I couldn't have said it better myself

I follow Debbie Kent's blog, and she sent out this email this morning.  You can see her website at:


http://peaceofpreparedness.com/




Dear Friends,

This morning I feel a bit like Samuel the Lamanite.  For those of you who don’t know who he was, he was a prophet a few years before the birth of Christ who the Lord asked to warn the people to get their priorities in order or they would be destroyed.  Most wouldn’t listen. 

I am not saying that I am a prophet, far from it; but it doesn’t take a prophet to see that we are living in a time when the world is in great turmoil.  Daily we hear of stories from around the world of: drought, famines, disease, flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters, this coupled with: civil unrest, wars, economic collapse, job loss, conniving men and a general level of evilness never before experienced in our lifetimes.  There is a general feeling of uneasiness in the air.  Some are oblivious to the situation, others try and ignore it thinking it will just go away, others see what is coming and fear it, still others see what is coming and are at peace.  How can we be one of those who feels peace?  By watching and by being prepared.

Clearly, we are in a time, when darkness looms.  We have been warned this would come and what to do about it.

Prepare both spiritually and temporally.

The clock ticks.

Do not waste this time, this opportunity to get your family better prepared.  We still have much to endure, do you have enough oil for your lamp to last?

The wise virgins were blessed because they had done all they could do to have enough oil.  For us, we have been asked to have:  Food, water, shelter, and fuel...this is oil for OUR lamps.   And there will come a time when, just like the foolish virgins, it was too late.

The Lord has said, “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven, before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated, that when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.”  Doctrine and Covenants 130: 20-21.

We have to do OUR PART for the Lord to do his.

Listen to General Conference this weekend; feel of the Spirit, listen to the words that remind us of the times we live in; then act.

Food costs are climbing, we are just getting in under another increase.  Buy whatever you can, even if it is just one bucket of wheat. I know it is a sacrifice, but you and your family will be blessed.

The Bridegroom Cometh,

Sincerely,

Debbie Kent

General Conference this weekend!

I am so SO excited for General Conference tomorrow and Sunday!

I want information, current and up to date, straight from God to me through a living prophet and apostles!

I want to hear what the general authorities have been inspired to tell us at this exact time in history.

This is scripture to us, and I hope to treat it as such.

Zac's Birthday

About 2002?

Today Zac turns 18.  

Zac is quite a good photographer, and has taken hundreds of pictures of buildings and nature.

He loves to go exploring.

He has a great singing voice.

He is a fantastic whistler.

He loves to play AirSoft with his friends.

He enjoys driving his stick shift Saturn.

He gets up every morning and takes three other kids and himself to seminary at 6 am.

He is the First Assistant in the Priest Quorum and the Senior Patrol Leader of our scout troop.

He has been reading a lot of library books about architecture lately.

He went to see Rhett and Link in Fuquay-Varina last weekend, and got a photo with them.

He likes astronomy.

I think the highlight of his life so far was being in the Hill Cumorah Pageant work crew this past summer.  He wants to apply again for next summer.

Happy Birthday Zac!  We love you!

Genuine Bull Durham Tobacco

We took my mom to the American Tobacco Campus while she was here, and ate pizza at the Mellow Mushroom and then wandered around.  We went in one store that had this painted mural on the wall.

My mother got all excited about it and made me take this picture.  She said, "My dad could never stop smoking.  He rolled his own, and most of the memories I have of him is him sitting in his chair with ashes and spilled tobacco all around him.  He only smoked Bull Durham Tobacco."

She said it was a filthy habit and he always wanted to quit but never could.  She started crying when she told me that on her mission, the only thing she could think to send him for a Christmas present was a can of Bull Durham.  She felt sad about it her whole life.

My Mother's Visit

My mother came for 11 days earlier in September.  I kept trying to get some pictures of her with each of her great-grandchildren, but for some reason I never got a good one of her with Hannah or with Thomas.
(By the way, she is the one that painted that painting, she gave it to me around 2007.)

