. Então, conseguindo ir no Templo uma vez na vida é grande coisa.  Ouvi falar de uma familia que vendeu a casa pequena para financiar a viajem.   Agora aquilo é vivendo pela Fé – vendendo os bem mais valiosa para financiar a viajem que vai demorar semanas só para assistir o Templo.
Nos últimos conferências Presidente Thomas S Monson especificou que eles quiseram fazer os templos mais acessível aos membros e os tem dentro de 640 km (400 milhas) de distancia.

Veja os links para ver os commentários:    

http://www.lds.org/liahona/2011/05/34?lang=por
http://www.lds.org/liahona/2011/05/4?lang=por
Eles mesmo criaram um fundo especial muito similar do Fundo Perpétuo de Educação chamado os Patronos de Templo  que auxiliará esses em localizações muito longe para poder assistir o templo a menos uma vez em sua vida se sua perspectiva financeira é muito limitada.

Por que tanto ênfase no Templo talvez pergunte.  Por que um povo numa igreja iriam que era somente alguns anos velho trabalho em construir um Templo que um dia saber que nunca talvez veja é conclusão?  (veja D&C 109).
Esse são as perguntas as pessoas devem estar perguntando. Os templos são diferentes dos edificios normais que encontram na terra e ilhas do mar. Na igreja commun que encontra ou outro tal edifício sendo usado com esse propósito você acha as reuniões Dominicais regulares que inclui a administração do Sacramento. Estes edifícios também talvez seja usados para atividades sociais, programa de juventude, e outras tais coisas que ajudam a fortalecer-se os membros.  Esses edifícios estão aberto por membro e não-membro.   O Templo é literalmente a ‘Casa do Senhor’ "Um santuário sagrado em que cerimônias sagradas e ordenanças do evangelho são executadas por e para a vida e também em favor dos mortos. Um lugar onde o Senhor pode vir, é o mais sagrado de qualquer lugar de adoração na terra. Só a casa pode comparar com o templo em santidade." - Bible dictionary Temples

Algum muitos tipos de ordenanças que são executados no Templo incluem mas não são limitados a – A Investidura, Selamento de Familias por Eternidade, e Batismos pelos Mortos.  Muitas destas ordenanças são executados para os vivos e algums são executados exclusivamente para nossos antepassados falecidos que nós achamos ao fazer nossa história de família ou trabalho de genealogia.

Você talvez diga que algumas pessoas serão surpreso pelo fato que nós fazemos batismos pelos Mortos. Mas, por que deve alguém sente-se isso.  Seria justo para Deus negar uma pessoa entrada em Céu pelo simples fato que eles não eram capazes de ser batizado durante sua vida mortal nem saber mesmo soube sobre Jesus Cristo.    Nós sabemos que Deus não um respecter de pessoas. Nós sabemos que nós somos todos literalmente filhos e filhas espírituais de Deus. Então é correto punir algumas pessoas devido as circunstâncias além de seu controle em que eles acham-se? Somente porque você nasceram em certa parte do mundo ou a um certo tipo de pais? Então essa é a razão pela qual nós fazemos batismos pelo Mortos, fornecer as mesmas oportunidades a todo o mundo que viveu nesta terra. Para permiti-los a mesma benção e privilégios que eles teriam tido enquanto em sua existência mortal se era disponivel.   Isto não é uma ideia nova.  Foi falado pelos membros da igreja antiga -  "Doutra maneira, que farão os que se batizam pelos mortos, se absolutamente os mortos não ressuscitam? Por que se batizam eles então pelos mortos?
 I Coríntios 15:29

Atualmente, usei este exemplo no campo da missão.  E para que as pessoas que ensimamos podia entender melhor sempre falamos de alguem bem por dentro da selva Amazonica.  Tem tribos e povos que estão tão afastados que nem sabemos que eles realmente sabem. Talvez eles nem ouviram falar de Jesus Cristo. Portanto, essas pessoas devem ser condenadas? Eles devem ser enviados a inferno simplesmente porque eles crescem tão isolado do resto do mundo? Sem duvida NÃO!

