{"id":65316,"date":"2018-09-17T14:26:51","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T20:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=65316"},"modified":"2018-09-17T14:26:51","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T20:26:51","slug":"making-a-difference-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/09\/making-a-difference-worldwide.html","title":{"rendered":"Making a difference, worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Strictly speaking, the Seattle Washington Temple is located in suburban Bellevue \u00a0(LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Nelson Shares Life Lessons in Pacific Northwest:\u00a0President Eyring joins prophet on visit to Seattle and Vancouver, BC\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Sunday, I received this account, from\u00a0Larry Clifton, who lives in the area. \u00a0I thought that some readers might be interested, and I share this with Brother Clifton\u2019s permission:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

President & Sister Nelson & President Eyring held a special devotional in Seattle last evening. . . . \u00a0Just a bit of background:\u00a0 in planning the event the local authorities didn\u2019t know how many to plan for so they began looking at venues that would seat somewhere around 20,000 . . . all were already booked.\u00a0 They looked at Safeco Field (home of the Mariners baseball team) but felt it might be too large and there were 2 other groups interested in it for the same time frame.\u00a0 But the other venues were not available and the Church ended up as the only group that still wanted Safeco . . . so there we were.\u00a0 They issued 40,000 tickets (optimistically . . .) and said anyone who didn\u2019t have a ticket could come and they\u2019d try to make sure they got seated.\u00a0 Turns out over 49,000 showed up!\u00a0 It\u2019s the largest non-sporting event ever at Safeco!!\u00a0 (The Mariners would give their eye-teeth to have a crowd like that!)\u00a0 Pretty impressive for one of the least religious states in the Union!!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

An official statement from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTyphoon Mangkhut Strikes the Philippines\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From the Saturday, 15 September 2018, issue of a Filipino newspaper:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMormon Church shelters Filipinos affected by Typhoon Ompong:\u00a0The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints prays \u2018for the safety and well-being of the Philippines\u2019 as it is battered by Typhoon Ompong\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This item was released on Friday, 14 September:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLatter-day Saints Ready to Provide Disaster Relief on US Southeast Coast:\u00a0Hurricane Florence reaches land in Carolinas\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are some wonderful reports here:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cLatter-day Saints Around the World Country Newsroom Websites September 14, 2018\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you listened to the excerpt from President Nelson\u2019s remarks in Seattle that are featured at the link I supply above, you heard him comment that the Church provides humanitarian disaster relief to everybody, not just to Latter-day Saints. \u00a0I hear the claim fairly frequently that we help only Church members. \u00a0 That is, at best, a careless and cavalier falsehood. \u00a0Otherwise, it\u2019s just a brazen lie.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some critics of the Church like to portray Utah as something of a hell on earth, largely because of Mormonism<\/a>. \u00a0How does that portrayal actually accord with reality?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe happiest states in America, ranked. Is your state one of them?\u00a0WalletHub\u2019s \u20182018 Happiest States in America\u2019 report finds that the happiest places are rich in nature and community. See how your state stacks up.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are, however, problems even in my adopted home state. \u00a0This is how the southern end of Utah Valley looked on Friday or Saturday night:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Derek<\/a>
This photograph was posted to Facebook by Derek Scott (\u201cUtah Photography\u201d)
(I hope, with this an the other images, that I\u2019m not violating copyright. I couldn\u2019t see any indications of copyright restrictions.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Temple<\/a>
In the foreground is the Payson Utah Temple \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0(Photo from Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Indeed, please do. (Image shared on Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For some dramatic additional images, see here:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRemarkable Photos Show the Payson Temple Surrounded by Fire\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Massive wildfires, hurricanes, typhoons, and the usual human misery . . . \u00a0How you can help:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.lds.org\/topics\/humanitarian-service?lang=eng&old=true<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the Church\u2019s opposition to Proposition 2, specifically, on the November Utah ballot:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChurch leaders want Utah Legislature to legalize medical marijuana by year\u2019s end:\u00a0Public support is reflection of President Russell M. Nelson\u2019s \u2018great empathy'\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cPresident Nelson Shares Life Lessons in Pacific Northwest:\u00a0President Eyring joins prophet on visit to Seattle and Vancouver, BC\u201d \u00a0 On Sunday, I received this account, from\u00a0Larry Clifton, who lives in the area. \u00a0I thought that some readers might be interested, and I share this with Brother Clifton\u2019s permission: \u00a0 President & Sister Nelson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMaking a difference, worldwide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    "President Nelson Shares Life Lessons in Pacific Northwest:\u00a0President Eyring joins prophet on visit to Seattle and Vancouver, BC"   On\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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