Stargate - Replicators and Energy Weapons

"Overconfidence in our technologies has been our undoing. The entities learned from the very means that were employed to stop them. They have become a plague on our galaxy that is annihilating everything in its path."

— Thor

This is Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet.

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This is a Replicator.

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This post is for those who don't know or are not aware of  what might be dangerous.

If we are to put ourselves in the position of the Asgard, we could say that we have discovered how to use natural resources to help ourselves have a better quality of life.

However, those same technologies which we have become so accustomed to in our daily lives, may prove to be our undoing.

About fifty years ago if someone had mention the World Wide Web, everyone would have simply thought that they missed an episode of Star Trek.  Cell Phones are common even among teenagers, when only twenty years ago they were expensive 'Cellular Telephones' that only business men would have. (not to mention they were huge bricks back then, making a great self defense weapon)

Now we have all these great items: the Internet, Cell Phones, Video Games, Calculators, Computers, Tablets, Automatic Garage Door Openers.

These are all very useful technologies, but as the Asgard found their Energy based weapons had very little effect, if any, on the replicator swarms.  It wasn't until they teamed up with SG-1 that they began to turn the tides of the war.  While the Asgard were using their Energy Weapons, the Tau'ri (Earthlings) used Projectile Weapons which were much more effective at killing Replicators.

Likewise our efforts must be of a different type.  We need to change from just ignoring those things which might harm us and actively prepare ourselves against the oncoming attacks.
In one particular episode there were three Replicator ships headed for an Asgard planet.  The Asgard were in the middle of building a brand new Warship named the O'Neill. This particular ship was intended to be the first of its class and would be bigger and better than all other Asgard war vessels.  Nevertheless, they would not be able to get the weapons system online before the Replicators showed up.

Samantha Carter had been brought to help come up with a plan to stop the Replicators from getting to the O'Neill and assimilating it into their technology.  Her plan was referred to as a 'stupid idea'.  However, the plan was to use the ship with higher technology to bait the other three ships into a hyperspace jump and then self destruct the O'Neill, thereby blowing up the other three ships as well.

Her idea worked, and the Asgard admitted that they never would have thought to Sacrifice the ship in order to eliminate the others.

 

This is the Anti-Replicator Weapon.  

It was designed to disconnect the electrical bonds between individual Replicator blocks.

The only Energy Weapon that had any effect on the replicators was not designed to merely 'shoot' them.  It was designed to deactivate them.  It had to be told the code for the specific breed of replicators that was being fought.

For instance, you don't need to worry about how much time you spend using the Automatic Garage Door Opener.  You might however need to worry about becoming prideful if your neighbors don't have Automatic Garage Door Openers.

You usually don't need to worry about which cell phone you are going to use, or which company to have the contract with.  However you do need to make sure that the texts you send and the pictures you look at are appropriate.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland once said,

"Tragically, the same computer and Internet service

that allows me to do my family history

and prepare those names for temple work could,

without filters and controls,

allow my children or grandchildren access

to a global cesspool of perceptions

that could blast a crater in their brains forever."

(Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul)

For years I have had fun playing many video games.  While many argue that some should spend less time playing video games, I argue that time spent doing something you enjoy, whether it be gaming or knitting, should simply follow the rule of, "Would I do this with my Mom?"

So find that code that will deactivate the terrors of technology, and the target that part that should have 'place no more' in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It might even require a 'Dumb Idea' or two.

 

Some of My Favorite Scriptures

"And this Zeezrom began to question Amulek, saying: Will ye answer me a few questions which I shall ask you? Now Zeezrom was a man who was expert in the devices of the devil, that he might destroy that which was good; therefore, he said unto Amulek: Will ye answer the questions which I shall put unto you?

And Amulek said unto him: Yea, if it be according to the Spirit of the Lord, which is in me; for I shall say nothing which is contrary to the Spirit of the Lord. And Zeezrom said unto him: Behold, here are six onties of silver, and all these will I give thee if thou wilt deny the existence of a Supreme Being.

Now Amulek said: O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?

Believest thou that there is no God? I say unto you, Nay, thou knowest that there is a God, but thou lovest that lucre more than him.

And now thou hast lied before God unto me. Thou saidst unto me—Behold these six onties, which are of great worth, I will give unto thee—when thou hadst it in thy heart to retain them from me; and it was only thy desire that I should deny the true and living God, that thou mightest have cause to destroy me. And now behold, for this great evil thou shalt have thy reward."

