The 2026 Oscars has ended on March 15, 2026 a little after 10:30 pm. EST. It was an award show with many interesting moments, humor, bizarre events, political commentaries, and it took the time to honor those involved in the acting industry who recently passed away. There were emotional tributes to Robert Duvall, James Van Der Beek, Catherine O'Hara, Desmond Wilson, Diane Keaton, Gene Hackman, Rob Reiner, etc. The 98th Academy Awards had many winners from many films. It was hosted by Conan O'Brien. The movie Sinners had a record-breaking 16 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another had 13 nominations. Sinners director of photography Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the first woman and woman of color (who is of Filipino and Creole descent) to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography. She asked all the women in the audience to stand up with her. The 15th anniversary of the movie Bridesmaids was celebrated with Melissa McCarthy, Rose Bryne, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Ellie Kemper reuniting on stage. Sentimental Value won Best International Feature Film, and Joachin Trier accepted the award, being from Norway. Best Directing was won by Paul Thomas Anderson of One Battle After Another. One Battle After Another also won Best Picture. Best Song was won by the song Golden by KPop Demon Hunters. The Best Sound winner goes to the film F1. Sinners won Best Original Score. Jimmy Kimmel told jokes about Trump trying to violate free speech by Trump trying to get rid of Kimmel. Mr. Nobody Against Putin won Best Documentary Feature Film. All the Empty Rooms won Best Documentary Short Film. Gloria Cazales, the mother of a Uvalde shooting victim, spoke alongside U.S. film director Joshua Seftel. Gloria Cazales condemned gun violence in her speech. Amy Madigan won Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Jessie Buckley won Best Actress. Sean Penn won Best Supporting Actress. Best Original Screenplay went to Director Ryan Coogler. Best Actor goes to Michael B. Jordan for Best Actor. Michael B. Jordan gave a speech to celebrate his family, friends, cast, and the audience. He said that he stands on the black winners who came before him including his ancestors.
The 2026 Iranian War is one of the most unjust wars in human history. It has a long history. Iran gained independence after World War II. Later, the U.S. and British Intelligence used Operation Ajax to overthrow Iranian nationalist leader Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953 for no other reason than to gain their oil supply. Mossadegh was not a terrorist, but he was a popular Iranian leader who nationalized Iran's oil supply. So, he was overthrown, and the dictatorship of the Shah existed until 1979. By 1979, there was the Iranian Revolution, when theocratic leaders would control Iran to this very day. Iran, by the 1980s, fought Iraq (for a time in the 1980s, Saddam Hussein was an ally of America. There is a picture of Saddam Hussein shaking hands with Donald Rumsfeld). Iran had people of many faiths (like Christians, followers of Judaism, Zoroastrians), and its leadership is mostly Shia Muslims, as the vast majority of Middle Eastern Muslims are Sunnis. Obama and Iran established a nuclear deal. Trump ended that deal and later bombed Iran by the summer of 2025. Recently, Trump and Iran were in negotiations for another nuclear deal, but Trump used that as a smokescreen for a planned attack (especially during the midst of the Epstein scandal). By February 27, 2026, Trump gave the order to proceed with Operation Epic Fury. On February 28, 2026, Trump and Israel attacked Iran. U.S. warships used Tomahawk missiles, and the U.S. Army used HIMARS launchers. Israeli's Air Forces attacked Iran too. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many high officials at his residential compound were killed, as were members of his family. Then, Iranian forces have retaliated against many U.S. targets and in Israel, including residential locations in Israel. The U.S. attacked a girls' school in Iran, killing tons of people, constituting an overt war crime. Iran has retaliated against Gulf states too, from the U.A.E. to Bahrain. Many American soldiers and Iranian military members have been killed in the war. It is clear that the Iranian regime is not a paragon of virtue, but we reject preemptive strikes being unjustly used against sovereign nations. Qatar has intercepted missile attacks from Iran. Iran has fired weapons in the Mediterranean as far as Cyprus. Israel has attacked Hezbollah in Lebanon. Trump has no plan and no exit strategy to end this conflict, except for him saying he can end the war by "feeling it in his bones." Iran has tried to block the Strait of Hormuz. The new leader of Iran is Mojtaba Khamenei. Iran has used drones to attack in Iraq as well. This war has no end in sight, and this Iranian war has no Constitutional or international law justification. There is no question that Donald Trump has embraced neo-conservativism, which is antithetical to democracy, justice, and true international cooperation. Trump wants this war not just for profit and power. He wants America to influence the world in an authoritarian, imperialistic fashion. Most Americans oppose the 2026 Iranian War and his wicked agenda. Trump using memes to compare the war to a video game is beyond grotesque. It's plainly evil. We must always condemn anti-Semitism and Islamphobia (promoted by many GOP Congressional lawmakers) as some have exploited the 2026 Iran War to advance anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Trump promotes a xenophobic, racist campaign for years, and we must oppose bigotry with all of our strength, mind, and spirit. The Golden Rule matters.
