I have to share something that unnerved me greatly. I saw this picture posted by someone on Facebook the other day and I have to say it offended me. I am not one to get easily offended so this is a curious case for me and I have to say something.
    I do not intend to sound like I know more then others or that my opinion is better. I am simply offering my viewpoint to such a rude image.
    I am indeed a Mormon. (Which is one of the organizations referred to in this picture.) However, I am not trying to backlash at people who do not believe in the same things I do. I am meirly trying to get people to understand the dynamics of that which they claim to know. Whether you are a Mormon, Catholic, Athiest, or any other form of belief, these simple rules still apply.

    Such images like this are a true testament to the ignorance of those that make them. They take one simple aspect of something they do not agree with and try to blow it up to outrageous proportions. In this image they make light of the decorations and splendor these organizations use to show their own devotions to God, and assume that these organizations do nothing is the way of helping people. As stated before, this is true ignorance. "The Mormon Church has donated more than $1 billion in cash and material assistance to 167 different countries in need of humanitarian aid since it started keeping track in 1985. Many of these countries have few to no Mormons, but are also non-Christian." (Mormon.org) That is over $37 Million dollars a year that goes to helping others all around the world. I also know that the Catholics give a substantial amount in way of charity. And these numbers do not include things such as time involved in distributing welfare, people who volunteer their time without compensation, or other factors that can not be simply wrote down on a piece of paper. This image is ignorance at it's purest.
    It is very very true that some organizations have not only used God as a means to get rich (Such as the televangelist picture shown), but have even perverted his message for there own gain. This is why you must look deeper then just appearances. If it were that easy then I would assumed every beggar, middle class, or hell, anyone who doesn't wear Armani suits would go straight to Heaven, but that's not how it works, is it? Just look at Charles Manson. The evidence is in their actions. The Mormon and Catholic churches do more for humanitarian aid then any other organizations. Which is good. It is said that those blessed with money should in turn bless others. Which, In this case, they do. This is not to say they don't have their faults, because they do. ( Even if lead by God, man still has the options to screw things up.) So the question is: are the makers of this image assuming that just because these organizations worship God with slender (Just as they did in biblical times) that makes them bad people or that they are doing something wrong? Indeed, I think those that try to tell others how to worship are the ones at fault.
    As I said before, I am not trying to get people to change their beliefs. If you think they should spend more money then they already do on humanitarian aid, then that's fine, but keep it to yourself. Or if you can't do that at least educate yourself so you know what you are talking about.

    Recently, my wife and I have decided that we are going to make a big change in our lives. We currently live in Utah. Like any place, it has it's ups and it's downs. There are some very good things here but at the same time.... We will just say it's not really for us. :) I served an LDS mission in Portland, OR. and found that I absolutely LOVE it there! So in a recent discussion with my wife we decided that we were going to move there! We are extremely excited! The move won't happen until October so we have a while to wait, but I can't wait. :)

    With this recent decision there has been some personal revelations and reminders. One of which being that spontaneity is not, necessarily, a bad thing. We decided to do this in about a weeks time and have been preparing ever since. To some people this may seem like it is rash and not very smart, and to be honest, for those people it probably wouldn't be. However, given our situation and who we are it is actually a great plan.

    I am still going to school for IT and we found that there is a college out there that is more focused on the degree I want. We do not have any children just yet and Neither of us really have a true career yet either, therefor, I doubt we will have a better opportunity to make such a decision. Overall, this is a good thing for us.

    Now, going back to the idea of spontaneity, I remember just a few years ago, before I was married, I was told a simple phrase by someone that was in a similar situation that really effected me. I was working at a call center and more then anything, at the time, I wanted to go and teach English abroad. I have always had a desire to leave the country, but money and just logic itself always seemed to be in my way. I was talking about this dream with a friend of mine there and explaining how I wanted to go. She had been on volunteer trips before and was about my same age. After I had told her how I wanted to go, she simply asked, "Why don't you?"

    I replied with the obvious reply. Something to the effect of "Well, I can't. I have work and I need more money, etc." What she told me, although very simple, effected me greatly and made me realize a simple truth.

    She said, "Well, it's only money. You can always get more."

    I took a step back and thought about it. I had never heard anyone be so nonchalant about money. Did it really not matter as much as I thought? She said it was such surety that it caught me off guard. It was from this simple phrase that I change my way of thinking.

    "It's just money" It's true. What is money really? A peice of paper that we center our entire lives around. And why? Because society tells us to; because we "Have to"; because we know nothing better to do. To all you Christians out there, do you think money is really going to matter when the second coming comes? Is Jesus going to care home much money you have made or have? NO! And to the non-Christians, can you imagine how amazingly fun and wonderful life would be if we didn't have money! Think about it.

    In no way am I saying we need to boycott money. That simply won't work. All we can do is change our way of thinking. Is the money we earn really as important as we make it out to be, or are we just trapped in a frame of mind that we have never even considered breaking? Don't let yourself get trapped by the illusion of money. All it does is cage you. Don't let your dreams or ambitions be halted by obstacles that aren't truly there.