| hoogw's profile无为而无所不为PhotosBlogLists | Help |
|
November 26 wordpress phpBB drupal - 2009 Open Source CMS Award2009 Open Source CMS AwardWe are pleased to announce that WordPress has won the Overall Best Open Source CMS Award in the 2009 Open Source CMS Awards. WordPress has won this Award for the first time in the past four years, earning itself a place in the Hall of Fame category for the Award next year. While WordPress occupied the top spot in the Overall Award, the other two extremely popular finalists MODx and SilverStripe tied for the first runner up position. After Pixie and Pligg sharing a similar result for the Most Promising CMS category, this is the second time the combined opinion of judges and the public was evenly divided for two CMSes, awarding each of them a first runner up spot. Here's the distribution of the prize fund for this category: WordPress: $4,000 MODx: $2,000 SilverStripe: $2,000 This final announcement marks the end of the 2009 Open Source CMS Award. The Award continued to be a great success with over 12,000 nominations and over 23,000 votes received across its five categories. We are pleased to announce that Drupal has won the inaugural Hall of Fame Award in the 2009 Open Source CMS Awards. With this award, Drupal has won two categories this year, the other one being Best Open Source PHP CMS. Here's the distribution of the prize fund for this category: Drupal: $4,000 Joomla!: $2,000 Along with the competition amongst the previous winners, Hall of Fame also featured two subcategory Awards named after the participants, “Drupal Award”, and “Joomla! Award”. Please click on the following links for more details: We are pleased to announce that ImpressCMS has won the Most Promising Open Source CMS Category in the 2009 Open Source CMS Award. While ImpressCMS took first place in this category, Pixie and Pligg weren’t far behind and settled for a tie in the first runner up spot. ImpressCMS has featured in the top three in this category for the second time in a row, and has lived up to its reputation this year by winning the top spot. Pixie and Pligg, on the other hand, featured in this category for the first time and managed to impress a lot of judges with their quality and support. Here's the distribution of the prize fund for this category: ImpressCMS: $2,000 Pixie: $1,000 Pligg: $1,000 We are pleased to announce that Drupal has won the Best Open Source PHP CMS Category in the 2009 Open Source CMS Award. This category featured a very close contest between the top three, Drupal, WordPress, and Joomla! in which Drupal ended up as the overall choice for the judges and the public. While Drupal and Joomla! have always consistently featured among the top three in this category, WordPress made its way into the top five for the first time. The fact that it was outranked by Drupal by a very slight margin indicates how popular it has become with users as well as developers over the past year. Joomla! continued to maintain its reputation as one of the top CMSes on the market and finished as the second runner up. Here's the distribution of the prize fund for this category: Drupal: $2,000 WordPress: $500 Joomla!: $500 We are pleased to announce that Plone has won the Best Other Open Source CMS Category in the 2009 Open Source CMS Award. Plone retains the Award it won in 2008 and takes away $2,000 in the prize money. Since the introduction of this category in 2007, Plone has consistently featured among the top three, having won it in 2008. In another close contest, dotCMS had to settle for the first runner up position, finishing ahead of mojoPortal in the second runner spot. Here's the distribution of the prize fund for this category: Plone: $2,000 dotCMS: $500 mojoPortal: $500 Along with the winner of the Best Other Open Source CMS category, we have also announced the list of this year’s Open Source Most Valued People. For this list, only those CMSes were counted which received five or more nominations from the public. For details, please visit: Details of the 2009 Open Source MVPs
A list of previous winners can be found here: www.PacktPub.com/open-source-cms-award-previous-winners.
Prize Fund
2009 Award Rules
For more information: cmsaward@packtpub.com Other Open Source CMS Books by PacktNovember 25 Who is using TinyMCE?Who is using TinyMCE?TinyMCE is the most used WYSIWYG editor in the world, it is used by millions of ppl around the world for editing content. Here is a list of a few known companies or popular open source projects that use TinyMCE in one way or the other. ![]() WordpressThe
most popular and widespread blogging software uses TinyMCE as the
default editor, they have millions of downloads for each new release. ![]() OracleTinyMCE is used to enhance the Oracle Beehive Collaboration software. ![]() MicrosoftVarious Microsoft forums (MSDN etc) uses TinyMCE as their default forum content editor. ![]() AppleTinyMCE is used by Apple in some of their online applications. ![]() SAPSAB Business objects uses TinyMCE to enhance their on demand products. ![]() InterwovenIntervoven uses TinyMCE in their systems. ![]() JoomlaTinyMCE is used in the much popular Open Source CMS Joomla!. ![]() UmbracoOpen Source .NET Content Management Systems do not grow on trees, Umbraco is one of the best and it uses TinyMCE. ![]() SquarespaceSquarespace is a very cool CMS system that uses TinyMCE as the engine for their editor.
November 16 20 Promising Open Source PHP Content Management Systems(CMS)20 Promising Open Source PHP Content Management Systems(CMS)Welcome Googler! If you find this page useful, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic. You were searching for "php content management system". See posts relating to your search » You maybe interested in our latest article 60+ Beautiful And Creative Graffiti Arts.
Content Management System, or CMS is an application used to manage news easily so that users can publish, edit and delete articles from the back-end admin system. HTML and other scripting language are not necessary to operate a CMS, though having them will add more advantages. Since we had looked into 22 open source PHP frameworks, i decided to do a roundup of 20 Open Source PHP Content Management Systems so that readers who don’t have strong PHP knowledge can easily create their website using free and open source CMS. 1. WordpressWordpress is a powerful yet easy to use content management system.
Initially it was designed as a blogging platform. However, it slowly
become popular and can be customized into a powerful CMS with some
tricks and plugins. I had wrote an article about Wordpress SEO plugins and also talked about things that you should know about Wordpress 2.8. 2. DrupalDrupal is a free and open source modular framework and Content
Management System (CMS) written in PHP. It is used as a back-end system
for many different types of websites, ranging from small personal blogs
to large corporate and political sites.
3. JoomlaJoomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.
4. Frog CMSFrog CMS simplifies content management by offering an elegant user
interface, flexible templating per page, simple user management and
permissions, as well as the tools necessary for file management. 5. SilverStripeSilverStripe is a PHP CMS built with Sapphire framework, and it uses
MVC design pattern. you can view example sites that built with
SilverStripe from the official webpage. 6. MamboMambo is a full-featured, award-winning content management system
that can be used for everything from simple websites to complex
corporate applications. Although some Mambo sites had already migrated
to Joomla, but i think i should include Mambo as it is still a great
CMS. 7. TYPOlightTYPOlight is a PHP 5 CMS and it has a lot of features such as live
update, cross-browser CSS framework generator(IE7 compatible),
templated based front end output, use Ajax and Web 2.0 technologies.
