tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post7110061073606847704..comments2024-01-07T05:28:45.522-08:00Comments on Thmazing's Thutopia: $vitheTh.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16460795570237872290noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-55396159074280845682008-04-25T17:55:00.001-07:002008-04-25T17:55:00.001-07:00.(try that again).<BR/><BR/>(<A HREF="http://kolobiv.blogspot.com/2008/04/for-blog-addict.html" REL="nofollow">try that again</A>)Th.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16460795570237872290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-72266496289691259092008-04-25T17:55:00.000-07:002008-04-25T17:55:00.000-07:00.Well....she read a lot of blogs..<BR/><BR/>Well....<A RHEF="http://kolobiv.blogspot.com/2008/04/for-blog-addict.html">she read a lot of blogs</A>.Th.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16460795570237872290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-83997542822585330482008-04-25T17:02:00.000-07:002008-04-25T17:02:00.000-07:00Bored in Vernal reads your blog? WTG Theric!Bored in Vernal reads your blog? WTG Theric!cchrissyyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02380032746955099315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-4529344841118387912008-04-24T07:46:00.000-07:002008-04-24T07:46:00.000-07:00.She's a fabulous teacher, I'm not going to lie..<BR/><BR/>She's a fabulous teacher, I'm not going to lie.Th.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16460795570237872290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-42904866556630654922008-04-24T02:59:00.000-07:002008-04-24T02:59:00.000-07:00wow, your SS teacher sends you a "pre-Church email...wow, your SS teacher sends you a "pre-Church email???" How do I get on her mailing list?Bored in Vernalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14016611721544251941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-11145025330570130002008-04-21T11:54:00.000-07:002008-04-21T11:54:00.000-07:00.Very few things in life are zero-sum but somehow ....<BR/><BR/>Very few things in life are zero-sum but somehow our default setting as humans seems to be you-can't-win-unless-I-lose. Which is nonsense, of course. <BR/><BR/>This is why one of my favorite talks of all time is <A HREF="http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/2002.htm/ensign%20may%202002.htm/the%20other%20prodigal.htm" REL="nofollow">this one</A>.<BR/><BR/>I think my own neurosis about getting wealthy is based on untruths and if I could figure out what those were, although I still might not pursue great wealth, at least I could stop develop twitches over it.<BR/><BR/>As for Sunday School specifically, I think we would often do well to forget about Covering All the Material and focus on what concerns us, and issues like this are exactly what concerns us.Th.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16460795570237872290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-36443684022975532732008-04-21T09:36:00.000-07:002008-04-21T09:36:00.000-07:00I really liked this lesson, too. I was sad we had...I really liked this lesson, too. I was sad we had to limit our discussion on this topic to "get through" other material in the lesson plan, I think we missed out on much interesting discussion.<BR/><BR/>One important detail: our superlative Sunday School teacher has a PhD in Economics and teaches at UC Berkeley's BUSINESS school. So she spends her career thinking about wealth & teaching people what they need to know in order to be very successful in a material sense. She has probably spent a great deal of time thinking about this question.<BR/><BR/>My view on this, which is sufficiently un-churchy that I decided not to express it publicly during Sunday School in order to avoid roiling the waters, is that Adam Smith was <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_Hand" REL="nofollow">right</A>. Sometimes the best way of doing good: clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, etc., is to pursue one's own self-interest.<BR/><BR/>Take a look at the miracles taking place in China and India. Millions of people are being lifted out of poverty as their economies grow. I consider Globalization as one of the most significant charitable works of our time, in terms of how many people's lives are being improved in a sustainable and meaningful way. Yet this process is being driven by self-interest on all sides.<BR/><BR/>All of this is not to take away from the essential message of the scriptures that being consumed by wealth is spiritually ruinous. Certainly we don't have to look very hard to find examples of unscrupulous businessmen who profit off the suffering of others, and I'm not trying to dilute the point that one must be guided by spiritual principles or risk disaster.<BR/><BR/>Instead, I'm suggesting that we remember that economies are not zero-sum games: you don't always have one person losing for every person who is winning. Both sides can profit, and often do. This changes how I look at wealth, because it means that it is possible to be wealthy without forcing others to suffer. And it creates a virtuous circle: in some sense the best way to help other people be wealthy is to become wealthy yourself, creating a sustained economy whereby all can profit.Recession Conehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04288371918529972744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-23257635700325656442008-04-21T08:41:00.000-07:002008-04-21T08:41:00.000-07:00I think some people tend to skip over the last par...I think some people tend to skip over the last part of the last verse you quoted - you will find the riches because you want to use them for the poor, needy, etc. And, to me, riches don't necessarily mean money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15224520.post-5116249595148155342008-04-20T12:11:00.000-07:002008-04-20T12:11:00.000-07:00Now I can't stop thinking about the Cheshire Cat.Now I can't stop thinking about the Cheshire Cat.Samanthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216416424593449924noreply@blogger.com