The Hand of Providence: Boston Freed and Other Miracles

On July 4, 2010 Ron Mann (my father) was the keynote speaker at the Milestones of Freedom event in Orem, Utah. He discusses the Hand of God in the founding of our nation with a focus on the battle of Boston which concluded in March of 1776. The video below is 53 minutes long but well worth watching.

Prior to his speech the Freedom Choir sang "Amazing Grace".  The story my dad told can be found in a separate post on my blog entitled "Amazing Grace: The Rest of the Story".

Note, if you are interested in a DVD version please contact me at mannrw@gmail.com. The video or audio only can also be downloaded from the Internet Archive.

Also, if you like the stories in the speech, I've written about another one in a post (If God be with us who can be against us) and provided a skit that can be used in a family setting.

I've posted my father's recommended reading list on my blog. It's a long list so don't be overwhelmed. Find a couple that sound interesting and jump in ... the water is fine :)

"When in the Course ..." Part I by Ron Mann

Here's another excellent article by my father on our nation's founding.

The book of Joshua in the Old Testament provides a wonderful introduction for this article on the Declaration of Independence. As you will recall Joshua was allowed to lead the Israelites into Israel and one of the first obstacles was the crossing of the river Jordan.

14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priest bearing the ark of the covenant before the people.

15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priest that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvests).—Joshua 3:14-15

"When in the Course ..." Part II by Ron Mann

The article below is the 2nd half of an article by my father (see "When in the Course ..." Part I).

“No free government or the blessings of liberty can be reserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue.”
—Virginia Declaration of Rights

Protecting Your Family from Pornography

About a year ago I was asked by my local church to write a short note on how to filter Internet content for parents. I thought I’d share these tips since exposure to and use of pornography is undeniable harmful to individuals, families, and society in general. Numerous groups such as Fight the New Drug and Morality in Media are great sources for information on the impact of pornography.

While there is no perfect solution for eliminating the chance to be exposed to unwanted content on the Internet there are steps that can be taken to reduce the chance of “accidental” exposure. Below is a brief description of two free Internet filtering solutions that may be used to help protect your family. You can use one or both but when used together they offer a more complete solution.

Pictures of William George Jordan

When I first started researching William George Jordan (1864-1928), a very gifted writer with incredible insights into human nature, I was only able to find one picture of him online that was most likely not this WGJ. I’ve been able to locate the following pictures since then from magazines, newspapers, books, and family members with whom I’ve had the privilege of connecting (great niece and nephew). The Wikipedia entry for WGJ now contains the first portrait I located (I rewrote the earlier entry on him).

The First Tailor

In 1902 The Tailor (published by the Journeymen Tailors’ Union) republished an article by William George Jordan, one of my favorite writers and a personal hero, entitled “The First Tailor”. I chuckled as I read the article and thought I’d share it with you.

William George Jordan, late managing editor Ladies' Home Journal and editor-in-chief Saturday Evening Post, Philadelphia, writes to the Fashioner.

The first industry in the world was tailoring. The first maker of clothes and the first wearer was Adam. Of this strange character who appears on the pages of history in the dual role of the first tailor and the first customer we have but a brief biography. The meagre details require sympathetic interpretation to make up a complete story. Of his father and mother no mention is made, but the record shows he was destined to be a clothier of some sort, for he was put into Eden to “dress” the garden. We do not know if he obeyed this command, as his biographers do not so state, for, it seems, instead of “dressing” the garden he “dressed”' himself.

Articles that Reference William George Jordan

William George Jordan (author, editor, lecturer) was a well known figure in the US during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was the editor of several popular magazines of the day including: Current Literature, The Ladies Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post. He authored a number of well thought of books who's focus was self-improvement. He was also interested in the role of government and for a time had significant influence on national politics.

Articles by William George Jordan

William George Jordan was a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines. Many (if not all) of the chapters in his books were published previously as articles in magazines such as the Ladies Home Journal, New Science Review, and Cosmopolitan. His articles covered subjects such as marriage, politics, education and history. Local newspapers often republished, all or a portion of, articles that were published in major magazines and newspapers.

The Value of a Forgiving Heart

I was recently asked to speak at church on the subject of forgiveness. I had two weeks to prepare this talk. During the course of this preparation I was struck by the story of Joseph the son of Jacob, he who was  sold into slavery by jealous brothers.

His story, as most of your probably know, goes like this. After being purchased by Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, he was eventually made the overseer of Potiphar’s household. At some point in time Potiphar’s wife made advances toward Joseph which he continually rejected until such time as he was forced to flee her presence. Afterwards she falsely accused him of trying to take advantage of her and had him thrown into prison.

Books by William George Jordan

The following is a list of the books and pamphlets (some were also published as articles or series of articles in magazines) authored by William George Jordan. It is complete as far as I can determine. If an online version is available I’ve linked the title to it. For ones that I’ve created shareable versions I’ve put links to them after the title indicating the format of the content (e.g. PDF).

William George Jordan is one of my favorite authors and one that I’ve done considerable research on. All of his books are on my must read list (I think everyone should read at least one). You can read about him in my post entitled William George Jordan – Author Extraordinaire as well as by looking at my other posts on the author and his books:

Books by Thornton W. Burgess

The following is a partial list of books written by Thornton W. Burgess (He wrote a total of 172), one of my favorite children’s book authors. Please refer to my other posts under the label/category Thornton W Burgess for information about the author and his stories.

 

Note, I’ve included links to where these books can be found online. In cases where I’ve created booklet versions I’ve put a link to the Word files as well. The booklet versions are designed to be printed on both sides of 8 1/2 x 11 paper then folded in half and stapled in the middle  or cut in half and spiral bound as shown in the adjacent picture.