You should check out the main page for more info. 8. Concrete5Concrete5 is an open source content management system with simple
administaror interface. You can edit a web page live by using the
editing toolbar provided after you log in as administrator. 9. TextpatternTextpattern is yet another very popular content management system.
It requires PHP 4 to run and has a lot of plugins that you can use for
various customizations. 10. SymphonySymphony is a CMS that uses XML/XSLT as its templating language.
Symphony lets you customize anything you like, from the website’s URL
structure to your publishing environment. For a non programmer, this
CMS might be complicated to learn. 11. MODxMODx is both a PHP application framework and content management
system. MODx is the first free PHP CMS to offer an API that fully
supports Web 2.0 Ajax technology. It is SEO friendly CMS, and allows
you to configure the meta content for each page. 12. Habari ProjectHabari is a highly recommended open source blogging platform. It is
being written specifically for modern web hosting environment, and uses
modern object oriented programming techniques. 13. CMS Made SimpleCMS Made Simple is highly customizable and there are a lot of
Modules for you to download. The Documentation is pretty complete and
easy to follow. 14. ImpressCMSImpressCMS is a community developed Content Management System. It is
highly scalable and is extremely useful for managing online communities. 15. Exponent CMSExponent uses an intuitive and flexible content editing system that
allows website pages to be edited on the page as it is displayed. You
can download modules and themes from the official website too! 16. MiaCMSMiaCMS is a fork of the Mambo CMS. It has a powerful and extensible
third party entension system, and also a flexible site theming
capabilities. MiaCMS supports OpenID and can consider to be a stable
and mature CMS. 17. Jojo CMSJojo is a search engine friendly CMS. You will have SEO friendly URL
to your article, and Jojo will handle www/non-www domains for you.
Beside SEO friendly, Jojo also lets you extend the functionality by
adding product databases, blogs, image galleries or whatever takes your
fancy. 18. TYPO3TYPO3 is a free Open Source content management system for enterprise
purposes on the web and in intranets. It offers full flexibility and
extendability while featuring an accomplished set of ready-made
interfaces, functions and modules. 19. Elxis CMSElxis CMS comes with a lot of features such as Search Engine
Friendly URL, strong security, adjustable member list and complete user
profiles. Its automated tasks, modern design, AJAX technology and
multi-lingual interface helps you be more productive. 20. ChyrpChyrp is a lightweight blogging platform and it uses Twig as the
templating engine. The documentation is quite complete and you can
download a lot of useful modules from the main site. November 13 计划生育强制堕胎, 是最残忍的最恶略的谋杀罪行三聚奶粉三鹿奶粉, 导致的30万结石患儿, 是蓄意谋杀,幼小生命 四川地震,豆腐渣学校,死的几万中小学生, 是过失谋杀儿童 计划生育强制堕胎, 是最残忍的最恶略的谋杀罪行 东莞,广东一代日益猖獗的盗窃贩卖儿童, 是最恶略的故意伤害罪行 05年春节,广州白云山云台花园入口, 我亲眼看见一个和我儿子一样大的小孩, 在和我儿子玩了5分钟后,被人偷走, 其妈妈焦急惊恐的四处寻找, 5年了, 每次想到其妈妈焦急的表情, 我都为我当时疏忽大意了,没能够保护到她的孩子,深深感到内疚, 虽然是我不认识的人的孩子, 如果能够,我觉对会拿刀出来对付那几个盗窃儿童的人 在广州深圳大街上,我一般都至少带一把匕首在身上,有时候带2把刀, 保护我的孩子,保护我自己, November 12 中国计划生育受害者 冒险作证美国会美东时间: 2009-11-12 03:05:19 AM 【万年历】
