Already White to Harvest

For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard.
 Doctrine & Covenants. Section 33:3

Already white to harvest, the fields of Earth expand
beyond the burnt horizon, awaiting God's command
to reap and never weary; to swing our blade through stalks
of legions craving rescue, to crush the prison blocks.

 The eleventh hour striking, no worker is refused
the chance to toil in vineyards for Jesus Christ the bruised;
to witness that the Savior, though stricken for our sins,
is Alpha and Omega -- where pardon sure begins.

Save me, O God, from thinking that I have done enough;
that now I can retire, and audit all my stuff.
Through illness and through sorrow, help me to smile, not gripe,
and grant me the desire to give it one more swipe! 

  

Norway will become the first country in the world to switch off FM radio

From the Washington Post:  But the era of FM radio may be coming to an end. After more than 60 years of using the system, Norway is set to become the first country in the world to turn off its FM radio network — and others may soon be following its example.

A grouchy old man from Trondheim
pronounced FM waves a great crime.
They get in my head
he rabidly said
and play country blues and ragtime. 

A starlet who hailed from Burbank

HAS HOLLYWOOD LOST TOUCH WITH AMERICA? (Headline in the LA Times)

A starlet who hailed from Burbank

Decided to give up her swank.

She gave all her furs

To her dozen chauffeurs

And started a People’s Sperm Bank.

One of the Shakers’ last three members died Monday. The storied sect is verging on extinction.

The Shakers are glad to admit

That sex is a vice they have quit.

They make a good chair

But since they won’t pair

There’s no one left on them to sit. .

My mouth is open

 And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.   Doctrine & Covenants. 28:16

My mouth is open; I rejoice
that God will let me use my voice
to praise His works and testify
that only He can sanctify.

Not for me, a doleful face
when I am running in the race
of life because my Savior sees
I go the quickest on my knees.

I've left behind the darkness cold
and wish to state it very bold
that goodness, mercy, even glee,
overflow in God's bounty! 

Italian Inmates Sip, Smell and Taste Their Way to Rehabilitation

From the New York Times:  Mr. Albanese, 43, is an instructor in an innovative effort at Lecce Penitentiary to teach inmates to be sommeliers, or wine stewards. The courses are part of a program to teach prisoners new professional skills, as well as to help them develop a bond with the Italian region, which is renowned for its Negroamaro grape varieties.

In Italy prisoners stay

behind bars and sip chardonnay.

They nibble on cheese

while scratching their fleas,

and soon are a fine sommelier!  

The Gospel is so broad and deep

How easy it would be to select our favorite gospel topic, draw a bull’s-eye around it, and then make a case that we have identified the center of the gospel.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf


The Gospel is so broad and deep, a lifetime's insufficient
to grasp all aspects perfectly and do them all proficient.
But God has said "Don't complicate my simple little plan!"
"Love me and love your neighbor; all the rest is merely flan." 

Provo Weather Report: More Snow. More Cold.

Weather comes and weather goes,

But falls upon the ice

Bring forth torrents of abuse,

With words that just ain’t nice.

I used to love the snowy peaks,

The swoosh of powder snow.

But now my joints are tenderized

By ev’ry chilly blow.

I totter through the crusty slush

And wonder if my plan

Will cover me when I collapse

While building a snowman.

What happened to the desert heat?

What happened to the drought?

Since when is Provo in the Alps

With penguins all about?

If Global Warming stays like this

I’m moving to St. George.

Or Hades, if I have to,

And put my skis in storage!

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