Ladies and gentlemen,
For the last year or so, I've been working on RevenueHub.org, a free, online resource to help accountants and professionals in dealing with the new revenue recognition standard (ASC 606). As of today, our website is finally live! This is a soft opening, as we are still getting our footing, but feel free to head on over and check it out. We currently have 9 articles addressing areas where we expect to see diversity in practice, several of which are based on discussions by the FASB/IASB Joint Transition Resource Group (TRG). Over the coming months we will continue adding and updating our content, including more articles to come as the TRG continues to have meetings.
Come, look it over, and leave us some feedback!
(Also, you can see articles I wrote or collaborated on here, here and here.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Debt Ceiling (yes, it's back!)
This semester, as part of my ACC 453 class (Money and banking, I think?), I have to get a subscription for the Wall Street Journal and keep up with current news events. Even though I've been out of touch, I'm starting to remember that I like reading news, and I like commenting on what I read. And since I already have a semi-public forum, I'm going to try and occasionally post commentaries on news articles here, on my dear, old blog.
(I like blogging. No, I do! I'm just busy...)
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Christmas
I've had a fair number of stray thoughts about Christmas, and I wanted to take a minute to put a few of them in words, for myself and for any others that might find them interesting.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
The "Ordain Women" movement.
Preamble:
I mentioned recently on my facebook page that this movement, which I've been hearing a lot about despite its relatively small size, is a movement that absolutely frustrates me to no end. I believe this group is wrong. It is possible that I am mistaken, and I wish to make that clear from the outset. I am relying upon the Lord's promise, repeated many times in the scriptures: 3 Nephi 21:12 "...For I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil." I believe with certainty that He is indeed in charge of His church, leading the destiny of the Saints as individuals and as a church. Whatever is His will, is ultimately going to be revealed from the head of the church, and that is what I will try to follow. If, at any point, any opinion I express here is contradicted, "whether by [The Lord's] voice, or by the voice of [His] servants," then I will accept that revelation and seek to add it to my personal testimony.
I mentioned recently on my facebook page that this movement, which I've been hearing a lot about despite its relatively small size, is a movement that absolutely frustrates me to no end. I believe this group is wrong. It is possible that I am mistaken, and I wish to make that clear from the outset. I am relying upon the Lord's promise, repeated many times in the scriptures: 3 Nephi 21:12 "...For I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil." I believe with certainty that He is indeed in charge of His church, leading the destiny of the Saints as individuals and as a church. Whatever is His will, is ultimately going to be revealed from the head of the church, and that is what I will try to follow. If, at any point, any opinion I express here is contradicted, "whether by [The Lord's] voice, or by the voice of [His] servants," then I will accept that revelation and seek to add it to my personal testimony.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
"Hath Cast in All her Living"
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Religion and Gay Marriage; (old-fashioned doesn't make it bad)
I heard something today that I wanted to respond to.
While discussing gay marriage, someone said, "Okay, take your religion out of it and tell me why you are opposed to gay marriage."
Unfortunately, I wasn't the person who was asked this question. My response would have been as follows:
No.
I will *not* take my religion out of it. My religion is the single most important thing in my life. It is in every decision in my life, or at least I want it to be. Asking me to take my religion out of an issue like this is very much like asking me to take away my desire to live, and then explain why I'm opposed to nuclear war. It's like telling me to ignore my desire to provide my own livelihood, then explain why I'm opposed to Communism.
That's called checking my religion at the door, my friend.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been very open and clear about our stance on gay marriage: we oppose it. I wholeheartedly embrace that stance. I will be honest that I do not know all the reasons behind it, but that hasn't kept me from obeying any other commandment (great example: why is coffee bad? I couldn't tell you--but I believe the church is true, and I believe it's a commandment to not drink coffee. Ergo, I don't drink coffee). From a religious standpoint, then, we believe that gay marriage is wrong, and furthermore that homosexual relations are wrong. In point of fact, we believe that *any* sex act outside of a marriage (between a man and a woman) is wrong--from porn and masturbation all the way up to sex outside of marriage. Somewhere on that continuum of things we do not support is homosexual activity. Allowing these people to marry one another is condoning those actions, which I cannot and will not do. It also adds a new and complex layer to our social fabric-what happens if they want to join our church? We do not support divorce (Call me old-fashioned if you must. I won't argue), and yet we would be forced to recommend it as a necessary action before baptism can happen.