本文网址:http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/9/11/12/n2719963.htm 兰托斯人权委员会11月10日就中国实行计划生育政策、广泛侵犯人权问题举行了国会听证会。(摄影:王洋/大纪元) 中国计划生育受害者 冒险作证美国会 痛述被暴力强制堕胎经历 吁奥巴马关注中国妇女儿童权益 【大纪元11月12日讯】(大纪元特约记者王洋美国华盛顿DC报导)11月10日,寂静的美国国会听证会大厅里,为保护证人而搭起的白色隔板背后,一个中 国女子在一边啜泣,一边讲述着自己的悲惨经历:“他们用很大的针扎进我的腹中……我听到他们用剪子剪碎我的孩子的声音……护士拎着一个血淋淋的小脚丫给我 看,上面还有5个清晰的小脚趾。婴儿随即被丢入垃圾桶……我可怜的孩子啊!” 吴 剑(音译)生活在中国南方农村,由于花不起3,000元去买准生证,而被迫在怀孕期间躲藏起来。怀孕7个多月时,她被人告发。当地计划生育干部找不到她, 就把她的公公关起来毒打。眼看老人可能被活活打死,她心如刀割,不知如何是好。最后,计生干部找到了她的藏身之地,把她强行拖上车,送进医院,做堕胎手 术。随后,她便经历了如上地狱般的梦魇。 她问:“为什么?我到底做错了什么要遭受这样的惩罚?我想我是遇到了魔鬼……” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 今年是中国实行计划生育政策三十年。多年来,这一政策因实施过程中对人权的广泛侵害和带来的严重负面经济与社会效应,而受到国际社会的广泛谴责。就在奥巴马总统即将访问中国之前,兰托斯人权委员会10日就此问题举行国会听证会,再次把这一严重的人权问题摆在世界面前。 主持听证会的克里斯·史密斯议员在开场的致词中谈到,根据国会和行政部门中国问题委员会的报告,中国的计划生育政策特点是“以大规模的宣传、强制监控妇女的生理周期、强制避孕、强制准生制度、违者强制罚款,以及在一些案例中,使用强制绝育和强制堕胎。” 他 还谈到,在中国,“计划”外生育的孩子将被剥夺教育、医疗、结婚的权利,而对“计划”外生育的罚款可能是一对夫妇年家庭收入的10倍。付不出钱的人会被关 押、家中被砸,或者婴儿被杀掉。如果妇女不屈服,她可能被关起来,她如果逃跑,那么她的亲人可能就会被抓,并被殴打。连坐性的惩罚还会延伸到她的同事或邻 居。如果她有幸顶住了这一切压力,她还可能被强行拖上手术台,进行强制堕胎。这种精神创伤是一般人难以理解的。 由于奥巴马总统即将在本 月中访问中国,克里斯·史密斯议员呼吁奥巴马总统,在与中共领导人的会谈中,必须将人权作为首要问题提出来。他认为,中国非常在意国际舆论的看法。随着中 国在国际上的影响力日增,“如果我们不努力改善中国的人权状况,那么我们就会发现中国正在让我们所有其它地区的人权标准随之降低。”如果只把人权问题放在 其它问题的后面提出,中共就会认为美国并不重视此问题。他提醒奥巴马总统,“面对中共政权的暴行保持沉默是不可取的”。 “补救措施”等于“强制堕胎” 国 会和行政部门中国问题委员会的高级研究员Toy I. Reid在证词中说,1982年,计划生育政策成为中国的“基本国策”;2002年,这一政策成为国家法律。来自中国官方的消息表明,政府还在普遍使用各 种强制性的手段控制人口。最严重、也是很普遍的方式即强制绝育和强制堕胎。在中国的31个省中,有18个省的司法系统允许官员“采取措施”,保证不超过生 育计划数量,在实际操作中,强制绝育和强制堕胎都包括在其中。一些案件中,当地官员甚至在妇女怀孕的最后三个月进行强制堕胎。其中10个省份针对“计划” 外怀孕,法律条文明确规定计划生育官员有权采取“补救措施”,即“强制堕胎”。此外,官员的升迁与计划生育达标挂钩,违者还常被处以高额的罚款。对告发者 以奖金鼓励,令邻居、朋友和家人互相设陷。 唯一女性自杀比率高于男性的国家 女权无疆界的主席Reggie
Littlejohn在发言中说,中国的计划生育政策导致针对妇女和儿童的暴力事件超过世界上任何国家。在中国,所谓“强制堕胎”,即表示妇女从家中被绑
架、绑在桌子上、强制堕胎,即使已经怀孕9个月了。这种怀孕晚期的暴力行为不仅导致婴儿死亡,有时也会导致妇女本身的死亡。 她还说,中国政府努力让世界相信他们现在的计划生育政策已经放宽了。但这只是他们的宣传。根据中国国家人口与计划生育委员会7月23日的声明,他们还将“在未来几十年,严格执行计划生育政策,控制人口出生。” 她还列举了大量实例证明中国在计划生育政策的执行中,强制堕胎、虐杀婴儿、妇女自杀和使用暴力等状况大量存在。 在 中国妇产科网上,医务人员公开讨论“晚妊计划生育引产下来是活婴怎么办?”跟帖的内容令人震惊。例如:“其实,在生的时候你们应该穿颅的,这样又可以减少 损失,又可以生出来的不是活的孩子。”“35周孕前的孩子死亡率90%以上。大多穿颅掳掠,活的自生自灭。家属不要,就残忍的扔在污桶内或包起放置角落, 活一、两天的也有。” 现场Reggie Littlejohn还展示了一张很有代表性的照片。照片中一位妇女被强制堕胎,被取出的胎儿已经血肉模糊。计生官员要求她交堕胎手术的费用,可她拿不出钱来,于是他们把胎儿装在塑料袋里,就放在这位妇女的床边上,逼迫她交钱。 此外,她谈到根据世界卫生组织的数据,中国的女性自杀率平均为每天500人,而中国是世界上唯一女性自杀比率高于男性的国家,其比率是男性的三倍。这与中国的计划生育政策有着很多内在的联系。 中国人口结构和比例严重失调 出席听证会的美国企业研究所的研究员Nicholas Eberstadt,在报告中分析了中国计划生育政策导致中国人口结构和比例严重失调的问题。 他 认为,中国的计划生育,导致男女比例严重失调。目前出生的人口中,男性数量超过女性的20%。可以想像未来中国的婚姻问题将十分棘手。这也可能使人口贩卖 问题加剧。其它可能引起的恶果有多严重还很难预料,但目前可预见的是,计划生育导致出生率降低,劳动力数量减少,人力资源面临压力越来越大,中国的经济增 长模式必然会发生重大变化。计划生育也导致中国人口的老龄化与贫困化。此外,中国的传统家庭结构也会发生巨大变化,新一代人口绝大多数都没有兄弟姊妹。这 不仅改变传统的家族观念,也很可能带来人与人之间的信任度降低,成为一个缺乏信用的社会。 “三检”侵犯妇女人权 中国妇女人权的听证报告,详细介绍了中国的“三检”政策对妇女的人权侵犯。该组织在2008年至2009年间,通过对山东、广东、广西、四川与河北农村的调查,了解到计划生育干部要求所有育龄妇女每年进行四次检查,包括是否使用绝育环、是否怀孕及是否有女性疾病。 在执行这一政策中,不仅没有对女性的尊重,而且完全没有保护个人隐私的伦理道德。检查过程中,女性被如同牲畜一样对待。如不按时参加检查,还会被处以高额罚款。 报告指出,国家人口计划生育委员会副主任赵白鸽曾说:“中国的计划生育政策并非像看起来的那么控制严密。人们是在自愿的基础上实施计划生育的。”其实这完全是谎言。 2007年,在广西博白县的沙陂镇等地,逾五万名当地民众因对计划生育官员的野蛮计生执法不满,爆发抗议,包围镇政府,并捣毁警车,现场有7人死亡,包括两名警察和五名学生。最后有200人和100位学生在此事件中被逮捕。 这一事件暴露出计划生育官员的严重腐败。在抗议爆发之前,乡政府的网站上写着,针对计划生育征收的罚款金额高达人民币788万元。计划生育政策成为贪官污吏搜刮民脂民膏的手段。 此外,她们还发现,在强制堕胎后,有的婴儿活下来却被医院悄悄丢掉或卖掉。而人口贩卖也是中国面临的严重社会问题之一。 山东临沂暴力计生与陈光诚案 江天勇律师在听证会上谈到他在2005年承办山东临沂陈光诚案。盲人律师陈光诚为计划生育中遭到暴力侵权者做法律谘询,而遭判刑四年,至今还在监狱中,目前身体状况堪忧。 他 说中国的计划生育政策,与国际上通常理解的“家庭计划”—即夫妻自由决定其家庭成员的数量,是不同的。2002年,中国制定了“人口与计划生育法”,各省 制定了相应法规,但是,很多计划生育官员都违反法律,实行强制堕胎与强制绝育。他列举了他与陈光诚等多位律师共同调查的山东临沂计划生育案件。 其中,山东沂南县农妇胡兵美(音译)是个高血压和甲亢患者。2005年4月,她被要求做强制绝育手术。