Cardinal Calls It a ‘Disgrace,’ still, a McDonald’s Opens Near the Vatican

From the New York Times:  Over the objections of senior Roman Catholic leaders and some area residents, a McDonald’s opened last week just outside Vatican City, within eyeshot of St. Peter’s Square.

Pope Francis will just have to deal
with Ronald McDonald for real.
But word on the street
is things can be sweet
if he gets a free Happy Meal . . . 

Bonus:  Before I was a poet, I was a street performer.  http://bit.ly/2i5PLrX 

When Joseph Wept for Zion

Yea, his weeping for Zion I have seen, and I will cause that he shall mourn for her no longer; for his days of rejoicing are come unto the remission of his sins, and the manifestations of my blessings upon his works.

Doctrine & Covenants. 21:8. 


When Joseph wept for Zion God was near to see his pain.
He told him to rejoice in all the Kingdom would soon gain.
For though of members few were found upon that April morn,
many more were coming, from the grasp of Satan torn!
So Joseph Smith, when murdered by a mob in Carthage jail,
died knowing that his work for God would not begin to fail.  

http://bit.ly/2i5PLrX 

Loyal Rose Parade watchers brave overnight temperatures in the 40s

From the LA Times:  And so it went along this main drag in the hours before the Rose Parade, as would-be parade watchers settled into air mattresses that looked like marshmallows, tucked into neon inflatable cushions, and bundled into furry boots and mittens outside shops like Yogurtland and Lululemon. 

There's nothing to ever persuade
Americans not to parade.
Not drizzle, not damp,
not president, tramp,
and certainly not damn Free Trade! 

And those who will not use his name . . .

Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved . . . 

Doctrine & Covenants. Section 18:23


Free to think, and free to act, but never free to be
alone and unattended in the vast eternity. 
Ev'ry soul accepts the Christ, except the very few
who really want Perdition as their solitary view.
All other schemes and systems fail; no power in their name
has any hold on God or any valid, lasting claim.
Addressing Jesus Christ by name, who keeps the only gate,
is how we must come home to God, no matter style or state.
And those who will not use His name, nor share it lavishly,
will find the company they keep as vexing as a flea!

Kaeng Guek Eav

As Khmer Rouge guerrillas in the '70s, they took part in genocide. Now, as Christians, they ask for forgiveness
from the LA Times 

There's some people you should not dunk
for glory or even when drunk.
To baptize such vermin
would leave angels squirmin',
and turn the Commandments to junk. 

the wall

There was a young man from Oaxaca

Who said it was all foolish talka

To think that a wall

Be built up to stall

The flow North to work and play socca.

French employees can legally ignore work emails outside of office hours

From the Washington Post:   French workers rang in a new year at midnight — as well as a “right to disconnect” law that grants employees in the country the legal right to ignore work emails outside of typical working hours, according to the Guardian.

There once was a clerk in Marseilles 

who threw all her emails away

on Saturday night

with giant delight,

while drinking a sweet cabernet. 

Prayer

  And again, I command thee that thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private.

Doctrine & Covenants. Section 19:28

To pray in secret some decline

Because they think they cannot shine.

But God does not want studied ease

From those who get upon their knees.

Others think the waiting crowd

Will laugh if they should pray aloud.

But they should know that effort made

Is all it takes to make the grade.

There is no right or wrong to prayer;

It should take place most anywhere.

As long as it is said sincere

There’s never any need to fear!

South Korea’s Plan to Rank Towns by Fertility Rate Backfires

From the New York Times:  SEOUL, South Korea — For years, officials in South Korea, which has one of the world’s lowest birthrates, have tried ever more inventive plans to encourage women to have babies.

On Thursday,  [the government] rolled out an online “birth map” that used shades of pink to rank towns and cities by the number of women of childbearing age. But the reaction was so overwhelmingly negative, especially among women, that the website was shut down within hours of its introduction.

A woman who came from Changwon

had no wish to be marked a pawn

with birthrate statistics

by clerks or some mystics.

So now she says: "I'll never spawn!" 

And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!

And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!

Doctrine & Covenants. Section 18:13.


Think not that any gilded shrine
or choirs with their anthems fine
can please our God as much as one
who turns from sin back to the Son!

The world dissolves from day to day,
and nothing permanent can stay;
but God remembers through the years
all those who come to him in tears.