Another financial guy telling us to get prepared

3 minute video from BBC today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC19fEqR5bA&feature=player_embedded

Just another warning to get your finances in order, and get your food storage and supplies, because bad things are coming in the world economies.

Zac received his Eagle

A few weeks ago, at our regular troop Court of Honor, Zac received his Eagle packet with his pin and badge, etc.

He had insisted that he didn't want a big Eagle Court of Honor, and just wanted it handed to him at his house.  But we got him to take it at the regular court of honor.

Another boy in our troop did the same thing that night.  And several parents and several other boys came up and said they wanted to do it that way when they got their eagles in the future.  So we have started an evil trend.

Hinckley: Wiles of ambitious and scheming leaders

"The Book of Mormon narrative is a chronicle of nations long since gone. But in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions of those problems.

I know of no other writing which sets forth with such clarity the tragic consequences to societies that follow courses contrary to the commandments of God. Its pages trace the stories of two distinct civilizations that flourished on the Western Hemisphere. Each began as a small nation, its people walking in the fear of the Lord. But with prosperity came growing evils. The people succumbed to the wiles of ambitious and scheming leaders who oppressed them with burdensome taxes, who lulled them with hollow promises, who countenanced and even encouraged loose and lascivious living. These evil schemers led the people into terrible wars that resulted in the death of millions and the final and total extinction of two great civilizations in two different eras."

Pres. Hinckley, Aug. 2005 Ensign

More Anecdotes about Church Presidents

Brother Flake was an instructor at Brigham Young University's Education Week in August.  He told these stories:

Here is a story he told about David O. McKay.  

"Lyndon B. Johnson, president of the United States, was fond of President McKay and decided to call him one day on his birthday.

President Johnson told the secretary to not reveal who was calling and was patched through.

"This is President Johnson, Happy Birthday!"

President McKay thought of all the stake presidents and other presidents in the church, Flake continued, and then asked, "What is it that you're president of?"

About President John Taylor:

"The church looked down on fictional books during this time because of a feeling that there were better things to do, Flake explained.  One day President Taylor's son came home with a fictional book, 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.'  

President Taylor took the book away from his son, saying "We don't read fiction in this family."

The next day his son came down the stairs and saw his father turning the last page.

President Taylor looked up at his son, and said, "This is a good book.  You should read it."

I ripped this article out of the Daily Universe, which is the newspaper for Brigham Young University.  August 17, 2011.  I'm sorry, since I didn't keep the first part of the article, I don't know what Brother Flake's first name is.

Anecdotes about Church Presidents

Brother Flake was an instructor at Brigham Young University's Education Week in August.  He told these stories:

Flake told of a woman who came to President Brigham Young.  She said, "My husband just told me to go to hell.  What should I do?"

Brigham Young responded, "Don't go."



Flake also mentioned President Hinckley and his wife, Marjorie Hinckley.  Flake told of someone approaching Sister Hinckley and complementing her on how well she looked for her age, and then expressing how her husband especially looked well for his age.

Flake said she responded by saying, "Well, if I had 12 million people praying for me everyday I'd look better than he did."




I ripped this article out of the Daily Universe, which is the newspaper for Brigham Young University.  August 17, 2011.  I'm sorry, since I didn't keep the first part of the article, I don't know what Brother Flake's first name is.

Operation Twist is really gonna hurt

Peter Schiff explains why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCYGVKBOcCo&feature=player_embedded


Also:

You can read here how Obama is becoming a laughing stock:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/obamas_none-too-divine_comedy.html

Protection

We went to the beach with Bryce and Marianne in August, and we took Elizabeth and Thomas along.  It was great fun to have those little kids with us, they loved playing in the sand and in the water.

Bryce and Marianne and the kids made a sandcastle, which started out really high above the water line, but as the day went on the tide started coming in.

As it got closer and closer, I warned Elizabeth that her sand castle was about to get washed away.  She said firmly, "I WILL PROTECT IT!" and she laid down in front of it and spread her arms out.

As you know, that didn't work,  and eventually she gave up and the waves destroyed the castle.