医生认为她的身体状况做手术会有危险,但是计生干部说:“我让做你就做。”手术后,胡兵美有严重的后遗症,包括头痛、颤抖等,很可能伴随她终生。 还 有一位山东临沂费县的60岁妇女宋花厚(音译),因为她的媳妇怀孕5个月没有报告,而导致她的八位家人和两位邻居都被抓并被殴打。她和65岁的哥哥被殴打 后,计划生育干部还要她和哥哥互相打耳光。他们还被罚交每天100元人民币的“教育费”,最后通过托人说情,共被罚4,000元人民币。 2005年,在调查山东临沂费县梁秋镇桃花顶村时,发现那里由于村民害怕计生干部夜晚来抓人,整个村庄在夜晚是空的。人们白天在地里干活,晚上就睡在田间,村民自己轮流放哨。他们说:“计生干部会溜进村里,随意抓人。” 他以自己参与多个计生案件为例,说明有关计划生育的案件,法院均不受理。人权律师还遭到暴力殴打与威胁。 呼吁奥巴马总统关注中国人权 11 月15日至18日,奥巴马总统即将访问中国。出席听证会的人权组织代表和人权律师均呼吁奥巴马,在与中共领导人的会晤中要严肃的提出人权问题,特别是妇女 儿童权益受到严重侵害的问题。随着中美关系日渐紧密,美国会认识到,中国的人权问题会变成美国的人权问题,因为人权无国界。 他们也呼吁奥巴马总统要向中共提出陈光诚律师案,并要求中共恢复江天勇、李和平等人权律师的律师执照。 他们也希望美国政府要把支持中国人权的资金更多地投入到民间组织,而不是中共官方。只有中国的民间组织才是中国的希望。November 08 我今天為他人做了什麼我今天為他人做了什麼?多馬‧孟蓀會長 他人的需求隨處可見,我們每個人都可以做一些事來幫助別人。
我親愛的弟兄姊妹,今天早晨我滿懷對耶穌基督的福音及對各位的愛,向各位問候致意。我很感激有此榮幸站在各位面前,也祈求我能把受到啟發要說的話,深刻有力地向各位傳達。 幾年前,我讀到傑克‧麥康尼醫師所寫的一篇文章。麥康尼醫師從小在美國維吉尼亞州西南部的山區長大,他父親是衛理公會的牧師,母親則是家庭主婦,家 裡有七個孩子,家境清寒。他敘述在他童年時期,每天全家人圍坐在晚餐桌前時,父親總是會輪流問每個孩子:「你今天為別人做了什麼?」1這 使得孩子們都下定決心要日行一善,好向父親報告他們確實幫助了別人。麥康尼醫師稱這項作法是他父親留下的最珍貴傳承;由於父親的那份期望以及那句話鼓勵了 他和他的兄弟姊妹,使他們終生都在幫助他人。在他們長大成人後,這項為人服務的動機也轉化成一股由衷想要幫助他人的渴望。 麥康尼醫師曾經主導結核病蒂內測試法(tine test)的研發工作,參與小兒麻痺疫苗早期的研究計畫,督導泰諾(Tylenol)藥劑的研發,在發展MRI核磁共振造影(MRI)過程裡,也扮演舉足 輕重的角色。除了醫療生涯裡這些輝煌的成就外,他還創設了一個名為醫療義工團的機構,讓退休的醫療人員有機會在義診診所裡擔任義工,為沒有健康保險的工人 看病。麥康尼醫師說他自從退休之後,原來的閒暇時間「頓時化為烏有,變成了週週工作60小時的無薪工作。不過,〔他〕反倒因此更有活力,生活中有一種前所 未有的滿足。」他說道:「在生命裡有一項看似矛盾的道理,那就是擔任義診醫師的我反而比病人獲益更多。」2如今全美各地有70多處這樣的診所。 當然,我們不可能人人都成為麥康尼醫師,創設醫療診所幫助貧困的人;但是,他人的需求隨處可見,我們每個人也都可以做一些事來幫助別人。 使徒保羅勸誡我們要「用愛心互相服事」。3請大家和我一起回顧摩爾門經裡便雅憫王這句耳熟能詳的話:「你們為同胞服務時,只是在為你們的神服務而已。」4 救主這樣教導門徒:「因為,凡要救自己生命的,必喪掉生命;凡為我喪掉生命的,必救了生命。」5 我相信救主是在告訴我們,除非我們能無私忘我地為人服務,否則人生幾乎了無目的。只為自己活的人最後必枯萎淍零,宛如行屍走肉一般;而無私為人服務的人,反而會成長茁壯──宛如救了自己一命。 在1963年10月的總會教友大會上--我在那場大會上被支持為十二使徒定額組成員--當時的大衛奧‧麥基會長這樣說:「人類最大的幸福來自於無私忘我地為人謀福祉。」6 往往,我們與他人比鄰而居,但卻未真心溝通。在我們的能力範圍之內,總有人伸手呼喊著:「在基列豈沒有乳香呢?」7 我深信,本教會的每一位教友都想要為人服務,幫助有需要的人。我們在洗禮的時候曾經立約要「承擔彼此的重擔,使重擔減輕」。8你的心有多少次因為看到他人的需要而產生惻隱之心?你曾經有多少次想要成為那伸出援手的人?但是在每天忙碌生活的干擾下,你又曾有多少次把那些事留給其他人去幫忙,覺得「喔,反正一定有人會去照顧那些需求。」 我們都被忙碌的生活羈絆得難以脫身,但是,我們是否曾經停下腳步,仔細看看自己在忙些什麼。我們可能會發現自己一直埋頭做一些「芝麻綠豆」的小事。換句話說,從人生全盤計畫的宏觀角度來看,我們往往投注大部分的時間去關心無關緊要的事情,而忽略了更重要的目標。 我在很多年前聽過一首詩,至今仍然記得,我一直用它來引導我的生活,這是我很喜歡的一首詩:
弟兄姊妹們,我們周遭都有需要我們關懷、鼓勵、支持、安慰、仁慈相待的人,他們可能是我們的家人、朋友、認識的人,也可能是陌生人。我們就是主在這世上的手,有責任為祂的兒女服務、提升他們;主要靠我們每一個人來達成這些事。 各位可能會哀嘆,我每天勉強度日,盡力做到一切我必需做的事,怎麼還有餘力為人服務呢?我還可能做什麼呢? 就在一年前,教會新聞在我生日之前訪問我。在訪談結束之際,記者問我,如果世界各地的教友要送我禮物,我心目中最好的禮物會是什麼。我回答:「去找出正遭逢困難、生病或孤獨的人,然後為他們做點事。」10 今年我深受感動,因為接到了世界各地教友寄來的數幾百封生日賀卡和信函,他們告訴我,他們如何讓我的生日願望實現了,那些服務的舉動從組裝人道援助用品袋到清理庭院都有。 好幾十個兒童會向他們的小朋友提出挑戰,請他們為人服務,然後他們把所作的服務記錄下來寄給了我。我不得不承認,他們作紀錄的方法實在很有創意。很 多是把一頁一頁的紙裝訂起來,製作成各式各樣的小冊子。有的是小朋友畫的、或著色的卡片或圖畫。有個很有創意的兒童會寄來一個大瓶子,裡面裝了好幾百個他 們所謂的「溫馨絨毛球」,每個絨毛球都代表兒童會的一位小朋友在那一年為人服務的一項善舉。我只能想像,當小朋友說出他們的服務行動、然後把一顆「溫馨絨 毛球」放進瓶子裡的時候,內心所體驗到的那份快樂。 在我接到的許多禮物裡,往往附有小紙條,我現在只能從那些數不清的小紙條裡,與各位分享其中幾個。有個小孩寫道:「我爺爺中風了,我會握著他的 手。」有位8歲的小女孩說:「我和姊姊為媽媽、為家人服務,把玩具櫃整理好、清理乾淨。我們花了好幾個小時才完成,可是很好玩。最棒的是:我們讓媽媽感到 驚喜、讓她很開心,因為我們沒有等她吩咐就去做了。」有位11歲的女孩寫道:「我們支會裡有個家庭的經濟情況不太好,他們家有三個小女孩。有一次她們的爸 媽必須出門,所以我去幫忙照顧那三個小女孩。後來那位爸爸要拿5塊美金給我。我說:『我不能收〔你的錢〕』。我的服務是義務照顧這三個小女孩。」有一位住 在蒙古的兒童會小孩寫道,他到井邊去打水,所以媽媽就不必做這件事了。有個4歲男孩顯然是由兒童會老師幫他寫的:「我爸爸去接受軍事訓練好幾個星期,我的 特殊任務就是給媽媽抱抱和親親。」有位9歲的女孩寫到:「我摘草莓給曾祖母吃,我覺得心裡好快樂!」另一個小孩說:「我跟一個孤單的小孩玩。」 有位11歲的小男孩寫著:「我到一位姊妹家裡請教她一些問題,也為她唱了一首歌。能拜訪她真好,她很快樂,因為從來沒有人去拜訪她。」讀到這張特別 的小紙條,使我想起很久以前十二使徒定額組理查‧伊凡長老寫的一段話,他說:「一般年輕人很難明白,從日理萬機退居到不參與世事,是多麼地寂寞。……這些 老人長久以來一直是家庭的核心,是大家求助的對象,接著,幾乎是突然地,卻變得只能在一旁看著別人繼續向前走──而漸漸過著孤寂的生活。……我們必須經過 漫長的歲月才能了解,徒有家具的空房間是多麼地空虛冷清。光是雇用看護、請福利機構或專業人士提供照料是不夠的,其實還需要有人讓塵封已久的記憶再度鮮活 起來,讓他們快樂地活在當下。