-- Alma 11:21-25

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

-- 2 Nephi 2:27

"And I will come unto you, and if there be any among you that has a desire for freedom, yea, if there be even a spark of freedom remaining, behold I will stir up insurrections among you, even until those who have desires to usurp power and authority shall become extinct."

-- Alma 60:27

How to Unlearn Things

I want to be a U.S. Marshal.  This means I have a very firm mindset.  I know exactly what I need to do and then I do it.  It leaves very little room for error, and I often tell others what bothers me.   In order to do what I want, I must first become who I want to be.

Unlearning a way of thinking is often very difficult, possibly the most difficult thing anyone would ever do.  With something that is hard physically, you simply go work out and build up strength until you can accomplish the task.  But when your obstacle is Mental you must be able to break it down, and yet not remove the wall.

Black Wall

I have wondered . . . How is it possible to build a Blue wall in the place of a Black wall without removing the Black wall?

Blue Wall

Then a good friend helped me to see that the wall doesn't have to be all one color.  Both colors can be part of the wall.  So all I have to do is figure out which bricks need replaced from the Black, and then remove it and insert a Blue brick.

"And according to his faith 

there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. 

Behold I say unto you that this is all true."

-- Alma 5:12

Knowing what to do is only the beginning, the actually doing it takes time and effort to change not only the way you act, but also the way you think.  Rethinking things and changing your mind is usually not all that difficult, but having a permanent change in how you see things is often a very hard struggle.

Black Wall with Blue Brick 'upgrades'

"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, 

if ye have experienced a change of heart, 

and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, 

I would ask, can ye feel so now?"

-- Alma 5:26

I have one year left on my Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  In that time I hope to assimilate all the Blue bricks I need to in order to make my wall balanced as it should be.

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, 

have ye spiritually been born of God? 

Have ye received his image in your countenances? 

Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?"

-- Alma 5:14

"The bricks are fallen down, 

but we will build with hewn stones; 

the sycamores are cut down, 

but we will change them into cedars."

-- 2 Nephi 19:10

Repentance - Tough on Sins

Everyone Sins, but not everyone Repents. 

Without Repentance you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
-- Romans 10:13

"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
-- Luke 13:3

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
-- Mark 16:16

"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved"

-- Matthew 24:13

Armor of God -- Fight for Your Life

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

-- Ephesians 6:10-17

Loins girt about with Truth.  In Biblical times to 'Gird up your Loins' would be to wrap the bottom of you cloak into your belt, and by doing so you would be more able to move about and perform the days labor.  You really don't want your clothing to limit your movement in battle.

The Breastplate of Righteousness.  The Breastplate covers your Heart and Lungs, as well as other vital organs.  When the scriptures say that in the last days, "men's hearts shall fail them", (Luke 21:26) it is because they do not have their Breastplate protecting them.  Your Righteousness, which is your diligent obedience to the Commandments of God, will protect you from having your heart fail you.

Feet Shod with Preparation of the Gospel.  When the Hebrews were 'Preparing' to leave Egypt they were told to eat the Passover.  This was done with their Shoes on their feet and their staff in hand, and you ate while standing.  This is because even though they had not yet received permission to leave Egypt, they were planning on going somewhere.

Whenever I go home for anything my Mommy always gets frustrated with me because I never take my jacket off.  This has several reasons behind it, but the first and foremost reason is because I like having my jacket on, even in the middle of the summer.  Then there are the reasons that are actually logical, like my jacket is somewhat a safety object and i am more comfortable around people when I am wearing it.  My jacket has all my stuff in the pockets, my keys, my iPod, my phone, and an assortment of other things for the day.  My jacket is what prepares me to go do what I need to later, and I don't take it off just because I am going to sit down for a few minutes.

 

A Shield of Faith.  You must have Faith in order to be equipped with your best defense, your Shield.  This Faith is required because when you put your Shield up you cannot see your enemy.  You cover your head and most of your upper body to block the opponents sword, but also block him from your eyes.

Much like when Luke Skywalker puts the BlastSHIELD down and cannot see the remote, but must follow the promptings within, or his instinct, to know what to do.

 

The Helmet of Salvation.  The Helmet protects YOUR BRAIN.  There are a few things we need to know in order to return and live with our Heavenly Father.  First is that Jesus Christ is His only Begotten Son in the Flesh.  Second is the Plan of Salvation.  Once you have a Knowledge you must protect it and continue learning.