From a religious standpoint, particularly in our church, I see no room to argue. We do not support it. Some of my friends in the church have spoken out in favor of it, and it pains me. I can see no way to reconcile that difference. I am trying very hard not to judge those people; I know they have trials and circumstances that are different than mine and of which I am unaware. If I'm honest, I have to admit that I see them getting sucked in to exactly what we were warned against all the way back in 1995, when our church released the Proclamation to the World on the Family.
Finally, since the question was asked, I do believe that there are reasons that are not exactly religious to oppose gay marriage. If people are concerned about gay couples not getting the same treatment as married couples in legal affairs, perhaps there is room for improvement in that part of the law. Perhaps two people who live together and depend on each other should get more legal benefits than they do now, regardless of their romantic connection with each other. That, I could support. If people are concerned about tax benefits for gay couples compared to married couples, I think there is a fundamental difference; one of the main things that distinguishes married couples from gay couples is the potential for children--even though this is a fading trend, I believe that the vast majority of marriages are intended to produce children. I think the favorable tax treatment given to married couples is intended to subsidize that, and I don't think gay couples should get the same subsidization. A case could be made for some tax credit being given to gay couples, but even that I would not support unless some help was also being given to other similar pairs or groups of people who live together and depend upon each other; for example, I know of a pair of elderly sisters who have moved in together. I would support giving them more tax benefits than they probably get, and I suppose similar benefits could be extended to gay couples. In my mind, this would fix the real issues that gay rights groups are trying to tackle with the marriage issue.
Finally, there is the prevalent argument that gay people should be able to marry those whom they love. I will admit that this is a difficult argument. I must first say that I don't believe for a second that the leaders of this movement actually have love in mind at all--political agendas and the tax/legal implications mentioned above have much more to do with it, in my mind (Don't get me wrong, the leaders of most groups are subject to the same sins, but that's for another post). Still, many of the rank-and-file supporters believe strongly in this argument. At the same time, there are a great many people I love that I should not be allowed to marry. Thankfully, I personally would not be interested in marrying most of them, but that is not to say that others might not want to, and if we allow people to get married based only on love, who is to say that they can't?
Marriage is for a man and a woman. It has among its foundational concepts and purposes the creation of children. Anecdotal evidence about specific cases of a child raised by same-sex parents aside, I believe a child has better chances of being more well-rounded and more adaptable when they have been raised by a mother and father, not two people of the same gender. Sex is not just for fun, it is the power to create life, and whether you believe in God or not, I don't see how you can take that power lightly. I don't support subsidizing relationships between two people of the same sex, so they can use the power to create life for nothing but personal indulgence. Old-fashioned? You bet it is.
So is Sinatra music.
While discussing gay marriage, someone said, "Okay, take your religion out of it and tell me why you are opposed to gay marriage."
Unfortunately, I wasn't the person who was asked this question. My response would have been as follows:
No.
I will *not* take my religion out of it. My religion is the single most important thing in my life. It is in every decision in my life, or at least I want it to be. Asking me to take my religion out of an issue like this is very much like asking me to take away my desire to live, and then explain why I'm opposed to nuclear war. It's like telling me to ignore my desire to provide my own livelihood, then explain why I'm opposed to Communism.