……我們無法讓他們的年輕歲月倒流,但我們可以幫助他們在人生晚年享有溫馨的光輝,透過我們的體貼關懷……和不虛偽的愛,讓 這段歲月更加美好。」11 男女青年班級裡的青少年也送了許多生日賀卡和小紙條給我,他們製作毛毯送給醫院,到救濟食物發放中心服務,代替已逝者接受洗禮,和從事其他無數的服務善舉。 婦女會向來都不乏助人善舉,這次她們提供的服務更勝於平時所做的,聖職小組也是如此。 弟兄姊妹們,當孟蓀姊妹和我花了好幾個小時展讀這些禮物時,我的心裡感到莫大的感動與感激。在我現在講述這段經歷,同時想到由於「施」與「受」而蒙得祝福的那些人時,此刻我的內心極為感動。 這讓我想起馬太福音第25章裡的一段話: 「你們這蒙我父賜福的,可來承受那創世以來為你所預備的國; 「因為我餓了,你們給我吃,渴了,你們給我喝;我作客旅,你們留我住; 「我赤身露體,你們給我穿;我病了,你們看顧我;我在監裡,你們來看我。 「義人就回答說:『主啊,我們甚麼時候見你餓了,給你吃,渴了,給你喝? 「甚麼時候見你作客旅,留你住,或是赤身露體,給你穿? 「又甚麼時候見你病了,或是在監裡,來看你呢?』 「王要回答說:『我實在告訴你們,這些事你們既做在我這弟兄中一個最小的身上,就是做在我身上了。』」12 我的弟兄姊妹們,願我們都會用傑克‧麥康尼醫師和他的兄弟姊妹每天晚餐時被問到的那個問題來問我們自己:「我今天為他人做了什麼?」願這首耳熟能詳的聖詩能夠深深觸動我們的靈魂,長駐我們心裡:
我們大家所蒙召從事的服務,是在為主耶穌基督服務。 當祂徵召我們從事祂的偉業,就是在邀請我們更接近祂。祂對你我這樣說: 「凡勞苦擔重擔的人可以到我這裡來,我就使你們得安息。 「我心裡柔和謙卑,你們當負我的軛,學我的樣式;這樣,你們心裡就必得享安息。 「因為我的軛是容易的,我的擔子是輕省的。」14 我們若真正聆聽,就會聽見那聲音從遙遠的地方傳來對我們說話,就像它曾向他人說的一樣:「好,你這又良善又忠心的僕人」。15我祈求每一個人都有資格獲得來自主的這項祝福,我這樣獻上祈求,是奉救主耶穌基督的名,阿們。■ what i have done for someone today
Discuz!NT 3.0Discuz!NT 3.0 版本针对SQL Server 2005/2008的新特性做了存储过程的全面优化,解决了以前版本存储过程因SQL
Server2000语法限制造成若干存储过程无法被编译的问题,全面提升数据库运行效率。从Discuz!NT官方得知,目前新版本在官方网站的测试结
果良好,showtopic等页面速度提升明显,同时服务器压力也有所降低。 在系统稳定性方面,Discuz!NT 3.0的系统重构消灭了所有重复代码,同时将数据和逻辑层进行了彻底分离,避免增加功能时重复数据方法的可能。官方开发人员表示:虽然本次重构的效果短时间内不明显,但是这次重构将为以后版本增加功能打下坚实的基础! 在 整体的UI和用户体验设计方面,Discuz!NT3.0在保留传统风格的同时吸取了Discuz! 7.0大量被用户肯定的设计元素,形成了Discuz!NT自有的风格。首页的快速发主题可以让大论坛里面只关注某个版块的用户方便分享自己最新的事情, 还有弹窗方式的快速登录、注册、发帖、编辑帖子等等快捷的功能,将有更好的用户体验效果。 另外,Discuz!NT 3.0的API进行了全面开放,发帖、回复、创建用户、修改用户资料积分、创建版块、获取版块列表、获取帖子列表等功能可以让开发者很轻松的二次开发或者 系统整合。3.0版本API取消了2.6版本中API许多功能受到session的限制,3.0版本API可以授权应用程序任意的修改用户密码等一系列操 作,真正方便二次开发。值得一提的是,Discuz!NT 3.0采用了一系列加密算法来保证安全性,Discuz!NT 官方发布的API应用都可以放心使用,第三方开发的应用需要经过Discuz!NT 官方认证,用户大可以放心使用。Discuz!NT 3.0的API的又一大改进是支持客户端调用,基于安全考虑,官方对客户端调用程序进行了严格的功能限制。 图文安装升级教程 最新版转换程序支持3.0.0 数据字典 模板文件对照说明 bug修复列表 API文档中心 API测试控制台官方演示 安装包下载地址: API 测试控制台 和 API C#开发包下载地址: 李开复说互联网的第一个时代是Web1.0时代,第二个时代是Web2.0时代,第三个时代则是开发者的时代互联网在中国发展已超过了十个年头,正在从单纯的信息时代逐步走向全面的应用时代。而走向全面的应用时代之前,“人”必须代替“信息”在互联网上占有更主
导的地位,于是以“人”为中心的社交网络(SNS)符合了这一潮流,在今天的互联网格局里,显示出了越来越大的生命力和成长性。相对应
地,Facebook、Myspace以及国内的校内、51.com的迅猛突起绝对不是一个偶然。 但是,SNS单纯有“人”或“人际”也远远不够,实现真正SNS的持久黏性与成长,则需要丰富而个性的“应用”,以符合不同人差异化的需求。“人际”与“应用”,“SNS”与“Widget”,互为支撑,缺一不可。 拿Facebook来说,截至2008年7月15日,从Facebook的第三方应用分析网站adonomics.com(http://adonomics.com/)可以获得的数据是,当前Facebook已有32350个应用(app),并且有超过9亿人安装了这些应用中的一个或多个,而为投入这些应用的开发者则超过了20万人。 Facebook Facts 李开复说:互联网经历了三个时代的变迁。 Manyou与UCenter Home,一个希望服务于应用,一个希望服务于SNS。或者说,一个服务于开发者,一个服务于站长。这就是Comsenz对Manyou以及UCenter home的定位。我们将以最大的开放来面对这一定位。“开放是一种心态,共赢的心态。” 这是大C的原话,也是Comsenz立场和态度。如果说Comsenz做这些事情没有梦想,不是为了发展和成长,那是谎话;如果说Comsenz仅仅为了 自己的发展,违背了我们服务了七年的站长、陪伴Comsenz多年的开发者(如插件作者、第三方开发者)的成长和利益,那更是蠢话。 Manyou开放平台(Manyou Open Platform,即MYOP)希望是嫁接在开发者、站长之间引导公平游戏规则的贡献者和建立者。“在某种程度上,是为站长和应用开发者这两个供需双方,建立一种公平的市场经济体制。” 目前,UCenter home已经有超过15000家网站在安装使用,这些网站中的大多数都在期待包含MYOP功能的UCenter Home 1.5版本平台,以实现在运营时,有大量的应用可供选择服务于他们的网民。拿地方网站暨阳社区来说,有很多本地上班族经常泡,肯定正需要象“记录心情”、“互赠礼物”、“休闲棋牌”、“个人理财”等方面的应用;拿旅游社区驴友录来 说,一定还需要“在外地手机也能写博客”、“匹配结伴出行”等更个性化的应用。千千万万的网站,还需要更多千千万万种类的特色应用,显然,这是 Comsenz的能力所不能承受的。尽管Comsenz过去也在Discuz!的基础上发展了多个产品,服务了更广泛的应用,但总体而言种类还是个位数的 (而且还蛮累的啦)。 所以,我们希望一切有开发能力的开发者、一切有志于共创未来的开发者,能够携手与Manyou,共同服务于广大的站长和网民。 Manyou的工作原理很简单,她一边嫁接与支持MYOP协议的无数个网站,一边串联开发者提供的无数个应用,从而实现开发者的应用能够通过传递到各个网站上,以供网民自由选择采用。并且,Manyou仅是一个虚拟的机制,是一个交换数据的协议,而并非是一个实体。她面向开发者唯一比较直接的一个功能就是,审核应用的安全性和稳定性,以确保网站使用者的基本利益。 用下面这张图片,也许就能比较清晰地交代这种关系,如下图:
从零出发的两个准备 如果您清楚了Manyou的定位,并认可了Comsenz的立场和态度,那么,下一步的开发行动就是非常简易而方便的事情了。 在做开发之前,先需要了解MYOP的基本协议和开发过程中遵守的原则,您可以先登录Manyou开发者指南网站 http://wiki.developer.manyou.com/。在这个网站上,主要内容包括: 1、MYOP简介 2、MYOP应用服务协议 3、快速上手的指南文档。 4、两个示范案例及相应的原理 * 创建“Hello world”程序 * Manyou应用开发进阶(“茶花女”的案例) 5、Manyou开发的接口文档、Manyou Markup Language(MYML)、Manyou Query Language(MYQL)、MYJS标准JavaScript的扩展等技术资料。 6、关于Manyou的一些问题Q/A列表。(更多问题,亦可参考大C的答问帖查看:http://www.discuz.net/viewthread.php?tid=982973&highlight=) 做完了Manyou知识的准备,您就可以到Manyou的开发者测试环境网站(http://uchome.developer.manyou.com/)上开始行动了。 1、第一步,如果您已经是Discuz.net的会员,直接登录会员帐号即可登录Manyou开发者测试环境网站(http://uchome.developer.manyou.com/),否则的话,您还需要再注册一个会员登录帐号。 2、第二步,点击“开始”菜单的“开发者”,了解“开发者首页”的每一项信息; BTW:这也是一个UCenter home 1.5版本的网站,如果您的应用在该网站上测试通过,基本可表明你的应用符合了体验,符合了可以应用的基本条件。 3、第三步,在“开发者首页”的右上角,有一个“创建新应用”的按钮,点击之并按照向导一步步动作,就能提交您的应用进行测试了。 4、等待审核通过,成为正式的面向所有会员的应用; BTW:已通过审核的所有应用列表,可以在点击“开始”菜单内的“我的应用”,并再点击“查看所有应用”获得。 5、在UCenter home1.5版本及Manyou正式版本发布之后,通过审核的所有应用,将能在所有同意MYOP协议的UCenter home网站上运行。
蕴藏的机会第一个留给插件开发者 这是一个机会。但对于Comsenz来说,这也是一个全新的挑战。Comsenz的历史经验是,每个产品都是按照自己的周期和节奏来发布,比如Discuz!,每一个版本的升级往往是,2个月或3个月一个小版本,10个月或12个月一个大版本,非常有规律。但是,它的弊端在于,首先我们不能紧随潮流,随时升级发布,随时响应站长和网民的需求;其次,众口难调,我们每一个版本开发的新功能不能适应每一个站长的需求,有的站长需要,有的不需要,最多能满足多数站长都需要的功能。 在此之前,大量的有创新意识的插件开发者、模板作者扮演了至关重要的角色,他们通过有创意的插件和模板调补了市场上这一空白,为追求个性的站长找到了解决方案,在一定程度上缓解了这一矛盾。 但根本的矛盾依然没有解决。对我们的大量站长来说,我们至少要面临一个痛苦的抉择,必须在每一次升级平台软件(如Discuz!)之时,先卸载了所有的插 件应用,然后才能再升级,再安装与升级的新版本匹配的插件,每次这种工作都很痛苦,“象脱了一层皮”。对插件开发者而言,所有的应用发布无法展开持续有效 地升级,由于插件必须伴随平台软件才能升级时,周期不由自己来掌控,非常被动,而更为郁闷的是,插件开发者无法从站长那里获得任何与应用有关的数据,跟踪 应用的进展,更无法从中获得用户的反馈。Comsenz深知,广大插件开发者在官方论坛上经常呼吁希望官方出台一个标准。 今天的Manyou,正是朝这样一个标准努力的。Manyou希望,真正能帮助广大插件开发者扩大自由和权利。开发者的自由 是:1)开发的过程更自由;2)升级的过程更自由;3)获得网站和用户使用的途径更自由、更方便。为开发者争取的权利则是:1)与站长的接触和沟通更便 利、更对等;2)获得应用反馈信息、数据的能力更多;3)获得收益的可能性更大。 所以,我们期望把蕴藏的机会第一个先留给一直支持Comsenz的插件开发者,从而实现广大插件开发者成为应用开发者,与站长实现共同升级与成长。当然,我们也愿意更多的人加入进来!Comsenz期待任何有志于此的第三方合作者,无论是公司还是个人。 请加入Manyou,一起行动吧! Joomla the php cms CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMWhat is Joomla?Joomla is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone. What's a content management system (CMS)?A content management system is software that keeps track of every piece of content on your Web site, much like your local public library keeps track of books and stores them. Content can be simple text, photos, music, video, documents, or just about anything you can think of. A major advantage of using a CMS is that it requires almost no technical skill or knowledge to manage. Since the CMS manages all your content, you don't have to. What are some real world examples of what Joomla! can do?Joomla is used all over the world to power Web sites of all shapes and sizes. For example:
Who uses Joomla? Here are just a few examples of Web sites that use Joomla:
More examples of companies using Joomla can be found in the Joomla Community Site Showcase. I need to build a site for a client. How will Joomla! help me? Joomla is designed to be easy to install and set up even if you're not an advanced user. Many Web hosting services offer a single-click install, getting your new site up and running in just a few minutes. Since Joomla is so easy to use, as a Web designer or developer, you can quickly build sites for your clients. Then, with a minimal amount of instruction, you can empower your clients to easily manage their own sites themselves. If your clients need specialized functionality, Joomla is highly extensible and thousands of extensions (most for free under the GPL license) are available in the Joomla Extensions Directory. How can I be sure there will be Joomla! support in the future? Joomla is the most popular open source CMS currently available as evidenced by a vibrant and growing community of friendly users and talented developers. Joomla's roots go back to 2000 and, with over 200,000 community users and contributors, the future looks bright for the award-winning Joomla Project. discuz, phpBB, Simple machine forum, VBulletin,PhpBB is pretty famous and easy to setup. Themes and mods are