The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  The only offensive weapon you have in the Armor of God is the Sword of the Spirit.  In combat your sword is your life, you need it in hand if you are to fight the foe. 

If you do not have your sword and you go up to battle anyway, your only option is to try and block the blows of your enemy.  Sure you have your other Armor, but how long can your Shield last when it is being beat upon repeatedly.  How long do you think it would be before your breastplate either came loose, or perhaps had a small gap between the plates where the enemy's sword found a way through.  How long before your legs grew tired and you trip over your own feet.

The answer, not very long at all.

Without the Spirit you begin to lose faith (Shield), it is harder to keep the commandments (Breastplate), and you become less prepared for the fight (Feet Shod).  Once you lose these other pieces of Armor you are an easy target and then POOF, you die.  When it comes to the Armor of God you die Spiritually, and Christ is the Light and Life of the world, therefore the only way back is through His Atonement.

So remember to always have your Armor, and be on Guard.

God will protect you, IF you are doing what is Right.
 

"And it came to pass that I said unto them 

that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, 

according to the truth; 

and the righteous have I justified, 

and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; 

wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, 

for it cutteth them to the very center."

-- 1 Nephi 16:2 (emphasis added)

The Scriptures are the Word of God.  Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  God teaches only Truth, and therefore the Wicked take the Scriptures to be Hard.

Keep the Commandments, Read the Scriptures, and do whatever it takes to truly have the Spirit with you at all times, in all things, and in all places.

The Sword of the Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.
Truth will fight your battles for you, as long as you keep it close by, and in your Heart.

Mormons -- Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

 

 

 

 

 

All of these can be found at: LDS.org

Have a Firm Foundation, Don't Fall Down

"And now, my sons, remember,

remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer,

who is Christ, the Son of God,

that ye must build your foundation;

that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds,

yea, his shafts in the whirlwind,

yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you,

it shall have no power over you

to drag you down to the gulf of misery

and endless wo,

because of the rock upon which ye are built,

which is a sure foundation,

a foundation whereon

if men build

they cannot fall."

-- Helaman 5:12

The Gospel of Jesus Christ Requires WORK

So some people think we are in a huge depression.  Others think it's just a little recession.  I think it doesn't matter because if you are doing as God would do, He will bless you with everything you need.

Even though we don't always get everything we want when we want it, God will provide for our necessities.  In the Book of Mormon there was a people who took an oath to never take up weapons of war ever again.  These people were called the Anti-Nephi-Lehites, and they had the promised protection of the Nephites.  When their mutual enemy, the Lamanites, came to war against them, the Nephites struggled to defend themselves as well as those who they had sworn to protect.  When the time came that the Anti-Nephi-Lehites wanted to take up arms to aid their brethren, Helaman forbade them lest by breaking the covenant, or promise, which they had made with the Lord, they would have been slain.  However, they had many sons who had not entered into this covenant, and these sons valued the liberty of their fathers, even more than their own lives, and they 'enlisted' to join the army against the Lamanites.  See Alma 53:14-16.

Thus we see that once you say you are going to do something, you need to do it.  We also see that the liberty of the fathers was protected by the hard work that their sons gave in service.  However we cannot look to someone else to fulfill the requirements the Lord has set to enter His kingdom.

When Joseph, son of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, was sold into Egypt, he served in several positions where everything was 'commited into his hand'.  After more than a couple years since seeing his family he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret a dream.

The dreams of Pharaoh, and Joseph's interpretation, are as follows:(the teal is my own interjections)

"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:

And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine(good cows), fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow:

And, behold, seven other kine(sick cows) came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:

And the lean and the ill favoured kine(sick cows) did eat up the first seven fat kine(good cows):

And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears(good corn) came up in one stalk, full and good:

And, behold, seven ears(bad corn), withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

And the thin ears(bad corn) devoured the seven good ears(good corn): and I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.

And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.

Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass."

-- Genesis 41:17-32

Here we see that everything the Lord does is done by the 'mouth of two or more witnesses'.  He gave Pharaoh two dreams, plus the testimony of a Prophet.  Three witnesses were given that there would be a time of plenty, and then a time of famine.

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God,

that I will send a famine in the land,

not a famine of bread,

nor a thirst for water,

but of hearing the words of the Lord:

And they shall wander from sea to sea,

and from the north even to the east,

they shall run to and fro

to seek the word of the Lord,

and shall not find it."