E porque ordenanças são tão sagradas e especiais eles só podem ser executados no Templo. Aqueles que frequenta o Templo estão instruido no Plano deSalvação, e eles tomam sobre si convênios sagrados. Um do sinais disto é o uso de as Garment do Templo. Estas Garments ajudam o membro vestir modestamente comparado com o mundo em geral. E eles são um lembretes constantes dos convênios que aquele fez. O Templo torna-se um lugar de paz e um santuário da vida diária e barulho que nos cerca tão regularmente. Eles são construídos a um dos mais altos padroe e membros que querem entrar também vivam duma  padrão mais alto.
Em toda a presença no templo é a mais alta forma de adoração nós como membros podem fornecer. Toma coisas um nível para cima. Embora em realidade nós podemos ter a mesma paz e conforto em nossas casas se nós esforçamos seguir os mandamentos e vive o evangelho plenamente.

Eu vou includir fotos de alguns dos Templos que já visitei.  Cada um é maravilhoso numa maneira especial.  Cada um é especial mas, depois de andar nos jardim tu vai saber que cada um é em fato “A Casa Do Senhor”.  A verdadeira luz no morro, e um farol para os povos, e visão de que venha.

		San Diego Temple

	Los Angeles California São Paulo Brazil

Provo Utah (O original)

Newport Beach California

Manti Utah (one of the few with live endowment)

Saint George Utah

Recife Brazil

Redlands California

Eu vou incluir umas fotos do Templo de Manaus
Isto mostra a qualidade da mão-de-obra.  Só o melhor quando possível para com tais convênios eternamente significativos sendo feito aí, pois nunca duvida seria o melhor.

Pia Batismal

Sala Celestial

Sala de Selamento – Nota os espelhos

Sala de Espera

Se sente o desejo de fazer um pouco de historia da familia por que não use o maior database do mundo - http://www.familysearch.org
Tu pode também achar um voluntário esperando par ajudar.

Buaidh - NO - Bas

Manaus Temple Open House

The public open house of the Manaus Brazil Temple begins tomorrow and continues through Saturday, June 2. Please follow the link below for additional information and to preview the interior. MANAUS BRAZIL TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/manaus-brazil-temple-open-house-dedication-dates-ann ounced-May-June

Warmest regards,
Rick Satterfield
LDSChurchTemples.com


So why would I want to include something about the open house in Manaus?  It's not anywhere close to where I live and doesn't on the face of it appear to have anything to do with ancestors or the current topics I seem to be discussing here. Well let me explain.

I served my mission back in the early to mid 90's in Northern Brazil. I started out on the east coast (Fortaleza - Ceará)  and then slowly made my way across to eventual end up serving literally in the Amazon rain forest. The city was basically accessible by boat only. I heard of a bus that went to another nearby city  but again from there you took a boat to any other city worth talking about. And the nearest big city was accessible again by boat but we went in by airplane for about  1 1/2 hours flight from mission headquarters in Belém Do Pará. This region is just full of jungle and forest and waterways all over the place.  Travel can be time consuming and some people don't go more then a few miles from home their  entire life.
Secondly, this Temple is significant in that it is going to make things easier for thousands of people to attend. Previously members in this region were taking trips to far flung locations such as São Paulo, Brazil, Recife, Brazil or Caracas Venezuela. Any one of these trips would take days to get there and then days to return. Only the few well off members that could afford a plane ticket would be able to make the trip be less then a week.     Many members due to financial circumstances would have to save up for years to be able to afford the trip. So getting to the temple once in your lifetime would be a big deal. I even heard of one family that sold their small home to help finance the trip. Now that is living by  faith.

Selling your most valuable possessions to finance a trip that will likely last a couple of weeks so you can attend the temple.
With in the last couple of conferences President Thomas S Monson specified that they wanted to  make the temples more accessible to the members and have them within about 400 miles (640 km)
See some of his comments at the following links:   http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-holy-temple-a-beacon-to-the-world?lang=eng   
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/as-we-meet-again?lang=eng

