Oh my goodness, I was so embarrassed after previewing the attached podcast interview that I called Jacob Isbell back up and suggested he just scrap the whole thing! In my defense, I'm going through a bronchial infection and the medication has affected my mental capacity, which accounts for my embarrassing biden-level rambling throughout the interview while still failing make a cogent point. On top of that, the steroid inhaler I've been using has triggered my vocal chords to go into Old Man Voice Mode which I find quite disconcerting.
Anyway...
The video posted below grew out of a conversation between myself and Jacob Isbell four months ago (available HERE) which I enjoyed so much we decided to have another go at it this week. I conceded to Jacob's wishes to go ahead and present my flawed performance despite my bruised ego, but mostly because I always learn so much in conversation with Jacob that I want to share his insights with my readers. Plus, I did want to go deeper into the topic of comic books and explain why I believe comic book collecting is a sin.
I should say upfront I didn't even bring up the topic suggested in the title above until an hour and 15 minutes in, but long-time readers of this blog know how I can't resist giving my pieces a provocative caption. So that's why I put that title up top there. (The title Jacob gave the video is better, plus the picture he provides kinda looks like me.)
Anyway, watch the video of the two of us below if you've a mind to, and I"ll add add some clarification below to make up for my incessant wandering off-point during the podcast:
Comments, Clarifications, & Additional Links:
Regarding the Nazarites (Which I erroneously referred to as "Nazarenes")
A man usually took the Nazarite vow of his own volition, which he did as a promise to himself to live more mindfully for the Lord. He could choose to do so for a period of time lasting from seven days, a few weeks, or his entire life. But I think it's notable that it was the mothers of the four most prominent life-long Nazarites in the bible -Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus- who were inspired or commanded to enter into that covenant for their sons from the time the boys were babies. I don't know why that was, other than the Lord wanted these men set apart from childhood.
The salient point of our conversation at this point was the observation that beards are a naturally occuring phenomenon that God appears to place on men for a reason -though I'm not sure what that reason is. In the entirety of human history, up until the 18th century in Europe, God's people never scraped their beards off their faces; it was always the enemies of God's people who kept their faces smooth, prime examples being the Egyptians and the Romans.
So I still wonder: was my hippie weirdo long hair robe-wearing acquaintance Brother Michael onto something when he insisted these hairy filaments operate as some sort of antenna so that God can better communicate with us? I don't know. All I can tell you is this: in February of 2009, after sporting a beard for nearly thirty years, I shaved it off and was immediately hit with the overwhelming impression I had somehow offended God. So I immediately grew it back. And though I've never officially adopted the Nazarite vow (mostly because I'm not yet keen on going through the required long-term fasting process), that's when I also began to let my hair grow longer. So you can think of me as some sort of quasi-Nazarite wannabe. With a lingering touch of bronchitis.
Now, you may ask: if a beard is necessary for God to better facilitate spiritual communication with His children, why didn't he put whiskers on women? The answer to that is obvious: women don't need beards because they are naturally more spiritually intuitive than men.*
*Female dwarves being the exception, according to Tolkien.
At any rate, it's not a bad idea to get the perspective of other beard-bearing Christians on this matter. Here's a piece I came across titled "Top Five Reasons All Christian Men Should Have A Beard."
The Brethren May Be In Trouble
It's becoming more apparent to a growing number of rank-and-file members of the Church that the First Presidency doesn't really speak for God. This shouldn't even be a controversy given that Brigham Young himself admitted he was not Joseph Smith's legal successor and that he was not a prophet as was Brother Joseph. So if he didn't posess the keys and authority to act in that office, how did any such gifts or authority get handed down to Russell Nelson?
Alas, false traditions in this church have gotten a lot of traction. But we may now be seeing an awakening among the members. Will it bother the Brethren when a sufficient number awaken to the truth? Probably not. Denver Snuffer has opined that in 10 or 20 years the religious side of the corporate church will be just one subsidiary of the greater corporate entity. At this point the LDS "Church" has enough money to drop the pretense entirely, and that may very well happen if the issue is forced. This doesn't mean the corporation is immune from paying monetary damages; it just means the leaders may shrug and consider fines and penalties as simply part of the cost of doing business.
Awhile back I wrote a piece showing how difficult it would be for a member to sue the LDS Church for fraud. Those barriers now seem to be falling way. Thanks in part to the fact that we have members working in the financial departments of the Corporation who still have a concience, the financial fraud and deception is quickly becoming palpable. For more than half a century the Church's corporate leaders have primarily been concerned with keeping the truth of its investment portfolios hidden from the members, but in doing so they ended up hiding investments from the government that U.S. law requires them to be up front about.
Of course, none of this would be a problem if the Church were still the religious society organized by Joseph Smith back in 1830, since freedom of religion would block the government from having any interest in Church affairs. But by converting the "church" from a religious society into a financial corporation in 1923, the Church became what's known as a Creature of the State, subject to U.S. federal statutes. The great irony is that when Church lawyers convinced Heber J. Grant to incorporate, the reason was so the members could no longer vote on how their tithing money was spent. (See God's law of common consent in D&C 26:2.) The leaders ironically traded obedience to God's law in exchange for obedience to the government.