I thought about it, and realized that this is the same way I feel about the filth and wickedness that is all around me in the world.  I am trying to keep it out, and keep my family safe, but there is a chance it will wash over us and destroy us anyway.  I am praying that we are built on the high ground, and we won't get destroyed.

I am praying for my family to obey the commandments, do the simple things like pray and read scriptures and serve in church callings, and attend church meetings, for that is the only way to protect ourselves from the world.  I have faith that Heavenly Father will protect us and guide us by his living prophet if we are doing our part and showing faith in the Lord.

Yummy

When Bryce and Marianne were here, I pointed out a sign in front of a gas station on the corner of Airport Avenue and Highway 54.

"Fried Gizzards and Livers.
Yummy Boiled Peanuts"

I told her, "Now you know you are in North Carolina."

Americans making fun of AttackWatch

"America is roaring back -- with laughter.....

A hilarious barrage of catcalls and insults has greeted Obama's latest debacle, a Soviet-style website called Attack Watch. .... Attack Watch openly solicits Americans to turn in their friends and neighbors for thoughtcrimes against the president."

Here are some of the tweets making fun of Attack Watch:

"Obama's ego is blocking my view of the sky."

  "If I tell you my boss said something bad about Obama, can I get his job?"

  "Hey #attackwatch, I found a website lying about Obama, it's called whitehouse.gov." 

 "My neighbor seems to be a bit of a freethinker. Should I take him out quietly tonight or wait for backup?"

"I just parked my private jet in a handicap space, left it running & bought lemonade from little girls in yard w/o a permit!" 

"#Attackwatch, when should I go to my hidden attic room, and start writing my diary?"  

"Can you follow the #attackwatch timeline in the original German...?"

"I'm reporting my mom. She said Obama needs a good spanking and a grounding with no ice cream."  

.... "If I report ten times do I get a real watch? With secret decoder features? Please advise."

Read more at:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/groucho_marx_saves_america.html

Also, if you want to read an indepth article on what would happen if America got hit by an EMP (Electro magnetic pulse), read this:

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/life-after-an-emp-attack-no-power-no-food-no-transportation-no-banking-and-no-internet?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=life-after-an-emp-attack-no-power-no-food-no-transportation-no-banking-and-no-internet

An EMP is really the main thing I am scared of, and the reason I am getting so much of my food storage and preparedness items.

Interviewed Wayne for his Life Story

I taught quilting in Sumter, South Carolina yesterday, and Wayne was my driver and roadie.  We drove down on Friday, the guild took us to eat at Outback Steakhouse, and paid for our hotel.  Then I taught a 6 hour quilting workshop on Saturday, while Wayne hiked in a national park nearby.

While we were driving the 4 hours home, I decided to ask Wayne questions about his life and take notes.  Today I typed them all up, and now he can use it as the outline to fill in for his life story.  He has wanted to write it for a long time, so I hope this will give him a jump start.

And after helping my mom with her life story all last week, I am really in the mood to start working on mine again.  I already wrote "Part 1" (birth to age 21) and printed it and bound it, but I've got a lot more years to catch up on in "Part 2".

Blue Bear

I was cleaning out the attic a couple of months ago, and found this blue teddy bear that was given to Bryce by my sister-in-law Rona when we were at their house when Bryce was 2 years old.

Bryce and Marianne were here, so he was telling her about the bear.

"Seth took my bear and whacked its head against some furniture and both of its eyes broke out.  Later he helped me pick out the red swirly buttons and hotglue them on.  We thought the eyes were cool because they made him look like a mad scientist."

I thought it made him look like he needed an exorcist.