One of the greatest heroes of the Bible is David. David came from humble beginnings being a descendant of the ancient Hebrews from the tribe of Judah. David had a long legacy of problems, resiliency, power, and glory. David was a lover, a fighter, and the King of Israel who witnessed Israel reach new heights of power and glory. He lived during the First Temple age where religious ceremonies were conducted by many priests of the Levite branch of religious scholars. David has been researched and written about for generations and millennia form the Bible, the works of Josephus, and ancient scholarly works, and modern literature. David wanted justice for his people, and he received mercy from God Almighty for his errors. David's life motivated believers globally to see improvement, to desire wisdom from the Lord God, and to never give up in life. As you live life, you must embrace opportunities to be better people. David lived his life to the fullest and had a child who was the wise, controversial King Solomon. Both had similarities and differences. Solomone followed many false gods and David repented after committing adultery and other sins. David remains one of the many human icons of the Scriptures.
Science is not just the study of things that we can observe quantitatively. Also, science deals with the wonder and beauty of Nature. It deals with hypothesis and conclusion. Part of that exquisite wonder relates to the complexities of the compositions of the Earth's atmosphere. The parts of the atmosphere may differ in temperature, organisms, etc. Yet, they are similar in being part of the sun's rays will exist at, and each part of the atmosphere is key to developing and preserving our fragile ecosystem. From birds flying in the lowest atmosphere to satellite and the International Space Station at the highest atmosphere, all of us are interconnected with the functions of the vast Universe.
Mormonism is one of the unique and mystical religions in human history. It has been misunderstood, bashed, and celebrated. Yet, one thing is true. We live in a new generation, and truth about Mormonism must be shown to the people as the people are entitled to the unvarnished truth. Mormonism is popular in the West and throughout the world. Mormons have a large younger demographic of young men and young women with the emblems around their necks (that signifies their adherence to the Mormon faith). Many Mormons go out of their way to perform charity and many acts of sincere kindness. Although, morality and almsgiving never justify false teachings. There is nothing wrong with morality and respect shown to human beings, but we must rebuke false teachings. Mormons love to spread their religious views via commercials and movies. They also found new converts among some black people and persons of color, which is shocking to me (as Mormonism has a long history of racism; Mormons didn't allow black people in their priesthood until 1978). Mormonism is not related to mainstream Christianity for many reasons. Mormonism teaches that the church was in total apostasy until Mormonism transpired, and they believe that the Bible must add their books of the Book of Mormons, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, etc., as equivalent in authority to the Bible. Mormonism teaches that God the Father has a physical body, and atonement was completed on Golgotha. These views of Mormonism are what I don't subscribe to at all. Many Mormons indeed outline outstanding moral character and are nice neighbors. Yet, Mormons are deceived by a false gospel. We have to keep it real during these latter days. Fundamentally, the theologies of Christianity and Mormonism are diametrically opposed to each other. The founder of Mormonism was a Freemason named Joseph Smith. Later, another innovator of Mormonism was another Freemason named Brigham Young. Joseph Smith lived in Illinois. Brigham Young lived in Utah, as Utah to this day is a major state in the Union filled with Mormon members and Mormon political plus cultural influences. This doesn't mean we become bigots and hate Mormons or practice discrimination. We believe in the freedom of religion, the Golden Rule, and treating people with dignity and respect. Although, we have the God given right to disagree with Mormonism peacefully and inspire souls to be saved.
