Many years ago, one of the primary lessons I taught the young men of the Boy Scouts was about rope leadership. What this has to do with clarinet lessons will become clear in a moment.

Baby and the Bathwater

The reference to this common phrase will become apparent soon. Bear with me. This year has been a whirlwind. Actually, the last several years have been a challenge but 2024 watched us sell our home in Mesa, AZ, and buy another home in Snowflake, AZ. Thankfully, we are done with urban nonsense and the acronyms, TMC (too many cars), and TMP (too many people). 

I feel to write a few thoughts about the recent general conference, appropriately held near Zion National Park, east of St. George, UT. The gathering was as close to an actual Zion community as could be had in our current society. Hearts were glad and hopeful.

[Update: June 23rd, 2024. A year has passed and we've moved from Mesa to Snowflake, AZ. It's been an amazing journey I'll chronicle later. Suffice it to say that my heart is broken, yet again, at the thought of what happened to Joseph at the hands of those he trusted.] Lingering on my mind today, as been the death of dear Joseph.

This is Michael George with an essay on Envy in 7 parts. I hope you enjoy it, and that it benefits you. Here is a .pdf verson of the complete essay: PDF Transcript Update (4/27/2023): Edited and applied some Hemmingway to my usual verbose prose. I think it's a much better read now.

Complete references are given in written detail for both LDS and Restoration Edition scriptures. If you're not familiar with the Restoration Edition scriptures, I highly recommend them to you. You can browse for free at: http://scriptures.info 

Envy is Complicated

Beware of Envy's Path

Envy Hiding

Envy, Emotions, and Evil Paths

Equality Overtakes Envy 

A Civilization That's Just an Idea, So Far

The strong-man behavioral model suggests a mild to extreme condition based on a self-centric world-view. The goal is to take a position as a social focal point. It is not so much about ruling, as it is about being honored and adored.