sufficient enough for building community around. Support on their
official forum is also good. Simple machine forums, is the one i've chosen for my forum. because it has all the features and professional looking themes are available. i was member of one forum which was running smf. so mods of those forums helped me smooth out the learning curve. if you have choice between phpbb and smf then i suggest you to go with smf cause you'll find it easier than phpbb. Mybb, this one is also easy to install and use but lacks some of the features i wanted in forum. themes are also good. PunBB, it is no-nonsense, easy to install, fast and simple looking forum. if i have to choose any other than smf i'll go for punbb for it's simplicity and ease of use. electronboard, i only heard about it but never used it for testing. if anyone tried this post about it. i want to know if this forum have professional themes and theme clubs available or not. November 07 香港廣播電臺網站香港廣播電臺網站 (54)
廣播電臺(15) - 網上電臺 (29) - 校園電臺(4) - 基督教廣播 (2) - 業餘無線電 (4) 香港廣播電臺(15)
(返頁首↑) 香港網上電臺 (29)
(返頁首↑) 香港校園電臺(4)
(返頁首↑) 香港基督教廣播 (2)
(返頁首↑)
香港業餘無線電廣播 (4)
香港电台直播香港电台直播
使用iPhone/iPod touch收聽星島中文電台方法
Talking about YouTube - Best Trance Songs Ever - Top 10
Quote YouTube - Best Trance Songs Ever - Top 10 October 23 what have I done for someone today?边看银片,边来胡说两句, 算是看*片累了,休息时间, 美国80%的人是基督教徒, 所有的美国总统都是基督徒, 总统宣誓就职都要手按着圣经发表誓言, 美国典型的基督家庭教育, 从小就渗透宗教的思想,这里有个例子,英文的, what have I done for someone today?今天你为别人做了什么? 这句话是一个有7 个孩子的普通美国基督家庭, 生活在贫困的山区,爸爸,每天晚上吃晚饭前都要问每一个孩子, 今天为你别人做了什么?原文如下 A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?”1 The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone. Dr. McConnell calls this exercise his father’s most valuable legacy, for that expectation and those words inspired him and his siblings to help others throughout their lives. As they grew and matured, their motivation for providing service changed to an inner desire to help others. 其中一个儿子做医生,现在已经退休,开办免费的诊所为穷人治病 他说上面那句话是他爸爸留给他们这7个孩子的最宝贵遗产, 他爸爸每天问他们的那句话和他爸爸对他们的期望, 使他们7个孩子把帮助别人变成发自内心的愿望,贯穿一生, 同样是贫困山区的凤凰男家庭,完全是另外一个故事, 把做官,钱,做为他们摆脱贫困,不受欺负的,摆脱农门的理想 当然娶广女鸡毛也是他们实现理想的一个部分, 他从头到脚都恨农民这个出身,做梦都要取城市女, 这绝对不是凤凰男的错,是社会因素导致的, 但至少我们可以看到,中国没有宗教信仰, 信仰崩溃导致了权力成为凤凰男唯一的人生目标。 中国,有了权,就有了钱吗, 我想凤凰男处心积虑的往上爬, 终极目标也无非就是下面这位, 重庆打黑司法局长文强, 10万开一个14岁的处女,以开多少处女为荣 有8处房产4个别墅,睡过无数女歌星, 以不放过任何一个来重庆的女歌星为荣, 家里有3千万人民币,3千万美元转移到国外, 不过,凤凰男再活多一百年可能也爬不到司法局长的位子 缺乏宗教信仰的国家,凤凰男这样的人充斥着整个社会, 再说回经文, I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives. 基督说过,那些只为自己(利益)而活着的人呢,最终会枯萎凋谢,走向毁灭,然而那些愿意舍弃自己(利益)服务于别人的人,反而会成长,繁荣,最终挽救了他们自己。 如果凤凰男能舍弃自己利益, 真心实意服务于鸡毛的话, 我想最终的结果是 鸡毛回馈给他的好处最终会拯救凤凰男 使得凤凰男,不断成长,繁荣, 这是基督告诉我们的简单道理, 可惜,凤凰男永远意识不到这点, 凤凰男继续为自己而活的话,而不考虑鸡毛的话, 最终将枯萎凋谢, 今天就说这么多,继续看银片,食色,性也,不看银片憋的难受, http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-27,00.html What Have I Done for Someone Today?President Thomas S. Monson The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone.