-- Amos 8:11-12

"Let no man deceive you by any means: 

for that day shall not come,

except there come a falling away first,"

-- 2 Thessalonians 2:3

And thus we can plainly discern,

that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God,

and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness,

and then have fallen away into sin and transgression,

they become more hardened,

and thus their state becomes worse

than though they had never known these things."

-- Alma 24:30

Here we have more than two times that the Lord has told us there would be a falling away, or an apostasy, before His second coming.

"And he shall send Jesus Christ, 

which before was preached unto you:

Whom the heaven must receive

until the times of restitution of all things,

which God hath spoken

by the mouth of all his holy prophets

since the world began."

-- Acts 3:20-21

"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren"

-- Deuteronomy 18:18

The famine of hearing the words of the Lord is over, the church that Jesus Christ established has been restored again to the earth, which is the restitution of all things, including the Priesthood which is Authority to perform sacred ordinances in the name of Christ.

We are told to "WORK out your own salvation"(Philippians 2:12), and the way has been shown in the scriptures.  The Book of Mormon stands as SECOND witness of Jesus Christ.  Through the Book of Mormon we find that we must indeed have FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ, REPENT of our sins, be BAPTIZED by someone holding the proper authority to do so, receive the GIFT of the Holy Ghost, and ENDURE to the END.

I promise that if anyone is struggling with life right now, be it because of family problems, lack of employment, depression, or addiction, by reading the Book of Mormon for 5 minutes a day you will find peace, hope, and balance in your life and family.

Prince of Egypt

So as i studied the scriptures this morning I read a little bit out of Exodus where Moses is born and a few chapters later when he confronts Pharaoh.  I then thought about one of my all time favorite movies, the Prince of Egypt.  It goes through the life of Moses, and depicts how he came to understand and obey the Lord.

One of the best parts is when Moses must use the Priesthood to perform signs and "wonders" and thereby convince Pharaoh to "Let his people go."

I found this video and the words of this song make so much sense, it seems a wonder of its own that Pharaoh would not soften his heart before losing his firstborn son.

I hope we can all listen swiftly to the Spirit, and not harden our hearts against the Lord.  When His Spirit whispers to us that we need to do something, quickly obey and just do it.  I know that by obeying the voice of the Lord we will find greater peace and happiness in our lives, and we will be able to build upon a firm foundation.

bad day, Bad Day, BAD DAY!!!!!!!

So....sometimes we have a "Bad Day", and this is one of my favorite childhood cartoons that exemplifies how to react to a Bad Day.

Even though we have the Bad Guys to worry about, when we look to the Lord we will have the strength to pull some sweet awesome moves and make our escape!!!!

"There hath no temptation taken you

but such as is common to man:

but God is faithful,

who will not suffer you

to be tempted above that ye are able;

but will with the temptation

also make a way to escape,

that ye may be able to bear it."

-- 1 Corinthians 10:13

The Jedi were Missionaries

So this is another conception of how random stuff is related to the gospel.

I love how "all things denote there is a God." (Alma 30:44)

So Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are the GOOD guys....
......Darth Maul is the BAD guy.

Missionaries are the GOOD guys.....the Devil is the BAD guy.

Two Jedi against one Sith....Two Missionaries against one Devil....
....seems pretty close to me. ;)

So as we know the Jedi were the guardians and protectors of peace in the galaxy that is very far away.  We as missionaries guard and protect the truthfulness of the gospel here on earth.  We teach others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how it helps balance their lives.  The Jedi taught how to work with others to maintain balance in the Force.  The Jedi always avoided conflict unless there was no other choice.  Missionaries only have Spiritual conflict when we can't avoid it.

Basically the "BAD GUY" doesn't like what we are doing, and sometimes we don't always win.  Indeed everyone falls down at some point in life, but Christ is always there to help us get up.  Just like when Obi-Wan had to jump much higher than he normally could, Christ is there to help us jump up Spiritually, and keep on fighting.  Even when things don't look like we are winning, if we turn to the Lord, He will help us and even fight our battles for us.

I have experienced this several times, where I feel like I just can't go any further, He steps in and gives me that extra strength to keep going.  I promise anyone who is having a hard time or a bad day, that if you kneel down and say a prayer He will always be there to help you when you ask Him.