They even created a special fund much like the Perpetual Education Fund called the Temple Patrons Fund that will assist those in far flung locations to be able to attend the temple at least once in their lifetime if their financial outlook is very limited.   So why so much emphasis on the Temple one might ask. Why would a people in a church that was just a few years old work on building a Temple from day one knowing that might never see it's completion? (see D&C 109).
Those are the questions one should be asking. Temples are different from the normal meeting houses you find dotting the land and islands of the sea. In the normal meeting house or other such building being used for that purpose you find the regular  Sunday meetings which include the administration of the Sacrament. These buildings might also be used  for such things as social activities, youth program, and other such things that help to strengthen the members.  These buildings are open to member and non-member alike.   The Temple is literally a 'House of the Lord' "a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." - Bible dictionary Temples

Some of the many types of ordinances that are performed in the Temple include but are not limited to - The endowment, Sealing of Families for the Eternities, and Proxy Baptisms. Many of these ordinances are performed for the living and some are performed exclusively for our deceased ancestors that we have found while doing our family history or genealogy work.
You might say that some people will be taken aback by the fact that we do proxy baptisms. But, why should someone feel that way. Would it be just for God to deny one entrance into  Heaven by the mere fact that they were not able to be baptized during their lifetime or for that matter even knew about Jesus Christ. We know that God not a respecter of persons. We know we are all literally spirit sons and daughters of God.   So is it right to punish some people for the circumstances beyond their control that they find  themselves in? Just because you were born in certain part of the world or to a certain kind  of parents? So that is why we do proxy baptisms, to provide the same opportunities to everyone that has lived on this earth. To allow them the same blessing and privileges that they would have had while in their moral existence had it been available. This is not a new concept at all. For it was spoken of  by early members of the Lord's Church -  "Else what shall they do which are ^abaptized ^bfor the dead,  if the dead ^crise not at all? why are they then baptized for the ^ddead?" I Corinthians 15:29

Actually, I used this type of example many a time in the mission field. And so that the people we were teaching would understand more easily we always talked about some long lost person out in the middle of the Amazon Rain forest. For there are tribes and others that are so far away from any population centers or that  are so isolated from the rest of world you really have no idea what that know about. They might not have ever heard about Jesus Christ. Therefore, should those people be condemned? Should they be sent to hell  simply because they grow up so isolated from the rest of the world? Heck NO!

And because ordinances are so sacred and special they can only be performed in the Temple. Those that attend are also instructed in the Plan of Salvation, and they take upon themselves sacred covenants. One of the outwardly signs of this is the use of the Temple Garments. These garments help the member dress modestly compared to the world as a whole. And they are a constant reminder of the covenants that one has made.
The Temple becomes a place of peace and a sanctuary from the daily hustle and bustle and noise that surrounds us so regularly. They are built to a higher standard and members that want to enter are also held to a higher standard.

In all attendance at the temple is the highest form of worship we as members can provide.  It is taking things one level up.  Though in reality we can have the same peace and comfort in our homes as we strive to follow the commandments and live the gospel to its fullest.

I'm going to include some pictures of the temples I have been inside.  They are all marvelous in their own ways.  each is unique but, after you have strolled the grounds and been inside you know that in fact they are "The House of the Lord".  A truely a light set o a hill that will be a beacon to the masses, and a sign of what is to come.

San Diego Temple

Los Angeles California

Sao Paulo Brazil

Provo Utah (The original)

Newport Beach California

Manti Utah (one of the few with live endowment)

Saint George Utah

Recife Brazil

Redlands California

I'm going to include also some pictures of the Manaus temple.
This show the quality level of the workmanship.  Only the best when possible for with such eternally significant covenants being made there it's no wonder.

Baptistry

Celestial Room

Sealing room - Note Mirrors on apposing walls

Reception/Waiting Room

If you feel like doing a little family history after reading why  not try one of the world's largest databases for free - http://www.familysearch.org
You can also find a family history center in your area where volunteers are waiting to help you find your ancestors.

Buaidh - NO - Bas

To Slave or not to Slave

Recently we have been watching the genealogical program on PBS called "Finding your Roots" hosted by Henry Louis Gates.  This is similar to the program "Who do you think you are?" on NBC.

It is a very interesting program and they have had a slew of interesting celebrities on the program.  Many times they like to go with Black people as the background for these people is always muddied due to slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War.