This makes me feel better

When it all feels like things are going to collapse, remember... Tonight when you kneel down at your bed and pray, consider this. The earth is billions of miles from the center of our galaxy, the most likely place for Kolob and the presence of our Heavenly Father. Yet, when you begin to pray, the promise is that not a single word or feeling will go unnoticed. Instantly, across billions of miles of space, a loving, caring heavenly father, who anxiously awaits your return, hears you and is doing everything he can to have you return safely. That is saying a lot. All that he can do is a lot. He created everything. Never forget that he is with you. Never forget that the earth and the galaxy are his creations and they will do what is necessary for your good. The storms of life are real, but not a single thing happens to us without his foreknowledge. Like a precise timepiece everything he has created is working for your good in the exact time and order that he wants them to. Nothing is left to chance. Nothing. And apparently complexity is not a problem for him either since hie is doing this for billions of his children, all at the same time, in both the spirit world and mortal world right now. So next time you pick up your iPhone or connect to the internet, and marvel at the technology, just remember that you came pre-wired to communicate through the great expanses of space and time with the most perfect being in the universe. There is never a busy tone. He always wants to talk. And the conversations you have will always be to your benefit. The only time you will ever have dropped calls is when you wander into areas that have bad coverage. If this happens, stand in holy places and redial quickly. Don't wait. Just hit redial as quick as you can an continue the conversation. This is the only way to navigate the storms now upon us. Written by "Ammonihah"

Peter Schiff's testimony to Congress Sept. 13, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BHLguFEN3M&feature=player_embedded

He makes EXCELLENT points.  22 minutes long.

Family news from last couple of weeks

I haven't been posting as often as usual, because my mom was here for the past 11 days.  We spent all our time working on her life story and shopping at Goodwill and yard sales and eating.  It was a pretty good time!

She flew here Friday Sept. 2, because she wanted to take advantage of the 9 days that Wayne was going to be away from home.  He had planned his Dream Vacation for over a year:  he was going to drive in his convertible along Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway for 7 days all alone with nature, then attend the hotrod show with his brother in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Alas, Tropical Storm Lee arrived smack on top of the states he was planning to drive through, so he had to postpone his trip by 3 days to miss the deluge of rain.  Therefore, he was only gone Tues. Sept 6 through Sunday Sept. 11.

He has been back for 3 days, and my mother left this morning. So now I have lots to do that I kept postponing until after she was gone.

No, I'm not to this point yet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PaxjfQheNes

This is a 44 minute show by National Geographic. "Doomsday Preppers".

These people are a little too over-the-top for me.

Letter from Atlanta Mission President

Dear Elders and Sisters of the Georgia Atlanta Mission, I have been advised by Elder Gonzalez of the Seventy that an Anti-mormon group lead by Ed Decker is in the south. They are currently in the Alabama area contacting any and all converts to the Church and doing everything they can with their lies and misinformation to pull them from the Church. This group finds information about converts in a variety of way including the internet. Sometime missionary families POST missionary emails on sites on the internet so that family and other can read it. They mistakenly think that such "posts" are secure. Often these posts can be accessed by ANYONE on the internet or "hacked" quite easily by someone with intent. I have asked in the past that any emails posted by family NOT EVER INCLUDE the names (especially last names) of converts, or companions or other members! Now, I must REQUIRE that we follow this directive. Please make sure you never allow the names of converts, companions, members or others to be posted on the internet. PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO YOUR FAMILY AND ANYONE THAT YOU SEND EMAILS TO. Thank you so much. President Steven H. Satterfield

Seth's family

Another wonderful family amongst our posterity!

New Genealogy Center- All set for the millenium?

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/06/3125342/mormon-church-plans-storage-center.html#ixzz1XUAcskwa

The Kansas City Star just announced a huge new genealogy center that the Church is building.  It seems to be built to withstand Electromagnetic Pulses and to survive without outside power for several years.  Cool! It is everything a person like me would want to hear.  And it will be within a short distance of our future temple and future Church headquarters at Independence Missouri!

The Mormon Church plans to build an electronic safe house in the Northland for the billions of birth certificates and other genealogical records it has been compiling around the world for almost a century. The 63,000-square-foot building is being designed to withstand the worst natural disasters and keep its computer servers cool and dry for several years should it lose outside power, all to ensure its trove of digital documents remains undamaged.