Joseph Smith lived a very short life, but his life story has influence for a long time after his life. He was a religious and political leader being the founder of Mormonism and the Latter-day Saint movement. Many people don't know about his life chronologically, but we saw see what his life was all about. He lived from December 23, 1805, to June 27, 1844. He was born in Sharon, Vermont. One of eleven children, Smith was a descendent of the influential colonial minister John Lothropp (1584–1653). Joseph's maternal grandfather, Solomon Mack (1732 – 1820), self-published a memoir about his own conversion experience. Smith's childhood was marked by hardship. Joseph Sr.'s drunkenness was a source of embarrassment. When seven-year-old Joseph Jr. underwent painful surgery for a leg bone infection, the boy refused alcohol. He used crutches for three years and walked with a slight limp thereafter. After Joseph Sr. fell for a ginseng swindle followed by years of crop failures, the Smiths lost the family farm and were forced to travel 300 miles west to frontier Western New York, where they took out a mortgage on a small farm. The Smiths engaged in folk magic, a relatively common practice in that time and place. Joseph, his father, and his older brother Alvin hunted for treasure under the direction of a seer named Luman Walters. Before Walters left professing he lacked sufficient power, he singled out young Joseph Smith as the young man who might be able to find the treasure. After Walters left, the Smiths continued using folk magic and a seer stone to look for buried treasure. Joseph, his family, and his acquaintances consistently listed September 21, 1823, the equinox, as a pivotal night in his life; the next day, he told his father that he had been visited in the night by a supernatural being who revealed the location of a nearby treasure. The Smith family believed in prophetic dreams or visions; both parents and his maternal grandfather had previously reported such dreams.
Weeks later, Alvin died of mercury poison when he was 25 years old due to medical error. He complained of stomach pains and called for a doctor who treated him with mercury salts. It was in his digestive system, and many doctors were helpless to dislodge it. Joseph Sr. and Jr.'s trust in authorities was further shaken when the Presbyterian minister presiding over the funeral suggested Alvin had gone to hell. The family became divided by faith: Joseph and his father refused to join the church, while Joseph's mother and siblings joined. One year after Joseph's dream, the Smiths reportedly attempted and failed to obtain the treasure. On September 29, 1824, Joseph Sr. published a notice in the paper announcing that he had briefly disinterred Alvin's body to confirm it had not been removed. Rumors spread that the Smiths had exhumed Alvin's body for use in magical treasure-seeking. In the wake of Alvin's death, the family faced further financial hardships and worked odd jobs. Smith and his father achieved a reputation as treasure seers for hire. In 1825, Joseph's friend Josiah Jr. told his father Josiah Stowell about the two Smiths, and Josiah Sr. hired them to locate for a lost mine he believed might be on his property in Pennsylvania. While boarding in Pennsylvania, Smith met Emma Hale, his future wife. After about a month in Pennsylvania, the company disbanded and Smith returned to Chenango, New York where he worked for Stowell and his friend Joseph Knight Sr., along with making trips to court Emma Hale.
In New York, Smith directed further treasure digs for Knight and Stowell until March. That month, Josiah Stowell's Peter Bridgeman filed a complaint against Joseph Smith, alleging he was taking advantage of the elder Stowell by engaging in "glass-looking", or using fortune-telling to attempt to find treasure. Smith was arrested and taken to trial, where Josiah Stowell testified that he believed Smith had the ability to find treasures by use of a seer stone. While the precise result of the proceeding remains unclear, Smith was freed and returned home to Palmyra. Smith and Emma eloped and married on January 18, 1827, over the objections of her father Isaac Hale who regarded Smith as a charlatan. The couple began boarding with Smith's parents in Manchester, but after Smith promised to abandon treasure seeking, Hale offered to let the couple live on his property in Harmony and help Smith get started in business. Josiah Stowell and Joseph Knight, Smith's patrons, travelled to Palmyra for the anticipated recovery on the treasure on September 22, 1827. Smith, with Emma, left home that night, returning with a report that treasures had been recovered, but that he had hidden them inside a hollow log for safekeeping. Days later, he returned home with a set of plates which could be hefted but not viewed. Smith explained he had been commanded not to show the plates to anyone else. Upon hearing Smith had obtained a treasure, Smith's former treasure-seeking partners believed he had double crossed them and kept all the treasure to himself. After they ransacked places where they believed the plates might have been hidden, Smith decided to leave Palmyra
By October 1827, Joseph Smith and Emma moved to Pennsylvania. They were funded by a rich neighbor, Martin Harris, in exchange for a share in Smith's upcoming book. Joseph Smith dictated a text to his wife until April 1828, and Harris took over the dictation. Harris had the copy of the first 116 pages of manuscript. It was lost. Smith ended the dictation process and said that an angel taken away the plates as punishment for having lost the manuscript pages. On June 15, Emma and Joseph's first child, a son, was born but died the same day. Joseph joined his wife's church, the Methodists, becoming an "exhorter" for the group. He continued as a Methodist until one of his wife's cousins objected to inclusion of a "practicing necromancer" on the Methodist class roll, and Smith left the group. Smith's first revelation, which he and followers interpreted as a direct communication from God, announced that the material covered in the lost pages, which had been translated from the plates of Lehi, would be replaced by new translation drawn from the plates of Nephi. Smith resumed dictation of the book to Emma in September 1828, In April 1829, he was joined by Oliver Cowdery, a distant cousin from Vermont who had also dabbled in folk magic. The two worked on the manuscript, later moving into the home of Cowdery's friend Peter Whitmer, where they completed it. Jospeh Smith dictated most of the Book of Mormon by looking into a seer stone placed in a stovepipe hat. This is pure witchcraft, forbidden in the OT and NT.