Now, I'm no more a fan of the IRS than I am of the evil machinations of the Q15, as I consider both entities to be equally contemptible. But in watching THIS VIDEO discussing the pot of boiling water the LDS leaders have gotten themselves into, I'm reminded how the prophet Mormon taught us in Mormon 4:5 that "it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished."
If you, dear reader, are among those who still believe Russell Nelson was appointed by God to be His prophet, seer, and revelator on the earth at this time, I invite you to read the clear evidence that he was not.
Were the Temples at Logan And Manti In Place Before The Saints Even Arrived?
One of the most mind-blowing Mormon-themed blogs on the internet today is found at Book of Mormon Perspectives. You can jump right in here at the discussion of the Manti temple which includes a pretty good recap of everything that went before in this series so you can easily catch up. Trust me; this series will leave you questioning everything you've ever assumed about these edifices. And don't miss the piece that asks the question, "Was Joseph Smith A Freemason?"
What The Female Gaze Sees Vs The Male Gaze
To see the video I mentioned showing how women prefer a man with less masculine features than you might expect, click HERE. The results of this study absolutely stunned the men who participated in it, as it did me, since we men tend to think solidly rugged individuals are the type women go for.
As for the average woman preferring to marry a man with a "Dad Bod" rather than the more shredded, muscular type, see the results of this study. It would seem women suspect the stereotypical muscle man might be self-absorbed by his own appearance and likely to spend too much time in the gym when she would rather he was home playing with the kids.
Why Collecting Comics Is A Sin
Now here is where I want to clarify my position on this, seeing as how during the podcast my incessant rambling may have confused and offended some of my fellow nerds.
I really don't care if you like comic books. Everyone is entitled to the enjoyment of their own interests, and if you are a grown
Where I see signs of possible danger is not in the reading of comic books, or even in the judicious collecting of some titles and reprints, but in the obsessive nature inherent in the desire to build a collection of colorful paper that the collector has allowed himself to believe will one day result in a financial payoff. That boom peaked in the 1990s; it has come and gone and will not be returning. In my opinion the same is true when it comes to collecting anything with nostalgic appeal. Some things may be worth owning because of the memories they evoke, but it's foolish to assume such items will have monetary value if you just hang onto them long enough.
I was close enough to the hobby in my younger days to realize now that obsessive collecting just for the sake of accumulating stuff-regardless of whether that stuff is a collection of comics, POGS, beanie babies, bobbleheads, or Star Wars figurines- can cross into unhealthy territory. Obsessively chasing after anything in excess because you believe one day your collection "is going to be worth something" is a loser's game, and that's especially true if you're madly accumulating comics, as 99 percent of comic books are worthless.
Worse news than that is the reality that obsessive collectors who have sent their comic books out to be graded at a cost of $40 to $50 per issue which are then sealed in transparent slabs, are suddenly finding their graded comics, once virtually guaranteed to appreciate in value, are not selling at all, even at vastly reduced prices. No one wants them anymore. As Jacob Isbell aptly observed, kids today are interested in things like video games, not comic books; and those who were into comics -the baby boomers who grew up in the 1950s and 60s- are rapidly dying off. So the buyer's market is disappearing fast.
It's like Jacob said about an item that fails to meet the measure of its creation. If you own a particular comic book because you like it, fine. Books -even humble comic books- are meant to be read. But sealing up a bunch of books in clear plastic slabs so you can hang them on your walls as if they were fine paintings never to be touched by human hands- well, these days that just makes you look immature.
I mentioned my set of four supposedly valuable Disneyland America on Parade Bicentennial Collector Plates that I bought for just over twelve dollars each in 1976, and that within mere weeks soared in value to over $300.00 each. What I neglected to mention is that the value of those plates has plummeted over the years to where today you can find all four offered on ebay for $29.00. That's not 29 dollars each; it's 29 bucks for the lot of 'em, all four, with shipping. So again: if you like owning something, fine. Just don't act the fool by filling your home with stuff you're convinced will one day make you rich. It won't. Remember, eventually everything will dissolve back into the dust of this world. Absolutely Everything.
Comic books will just dissolve a lot sooner because those things are made of paper.
And Now A Word About Men's Fragrances
Just a few weeks ago I didn't even know this world existed, but I've since become fascinated by how many hundreds of Youtube videos exist that feature men showing off their vast collections of perfumes and colognes to an online audience of other men hanging on their every word. I was intrigued by how similar these guys are to obsessive comic book collectors -except these fragrance junkies are about a hundred times stupider and a hundred times easier for an insidious industry to take advantage of. There's no getting around it: The Cologne Industry Is A Scam, and these poor suckers are their willing marks.
The fragrance manufacturers have got this racket down pat, and they've found a way to entice hundreds of Youtube "fragrance enthusiasts" to act as unwitting confederates helping to push their products to thousands of additional suckers.
If you've ever parented young boys, you know how obsessive those critters can be when something really grabs their interest. And nothing grabs a boy's interest more than the promise that he can get girls to pay attention to him. And since there is little difference between the obsessions of a boy and the obsessions of a man, unwitting men are easy prey to those who understand male psychology. What a man wants more than just about anything is the approval of women. Men want, above all else, for women to notice them.