More and more articles warning of the end of the euro

You can't read the news without running into several headlines per day about the impending collapse of the euro.  You might be wondering why I keep putting links to these articles on this blog.  Its because I want to get everyone to pay attention to the monetary systems in the world, because they are all doing poorly and they are all interrelated.  When one goes down, all the rest will go down too.  It will be a big worldwide monetary collapse.

I first learned about this by watching the YouTube by Porter Stansberry, titled "EndOfAmerica" http://www.stansberryresearch.com/pro/1011PSISBBVD/PPSIM826/PR .
He talks about what will happen when the U.S. Dollar is no longer the reserve currency of the world.

I read about Belarus devaluing its currency by 56% in May 2011, and have been reading articles about their country and the troubles they are having.  I read books about the Weimar Republic in Germany, and about the hyperinflation there.  I can see that happening to us too.

Later I started paying attention to Peter Schiff, Gerald Celente, John Williams, Jim Rogers, and Harry Schultz, they talked about quantitative easing (printing of money) and how it causes inflation.  They taught me about the unsustainable debt our nation has, and how no one will bail us out when we can't pay it back.

Some of these economists (I can't remember which ones) believe that when the euro fails, our U.S. monetary system won't last another two weeks.  That is why I keep harping on this subject.  I think we all need to get our food storage, because things are going to get bad fast.



(Here is just another article predicting the end of the euro.  Like I said, there are several every day.)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44457766

Choudhry: Surmising an End Game for the Euro

Published: Friday, 9 Sep 2011 | 1:01 PM ET

By: Dr Moorad Choudhry

Head of Business Treasury, Royal Bank of Scotland

Monson wrote a column in Washington Post yesterday

Posted at 11:38 AM ET, 09/08/2011

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild

By Thomas S. Monson

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/911-destruction-allowed-us-to-spiritually-rebuild/2011/09/08/gIQAbkjKCK_blog.html

Sealings of parents to children

"A successful parent is one who has loved, one who has sacrificed, and one who has cared for, taught, and ministered to the needs of a child.  If you have done all of these and your child is still wayward or troublesome or worldly, it could well be that you are, nevertheless, a successful parent.  Perhaps there are children who have come into the world that would challenge any set of parents under any set of circumstances.  Likewise, perhaps there are others who would bless the lives of, and be a joy to, almost any father or mother."

Pres. Howard W. Hunter,  Ensign, November 1983, p. 63.

"The Prophet Joseph Smith declared--and he never taught more comforting doctrine--that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity.  Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold.  Either in this life or the life to come, they will return.  They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father's heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain.  Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith.  Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God."

(Elder Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report, April 1929, p. 110.)

Isaac's family

So cute!  I am proud to be related to them!

Helping My Mom with her Memoirs

My mother is visiting here for 11 days, and our big goal is to finish her life story.  She brought about 140 pages already typed on the computer, and now she is rereading hundreds of letters that she had saved from her whole life, and we are plugging in some more details into the story.

She is 81 years old, and she has written such great anecdotes.  I will be sharing them on this blog over the next few months, I hope.

The bells seem to be tolling for the death of the euro

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bring-out-your-dead-ubs-quantifies-costs-euro-break-warns-collapse-banking-system-and-civil-war  by Tyler Durden, 9-05-2011

Durden explains the political and economic cost of the breakup of the European Union, and how UBS just unwittingly announced the final countdown of the EUR.

An Economic Lesson Even a Liberal Can Grasp

September 6, 2011

An Economics Lesson Even a Liberal Can Grasp

By Herbert E. Meyer
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/an_economics_lesson_even_a_liberal_can_grasp.html

"Think of it this way: if you want more milk, create an environment in which cows will thrive.  And just as it makes no sense to say you want more milk but oppose cows because they're smelly, dirty, and leave their droppings all over the place -- it makes no sense to say you want more jobs but oppose entrepreneurs because when they succeed they often wind up with more money than the rest of us.  You cannot have it both ways."