A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?”1 The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone. Dr. McConnell calls this exercise his father’s most valuable legacy, for that expectation and those words inspired him and his siblings to help others throughout their lives. As they grew and matured, their motivation for providing service changed to an inner desire to help others. Besides Dr. McConnell’s distinguished medical career—where he directed the development of the tuberculosis tine test, participated in the early development of the polio vaccine, supervised the development of Tylenol, and was instrumental in developing the magnetic resonance imaging procedure, or MRI—he created an organization he calls Volunteers in Medicine, which gives retired medical personnel a chance to volunteer at free clinics serving the working uninsured. Dr. McConnell said his leisure time since he retired has “evaporated into 60-hour weeks of unpaid work, but [his] energy level has increased and there is a satisfaction in [his] life that wasn’t there before.” He made this statement: “In one of those paradoxes of life, I have benefited more from Volunteers in Medicine than my patients have.”2 There are now over 70 such clinics across the United States. Of course, we can’t all be Dr. McConnells, establishing medical clinics to help the poor; however, the needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone. The Apostle Paul admonished, “By love serve one another.”3 Recall with me the familiar words of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”4 The Savior taught His disciples, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”5 I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives. In the October 1963 general conference—the conference at which I was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles—President David O. McKay made this statement: “Man’s greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others.”6 Often we live side by side but do not communicate heart to heart. There are those within the sphere of our own influence who, with outstretched hands, cry out, “Is there no balm in Gilead?”7 I am confident it is the intention of each member of the Church to serve and to help those in need. At baptism we covenanted to “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light.”8 How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that “oh, surely someone will take care of that need.” We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes. Many years ago I heard a poem which has stayed with me, by which I have tried to guide my life. It’s one of my favorites:
My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us. You may lament: I can barely make it through each day, doing all that I need to do. How can I provide service for others? What can I possibly do? Just over a year ago, I was interviewed by the Church News prior to my birthday. At the conclusion of the interview, the reporter asked what I would consider the ideal gift that members worldwide could give to me. I replied, “Find someone who is having a hard time or is ill or lonely, and do something for him or her.”10 I was overwhelmed when this year for my birthday I received hundreds of cards and letters from members of the Church around the world telling me how they had fulfilled that birthday wish. The acts of service ranged from assembling humanitarian kits to doing yard work. Dozens and dozens of Primaries challenged the children to provide service, and then those acts of service were recorded and sent to me. I must say that the methods for recording them were creative. Many came in the form of pages put together into various shapes and sizes of books. Some contained cards or pictures drawn or colored by the children. One very creative Primary sent a large jar containing hundreds of what they called “warm fuzzies,” each one representing an act of service performed during the year by one of the children in the Primary. I can only imagine the happiness these children experienced as they told of their service and then placed a “warm fuzzy” in the jar. I share with you just a few of the countless notes contained in the many gifts I received. One small child wrote, “My grandpa had a stroke, and I held his hand.” From an 8-year-old girl: “My sister and I served my mom and family by organizing and cleaning the toy closet. It took us a few hours and we had fun. The best part was that we surprised my mom and made her happy because she didn’t even ask us to do it.” An 11-year-old girl wrote: “There was a family in my ward that did not have a lot of money. They have three little girls. The mom and dad had to go somewhere, so I offered to watch the three girls. The dad was just about to hand me a $5 bill. I said, ‘I can’t take [it].’ My service was that I watched the girls for free.” A Primary child in Mongolia wrote that he had brought in water from the well so his mother would not have to do so. From a 4-year-old boy, no doubt written by a Primary teacher: “My dad is gone for army training for a few weeks. My special job is to give my mom hugs and kisses.” Wrote a 9-year-old girl: “I picked strawberries for my great-grandma. I felt good inside!” And another: “I played with a lonely kid.” From an 11-year-old boy: “I went to a lady’s house and asked her questions and sang her a song. It felt good to visit her. She was happy because she never gets visitors.” Reading this particular note reminded me of words penned long ago by Elder Richard L. Evans of the Quorum of the Twelve. Said he: “It is difficult for those who are young to understand the loneliness that comes when life changes from a time of preparation and performance to a time of putting things away. . . . To be so long the center of a home, so much sought after, and then, almost suddenly to be on the sidelines watching the procession pass by—this is living into loneliness. . . . We have to live a long time to learn how empty a room can be that is filled only with furniture. It takes someone . . . beyond mere hired service, beyond institutional care or professional duty, to thaw out the memories of the past and keep them warmly living in the present. . . . We cannot bring them back the morning hours of youth. But we can help them live in the warm glow of a sunset made more beautiful by our thoughtfulness . . . and unfeigned love.”11 My birthday cards and notes came also from teenagers in Young Men and Young Women classes who made blankets for hospitals, served in food pantries, were baptized for the dead, and performed numerous other acts of service. Relief Societies, where help can always be found, provided service above and beyond that which they would normally have given. Priesthood groups did the same. My brothers and sisters, my heart has seldom been as touched and grateful as it was when Sister Monson and I literally spent hours reading of these gifts. My heart is full now as I speak of the experience and contemplate the lives which have been blessed as a result, for both the giver and the receiver. The words from the 25th chapter of Matthew come to mind: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: “Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. “Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? “When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? “Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”12 My brothers and sisters, may we ask ourselves the question which greeted Dr. Jack McConnell and his brothers and sisters each evening at dinnertime: “What have I done for someone today?” May the words of a familiar hymn penetrate our very souls and find lodgment in our hearts:
That service to which all of us have been called is the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. As He enlists us to His cause, He invites us to draw close to Him. He speaks to you and to me: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”14 If we truly listen, we may hear that voice from far away say to us, as it spoke to another, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”15 That each may qualify for this blessing from our Lord is my prayer, and I offer it in His name, even Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen. |
|
|