That's called checking my religion at the door, my friend.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been very open and clear about our stance on gay marriage: we oppose it. I wholeheartedly embrace that stance. I will be honest that I do not know all the reasons behind it, but that hasn't kept me from obeying any other commandment (great example: why is coffee bad? I couldn't tell you--but I believe the church is true, and I believe it's a commandment to not drink coffee. Ergo, I don't drink coffee). From a religious standpoint, then, we believe that gay marriage is wrong, and furthermore that homosexual relations are wrong. In point of fact, we believe that *any* sex act outside of a marriage (between a man and a woman) is wrong--from porn and masturbation all the way up to sex outside of marriage. Somewhere on that continuum of things we do not support is homosexual activity. Allowing these people to marry one another is condoning those actions, which I cannot and will not do. It also adds a new and complex layer to our social fabric-what happens if they want to join our church? We do not support divorce (Call me old-fashioned if you must. I won't argue), and yet we would be forced to recommend it as a necessary action before baptism can happen.
From a religious standpoint, particularly in our church, I see no room to argue. We do not support it. Some of my friends in the church have spoken out in favor of it, and it pains me. I can see no way to reconcile that difference. I am trying very hard not to judge those people; I know they have trials and circumstances that are different than mine and of which I am unaware. If I'm honest, I have to admit that I see them getting sucked in to exactly what we were warned against all the way back in 1995, when our church released the Proclamation to the World on the Family.
Finally, since the question was asked, I do believe that there are reasons that are not exactly religious to oppose gay marriage. If people are concerned about gay couples not getting the same treatment as married couples in legal affairs, perhaps there is room for improvement in that part of the law. Perhaps two people who live together and depend on each other should get more legal benefits than they do now, regardless of their romantic connection with each other. That, I could support. If people are concerned about tax benefits for gay couples compared to married couples, I think there is a fundamental difference; one of the main things that distinguishes married couples from gay couples is the potential for children--even though this is a fading trend, I believe that the vast majority of marriages are intended to produce children. I think the favorable tax treatment given to married couples is intended to subsidize that, and I don't think gay couples should get the same subsidization. A case could be made for some tax credit being given to gay couples, but even that I would not support unless some help was also being given to other similar pairs or groups of people who live together and depend upon each other; for example, I know of a pair of elderly sisters who have moved in together. I would support giving them more tax benefits than they probably get, and I suppose similar benefits could be extended to gay couples. In my mind, this would fix the real issues that gay rights groups are trying to tackle with the marriage issue.
Finally, there is the prevalent argument that gay people should be able to marry those whom they love. I will admit that this is a difficult argument. I must first say that I don't believe for a second that the leaders of this movement actually have love in mind at all--political agendas and the tax/legal implications mentioned above have much more to do with it, in my mind (Don't get me wrong, the leaders of most groups are subject to the same sins, but that's for another post). Still, many of the rank-and-file supporters believe strongly in this argument. At the same time, there are a great many people I love that I should not be allowed to marry. Thankfully, I personally would not be interested in marrying most of them, but that is not to say that others might not want to, and if we allow people to get married based only on love, who is to say that they can't?
Marriage is for a man and a woman. It has among its foundational concepts and purposes the creation of children. Anecdotal evidence about specific cases of a child raised by same-sex parents aside, I believe a child has better chances of being more well-rounded and more adaptable when they have been raised by a mother and father, not two people of the same gender. Sex is not just for fun, it is the power to create life, and whether you believe in God or not, I don't see how you can take that power lightly. I don't support subsidizing relationships between two people of the same sex, so they can use the power to create life for nothing but personal indulgence. Old-fashioned? You bet it is.
So is Sinatra music.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Book of Mormon
I wanted to take a few minutes and share some thoughts and feelings about my favorite book. I read the entire Book of Mormon in the space of a few weeks over the summer, and I've read it many times in earlier years, but I don't often feel like I have a good chance to share what I think and feel about this book.