"Entrepreneurs thrive when they are confident about the future.  Every time an entrepreneur makes a decision to start a new business, or to expand his business by launching a new product or service, he or she is putting his own money -- and his employees' futures -- on the line.  So an entrepreneur wants to know what taxes he's going to pay in the years ahead.  He wants to know what his costs will be for high-priced expenses such as his employees' health care.  He wants some certainty that the regulations in place when he launches that new product or service won't change six months later and destroy his investment overnight.  And an entrepreneur wants some confidence that the overall economy will be sufficiently robust to provide customers who'll buy that new product or service and by doing so enable the entrepreneur to earn back his investment and make some profit besides."

"Why did the world's largest and most powerful economy create zero jobs in August?  It's because our country's entrepreneurs lack confidence in the future.  They cannot calculate what taxes they'll pay, they cannot calculate their costs for health care, they have no idea what new regulations may suddenly appear that will cripple their investments, and they don't believe the customers they'll need to buy their products and services will be there."

General Conference: A compass for the coming months

I just read the September First Presidency message.  President Uchtdorf wrote “General Conference- No Ordinary Blessing”.                               http://lds.org/ensign/2011/09/general-conference-no-ordinary-blessing?lang=eng

 He made 3 distinct points:

1) Members of the Church are entitled to personal revelation as they listen to and study the inspired words spoken at general conference.

He invites us to ponder questions we need to have answered, and says that specific answers may come directly or indirectly from the talks we hear or read.  We are entitled to personal revelation as we listen to the words.

2) Don't discount a message merely because it sounds familiar.

He says we learn by repetition, and that the Lord is teaching us certain foundational principles which must be understood before we can move on to other things.  Personally, I always want the “new” and the “deeper” doctrines, so I better learn the foundational stuff so I can eventually move on.

3) The words spoken at general conference should be a compass that points the way for us during the coming months.(all his words, not mine)

So, the September Ensign message is to basically pay close attention to October conference.  Look at it as a warning for things to come.

Screen Room

I found this screen room on clearance at the grocery store and bought it.  I have no idea if I wasted my money.

All I know is that, if I ever have to be outside in the evening, it would be great to have, because I HATE all the mosquitoes around here.

It is so easy to put up, it just pops up when you unfold it.

My friend Kari publishes children's books

I just got an email from my good friend Kari Brimhall telling about the children's books that she and her husband VonLogan have written.  They are available online and at Barnes and Noble.  I have always thought that she is one of the most talented women I have ever known.

Look at their website:   http://www.vonlogan.com/sunshine/

In Gospel Doctrine

On Sunday in Gospel Doctrine we were discussing our relationship to our property and riches.  The teacher asked, What would you do if you were like Lehi and the Lord suddenly commanded you to leave everything?

I love that question and sat wondering what the people would say.

A man in our ward raised his hand, and said "I think that most of us would be more willing to follow the prophet if he told us to leave our homes than we are willing to do our home teaching."  His point was that we seem to be more willing to do the big callings and sometimes don't think the little items matter that much.

I raised my hand and said, "I have to respectfully disagree with that."

"You may think it would be more easy to obey when it is a big thing, but you have to remember that if you aren't doing the small things and feeling the promptings of the Holy Ghost in your daily lives, when the big requests come you will be less likely to recognize that this is a commandment of God you need to follow."

"Without personal righteousness you will be more likely to rationalize it away, or procrastinate, or rebel against it, or argue that the prophet is just giving his own opinion, or that the prophet is crazy, things are not that bad, or that it may be fine for everyone else, but because of (whatever reason) I am the exception to the rule."

"The only guarantee that we will recognize commandments or warnings is when we are living righteously, and that includes fulfilling all our church responsibilities.  If we don't, we are in danger."

Happy Birthday, Tiffany

May 2011 at Duke Gardens

We love you, and are so happy we live so close to you.  And we can't wait for your new baby in three more months!

Jobs

Servant:  What are you offering the peasants in your election speech today?

Obama:  Nothing they can afford to refuse.

Elect me, and I promise you FREE health care!

FREE Housing!  FREE Clothing!

Food stamps!

And JOBS for EVERYBODY!

Any questions?....Yes?

Crowd:  What do we need JOBS for?