Though the last episode was very different as they used Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick.   The host always like to show how we are so interconnected and the muddied pasts of most people.  He loves to also dispel myths and legends about our origins.   And one way they do this is DNA testing.  This can help in identifying major zones of ethnic origin.  It can help to identify a percentage of "White" , "African", and/or "Asian" (what they term Native American at times).

So with Bacon and Sedgwick they did not need to do the whole DNA testing since they more or less could be termed "White".  Though I think they did it anyways to verify the "Jewish" portion of one's background.  What became more interesting is the little known secret of how many of the founding fathers all had slaves.
Gates brings this up with both Bacon and Sedgwick.  It appears that in the case of Bacon he has an ancestor of Quaker origins that had a slave.  Sedgwick's case is similar in that a long standing colonial family figure had a slave of sorts but interestingly helped in emancipating one later.  Somewhat confusing but, none the less interesting. In fact slavery in the early days of the United States was not just in the southern colonies like Georgia, South Carolina, Virgina, etc.  It was practiced in places like Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania as well.

George Washington had slaves, and so did Thomas Jefferson.  So you have to ask - When did things begin to change in the north such that it became repugnant to own slaves where it was still acceptable in the southern region of the United States?  There had to be some kind of societal change where people began to shift away from holding slaves and actually working to abolish it in its entirety.  Maybe it was the fact that the "North" was becoming more industrialized while the "South" was becoming more agricultural based in its economy.  Slaves seemed great for the back breaking labor of the fields.   And the north gained the many semi-skilled European immigrants.

But, this all bring up the hypocrisy present when the founding fathers made the declaration "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".  Equal as long as you were not a slave.  That is the perplexing thing that comes from all this.  As you dig deeper, you find they wanted that Utopian society where in reality all men where free, to pursue their dreams as long as it did not invade or interfere with your neighbor.  But, in reality life was not very fair back then.  Sometimes only land holders could vote, forget about women, and there were certain groups of people classified as inferior and unable to do such things as hold land, or move about freely.

You can say this was a sad chapter in the history of the United States.  But, it could well be in the minds of the founding fathers that getting some rights and the ability to self govern for some if not eventually all was better then not having any of that in the first place.  This as we know eventually lead to the great Civil War.  One of the only wars fought by the United States on our own soil.  And what a deadly cost we did pay with thousands of lives lost, and tons of family forever changed.

Slavery has been around from since the beginning of recorded history.  It was practiced all around the Middle Eastern / Asia Minor region for thousands of years.  Groups like the Vikings engaged in it all over Europe for years to one degree or another.  And it was common practice in Africa centuries and some might say it still exists there in one form or another.  And in the Americas, especially large agricultural regions like Brazil, or the South it was practiced for years. But, what ever the reason it has finally become unacceptable to practice Slavery.   Though through indentured servitude and debt bondage it carries on in some places in the world.



Brazil is an interesting case as they never really had a big civil war over the ending of slavery like it there was in the United States.  It actually was abolished piece meal over time until finally in 1888 Princess Isabel decreed it done and over with.  Before that they made baby steps to solving the problem.  Some in fact were token gestures that did like to end the problem. Like giving all slaves over 60 their freedom.  If the average life span of a slave was just 20 something years this covered therefore a small percentage of the slave population.  They also declared the "sons" of slaves freed.  This appears to not have covered the Females, and sadly some of them were used as slave producers by their owners in Brazil as well as many parts of the Southern States.
Many were also given freedom as they enlisted to fight in the Paraguayan War.  All token efforts to end the institution of slavery without going to war over it.  And to some extent it did work though Brazil was one of the last countries to abolish slavery altogether.
It kind of phased out as more and more semi-skilled labor from Europe (mostly Italy) came to work on the large plantations.



It's a sordid past we live.  A dark spot on humanity.  But, in the end the light at the end of the tunnel has come.  Equality is ever present, but, we still have to fight to make sure there is justice where justice is due.  And not just on the front of Slavery.  We also have to make sure we continue to allow for religious freedom and equality.   It all goes back to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as long as does not get in the way of other people.

So don't be shy in finding out if there is there are a few skeletons in your family's closet.  You might be surprised at what you find hiding in there.  And it might not be all that bad.







Buaidh - NO - Bas