First, it is my favorite book. I believe that, as Joseph Smith once said, it is both the most correct book on the earth and the one whose principles can get you the nearest to God. I believe fully in the Bible, and I've had many poignant moments in its pages. I especially enjoy the Gospels, which speak of our Lord's mortal ministry, his miracles and eternal sacrifice. I enjoy the hidden gems in the Old Testament, like those I have found in searching Isaiah (I know, I'm weird. I enjoy Isaiah). As wonderful and inspired and holy as the Bible is, though, I believe it is missing important things, and because of the things it is missing, it can be difficult to get to the truth from it. Using the Book of Mormon as a guide, however, many difficult parts of the Bible can be better understood. The Book of Mormon was prepared by prophets for us, in our day. They knew what would be missing from the Bible by the time we received it, and they prepared the Book of Mormon to restore what they knew would be lost.
There is another reason, perhaps more important, that I love the Book of Mormon, though, and that is for what it represents. As poignant and important as are its teachings, it is proof positive that our Heavenly Father can and does still reveal truths to us in our day, and that may be even more important. With study, and prayer, and the influence of the Spirit, we can get revelation from God tailored to our needs. Furthermore, the Book of Mormon was brought forth by a prophet, Joseph Smith, who held the same power that the miracle-performing prophets in the Bible held. That includes the authority to perform ordinances, such as baptism and receiving the permanent gift of the Holy Ghost, with confidence that those ordinances are accepted of God and will be recognized after this life. That power, the priesthood, has been conferred upon me, and it is available to every man who is willing to make himself worthy of it.
Finally, and most importantly, the Bible is a great way to gain a testimony of Christ, but so is the Book of Mormon. In its official title it proclaims itself to be 'Another Testament of Jesus Christ,' and so it is. Its most important role is to bring us to Christ. It includes a brief but deeply moving record of a visit that Jesus made to the people in the Americas after his Resurrection. Some have a hard time accepting that, and yet I find it to be a proof that God loves His children, no matter where they may be. Although they did eventually lose His gospel, He gave them the opportunity to have that gospel, even though Jesus' mortal life was lived thousands of miles from them. I understand many things about Jesus, his life and Atonement, from the pages of the Book of Mormon, that I may never have realized if I only had the Bible.
I invite any of you who are curious to know more to watch this video, in which a modern-day Apostle, from a modern Quorum of Twelve Apostles bears powerful and personal witness of the veracity and truthfulness of this book of scripture. Please ask me any questions you may have. I spent two years of my life sharing this with the people in France, due in no small part to the great love I have in my heart for this book, and for Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies, and of whom I testify, every day of my life. I'm not perfect, yet I hope those around me can see the light of Christ in me.
See also: Mormon.org , http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng , and http://www.lds.org/bible-videos?lang=eng .
 |
| The Book of Mormon And Bible: Two testimonies of two nations about the same Jesus Christ. |
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| Joseph Smith |
There is another reason, perhaps more important, that I love the Book of Mormon, though, and that is for what it represents. As poignant and important as are its teachings, it is proof positive that our Heavenly Father can and does still reveal truths to us in our day, and that may be even more important. With study, and prayer, and the influence of the Spirit, we can get revelation from God tailored to our needs. Furthermore, the Book of Mormon was brought forth by a prophet, Joseph Smith, who held the same power that the miracle-performing prophets in the Bible held. That includes the authority to perform ordinances, such as baptism and receiving the permanent gift of the Holy Ghost, with confidence that those ordinances are accepted of God and will be recognized after this life. That power, the priesthood, has been conferred upon me, and it is available to every man who is willing to make himself worthy of it.
 |
I invite any of you who are curious to know more to watch this video, in which a modern-day Apostle, from a modern Quorum of Twelve Apostles bears powerful and personal witness of the veracity and truthfulness of this book of scripture. Please ask me any questions you may have. I spent two years of my life sharing this with the people in France, due in no small part to the great love I have in my heart for this book, and for Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies, and of whom I testify, every day of my life. I'm not perfect, yet I hope those around me can see the light of Christ in me.
See also: Mormon.org , http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng , and http://www.lds.org/bible-videos?lang=eng .
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