 

 

 

Bedtime Story-Books

A Timely Lesson from Mr. Squirrel

The downturn in the economy, government debt, conflicts abroad and natural disasters are forcing many Americans relearn many of the lessons taught to their grandparents and great-grandparents during the great depression and subsequent war.

Perhaps it is not too late to learn from Old Mr. Squirrel’s experience “when the world was young” as told by my favorite author of children’s books. The parallels to today are surprising in the following  tale from Thornton W. Burgess’s book, Mother West Wind “How” Stories.

William George Jordan – Author Extraordinaire

William George Jordan (1864-1928) grew up in New York City the son of Irish immigrants. I’m frequently asked what religion was William George Jordan. What I can say is that according to extended family members he and his family were Episcopalian. Another indicator is that he was married in the Grace Episcopal Church of New York City in 1922. His parents also referred to their heritage as Scotch-Irish. Indicating that they were not Catholic.

His father was a printer and perhaps that contributed to his vocation as a publisher and writer. He graduated from City College of New York in 1884 and immediately joined Book Chat, a monthly magazine which published reviews of current books and news in the publishing world. In 1888 he was hired as the managing editor of Current Literature, a magazine “devoted exclusively to the literature and topics of the day.”

On July 26th of 1891 The Inter-Ocean paper of Chicago published an interview with WGJ where he discussed his thoughts about education and “Mental Training”. After the article was published he received so many requests for information that he scheduled a trip back in October to lecture on the subject. The Inter-Ocean in a September 24th article reported that:

Favorite Political Quotes

Below are some of my favorites political quotes. If you have any recommendations please feel free to share them.

“How is it that the strange idea of making the law produce what it does not contain—prosperity, in a positive sense, wealth, science, religion—should ever have gained ground in the political world? The modern politicians, particularly those of the Socialist school, found their different theories upon one common hypothesis; and surely a more strange, a more presumptuous notion, could never have entered human brain.”—Frederic Bastiat, "The Law", 1850 (PDF)

“A culture obsessed with technology will come to value personal convenience above almost all else, and ours does. That has consequences we will explore. Among those consequences', however, is impatience with anything that interferes with personal convenience. Religion, morality, and law do that …”—Robert H. Bork, Slouching Towards Gomorrah, 1996, p 9

Their Aspirations Must Be Met!

As I listened to the news Thursday Feb 10th  and heard President Obama’s remarks regarding President Mubarak’s decision to not leave office. I was struck by his words. To better illustrate my thoughts I’ve made three substitutions to the text of his remarks shown below; Egypt to America, Egyptian to American, and United States to the administration.

“As we have said from the beginning of this unrest, the future of America will be determined by the American people. But this administration has also been clear that we stand for a set of core principles. We believe that the universal rights of the American people must be respected, and their aspirations must be met.  … 

To Con-Con or Not

Of late in Utah there has been a bit of news surrounding a legislative initiative to recommend that the state request the holding of a constitutional convention as outlined in Article V of the US Constitution. There are two ways to propose amendments to the Constitution which must be ratified by 3/4s of the states (either by their legislatures or by their own conventions as determined by Congress). The first is when 2/3rds “of both Houses of shall deem it necessary” and the second is when 2/3rds of the legislators of the states call a convention for proposing amendments. I’ve sent a couple of e-mails on this to my state rep and made several comments to a post by Holly on the Hill. Below is a summary of my thoughts on a convention.

“Hurry is the Counterfeit of Haste”

I spent much of the break between Christmas and New Year’s Day reading and researching one of my favorite authors, William George Jordan (1864-1928). He wrote several of motivational / self-improvement books (or rather booklets) in the early 1900s. One of his books, The Majesty of Calmness, has a chapter entitled, Hurry, the Scourge of America. He makes this interesting statement which I think is certainly applicable in our day-to-day activities, such as setting New Years goals.

Hurry is a counterfeit of haste. Haste has an ideal, a distinct aim to be realized by the quickest, direct methods. Haste has a single compass upon which it relies for direction and in harmony with which its course is determined. Hurry says: “I must move faster. I will get three compasses; I will have them different; I will be guided by all of them. One of them will probably be right.” Hurry never realizes that slow careful foundational work is the quickest in the end.

Striped Chipmunk Provides a Great Family Lesson

Thornton W. Burgess’s books have delighted children for over one hundred years. His stories bring nature to life and help readers discover the value of adhering to the timeless principles of honesty, hard-work, and kindness and the cost of laziness, lying and stealing.

In this tale of Striped Chipmunk’s great, great, ever so great grandfather, the Merry Little Breezes learn how old Mr. Chipmunk earned his striped coat by his selfless act of courage.

Peter Rabbit, Johnny Chuck, Grandfather Frog and other Animals Teach Important Values

Thornton W. Burgess’s books (see Books by Thornton W. Burgess), whose cast of characters are the forest and meadow creatures, delighted children in the early to mid nineteen hundreds. The author paints wonderful word pictures that both entertain and educate. His first book Old Mother West Wind begins as follows:

The Opportunity in Problems

During the course of our lives problems will arise: within our families, at work, or in organizations to which we belong. Our first reaction is often to cringe, deny and wonder why me. Let me put forth the notion that, rather than cringe at them, we view problems as an opportunity to improve our relationship with family, customers, co-workers, or fellow members.

To illustrate my point I’d like to share a story from my first job out of college. I was working for Motorola as a software engineer where my responsibilities included developing custom software for our CAD/CAM systems. By the end of my first year I had developed a number of new features for our CAD System to help speed up the design process for our circuit board designers. One afternoon, after I had made an enhancement to one of the features and reinstalled it, the designers complained that their systems were not behaving properly. After they explained what happened, I immediately knew what was wrong. I had made a small coding error and was able to fix it within a couple of minutes.