The decade of the 2020s has exploded with creativity, social movements, hope, tragedy, the MAGA movement continuing, resistance to the wicked MAGA movement, and the end of the Presidency of an authoritarian fascist Trump. This time saw the general public (not just dedicated scientists and researchers) reckon with the reality of artificial intelligence. A.I. has changed everything from movies to how music is presented (with a backlash from many artists and debates on control plus originality). This time saw the growth of new wars (found in Gaza, Iran, etc.) and military conflicts in other places like Venezuela, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other locations of the world. The early third of the decade was dominated by the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 was first found in China in November 2020. It grew worse and worse by January 2020. Then, in the middle of March 2020, tons of places in America plus the world shutdown completely. A COVID-19 induced recession hit, over 1 million Americans died from the virus, masks were worn, and millions of Americans had to get unemployment insurance to survive literally. Worldwide, millions also died and tons of people got vaccinations (which developed quickly in an emergency situation). Debates about closing stores continued, and we lived in an emergency setting. Also, the largest anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests globally existed to seek justice for George Floyd plus Breonna Taylor including all black victims of unjust police killings and police terrorism. We saw Joe Biden winning the 2020 election and a very eventful time. The 2020s saw more young people following country music, rap existing, other genres flourish, and Generation Z growing into their adulthood as they near closer to 30 years old.
One of the most important ages of Christian history was the Philadelphia Age which lasted from 1750 to 1945. This was the time when the Gospel started to spread rapidly in the world from the Americas to Australia. This time saw preachers, spiritual leaders, and regular believers standing up against slavery, imperialism, poverty, human trafficking in general, illiteracy, and other complications. This era saw the Bible being translated into tons of languages (like English, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese languages, Hindu, German, Greek, Arabic, Swahili, etc.) and the expansion of the understanding of the sciences (like geology, electricity, physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology, sociology, psychology, etc.). That time witnessed civil wars, global wars (like World War One and World War Two), the growth of modern evangelism, and the new social, political, and economic movements spreading internationally. The irony is that by the end of the era of Philadelphia saw the end of the brutal, wicked, and imperialistic European Empires of the world (that brought slavery, rape, genocide, sexism, xenophobia, economic exploitation, and other atrocities in the world). The victims of these empires range in the millions of human lives. The Gospel remains very powerful to give human beings light and hope to witness a better tomorrow by the compassionate grace of God. The age of Philadelphia saw the ending of many evils, but it wasn't all peaches and cream. Racism, colonialism, sexism, etc. flourished back then along with cultural revolutionaries trying to end these injustices. After this age, was the controversial and compromising Laodicean age of Church history. During the end, good will triumph against evil. That is pure fact.
Scientology is one of the most mysterious and controversial organizations in human history. It was created by L. Ron Hubbard. To be honest, Hubbard was a fraud explicitly. Not only was he was accused by the U.S. government of financial corruption. He was convicted by a French court of fraud. L. Ron Hubbard was a notorious racist who later claimed to promote equality, but he had secret writings that showed hatred against black people, Asian people, etc. He promoted apartheid in South Africa during the 1960s. Hubbard a habitual liar who made exaggerations and false claims about himself for decades. He was a science fiction writer who created a recent religion to gain profit and power. Hubbard also was a fan of the sexist, radical libertarian, and blatant occultist Aleister Crowley. For the past few years, many researchers have found out about the terminology of Scientology from the OT levels to the thetans. Celebrities like Tom Cruise defend Scientology with strong passion, but ex-members like the famous actress Leah Remini (who was on the shows of the Head of the Class in 1988, Who's the Boss? in 1989, and the King of Queens from 1998 to 2007) have used their research to refute Scientology as well. Scientology remains controversial to this day. I consider Scientology to be a sophisticated cult, because it prevents members from telling their families and loved one about their most cherished secrets, they have doctrines that are blatantly false, they incorporate infallible loyalty to its leaders, and some Scientology followers have harassed some whistleblowers. We must be clear to not violate religious liberty rights, but we must call out things that are fundamentally false in a peaceful fashion.
By Timothy
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