The fragrance industry promises a man that no matter what he looks like (and some of these guys look pretty geeky), if he walks into a room smelling of class and sophistication, every woman in the room will be sure to notice him. Just do a Youtube search for "Top Men's Fragrance Compliment Getters" and you'll see how fragrance manufacturers play on the little man/boy's desire for attention.
The sense of smell is an interesting thing. The typical Youtube fragrance reviewer owns between 350 and 1,000 different bottles of parfum, way more than he can ever use up in multiple lifetimes. Yet he is never satisfied with what he has; he's always looking to obtain the next one, then the next one, then the one after that and then he goes back online to tell his viewers how incredible these fragrances smell and how much attention the viewer will garner just by applying this magical elixer and walking into a room. This results in that influencer's audience becoming desperate to smell that fragrance for themselves. No matter how many bottles the viewer owns, he suddenly just has to find out what that newest one smells like. He's never satisfied until that next bottle arrives in the mail, then the next, and the next. And believe me, I understand the appeal to curiosity; when you see these guys on their Youtube channels talking up the next big fragrance, you'll also wish you could find out for yourself what they smell like.
What keeps me from succumbing to the temptation of ordering any of those bottles is Connie and I just don't have the money for such nonsense. But believe me, I'm as curious as the next guy about how these things actually smell. I live in the small town of Sandpoint, Idaho, but if I ever find myself two hours away in the big city of Spokane, Washington with time to spare maybe I'll wander over to the perfume counter at Macy's just for the chance to get some sample spritzes to satisfy my olfactory curiosity.
Here's another thing I learned watching these videos: When The Next Big Fragrance arrives at a buyer's door, the box itself is an elaborate gift in its own right, specifically designed to make the little man/boy unboxing the package feel singularly important, like he's unwrapping a uniquely special birthday present meant only for him. Need convincing? Check out this crazy-eyed goofball who devoted an entire podcast to showing off the freakin' boxes his colognes arrived in.
The typical bottle itself is always made of heavy glass. often carved and intricately designed to look and feel expensive; the little boy in the man's body feels special and manly and classy just holding it in his hand. That's why you see so many of these fragrance enthusiasts podcasting with hundreds of these beautiful bottles proudly on display behind them. Like the comic book collector, they can't resist showing off their treasures because those bottles say, "look how cool and special and classy I am!" As the preacher said in Ecclesiastes 1 and 2: "all is vanity. The fragrance industry knows exactly how to exploit the sin of vanity to their own advantage.
I finally came across one long-time fragrance reviewer who seemed to have just awakened from a trance, realizing for the first time that his massive fragrance collection was nothing more than an insidious addiction that had exploited his weaknesses and cost him a fortune over the years. Watch as he tries to warn his fellow influencers of the trap they've all fallen into. Then there's this guy, with hundreds of bottles spread out before him , coming to terms with the fact that he squandered a fortune on little bottles filled with alcohol that he won't live long enough to use and will never be able to sell.
So why am I sharing this with you? What is the takeaway from all this depressing info?
I'll quote again from the placard I keep next to my bathroom mirror to remind me every day of what matters in life and what does not:
The greatest things we possess are our families and friends. They matter. They can endure to all eternity. Nothing will come with us from this fallen world other than the friends and family we acquire, the lessons we have learned, the covenants made with and ratified by the Lord, and the kind acts we have done. Everything else will dissolve back into the dust of this world.
Have a joyful day. Do something kind for someone who dislikes you. Do something generous for someone who loves you. Go to bed tonight knowing that if this day were the one day chosen to judge your character that it is your best. Make the day holy by the way you live, the words you speak and the thoughts you entertain.
Heaven is stirred and Hell itself is shaken when even one soul lives such a day.
*****
PostScript:
Please Leave Comments Below! My last blog entry got over 2500 hits but only one comment, due to the fact that readers followed my instructions and clicked on the link that took them to the Disciple of Christ Youtube page to watch the video. Unfortunately, I didn't see any of the comments written there because I can only respond to the comments I see that are left on this page. So please, after you have watched the video podcast, click on the link to Jacob's podcast channel so Youtube credits him for the viewership, but I would prefer you stay here to leave any comments so I will see them them, and so will the other readers. (There is no advantage to me when you do or do not comment on this page; it just makes it more likely I will see your feedback.)
One Final PostScript
As my Lovely Bride is almost completely bedridden these days with little hope of improvement inside of a year, I'm sure she could use a few words of encouragement from readers of this blog who may be so inclined. If anyone wishes to send a text, please send it to my phone number at 916-606-6452 and I will forward your good wishes on to Connie. (I don't want to give out her phone number because she may be sleeping and we wouldn't want her phone to alert her awake if she forgets to silence it.)
Connie tends to have a rough go of it during the night but is usually able to get some rest by the early morning hours. If you try to call me on my phone I probably won't get the voicemail because my phone doesn't alert me to them and I rarely think to check. So a text is preferable because I will see that, and I promise one of us will get back to everyone who writes.
THANK YOU!
