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Dude just turn that into your signature at this point!!!

You aren’t missing a thing. We are cautioned even in those “rare things”

Elder Bednar believes agency is the least understood gospel principle. Do you think his comments would indicate that it's our responsibility not to justify the sins of others? I'm sure he's mostly speaking of our individual actions, but he also mentioned our agency being enlarged, which I take it as impacting more than just self.

I'm seeing lots of active members of the church show their support for the pro-choice movement. I've always felt like pro-choice was incompatible with the views of the church. Am I wrong here? God is pro-choice in the sense that he gives everyone the freedom to choose. But, if you took a covenant to represent Christ, I expect your support to align with Christ, and not the world. Yes, I realize that other people have their agency. But, what about the agency of the unborn that is being completely ignored? Am I missing something? Obviously we allow for the rare exceptions such as the life of the mother being threatened, rape, and incest. But, what about all of those elective abortions? How can a pro-life stance be consistent with the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

What is your intention with the missionaries? Are you trying to engage in a specific discussion?

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You know who I like? Paula Abdul. 3 releases over 7 years, appears with Zoe on Sesame Street, then ditches the industry and lives her life full.

I'm not a Sunday School teacher, but I sub pretty regularly. I usually ask what everyone has learned - or what questions they may have had from the lesson material. If no one raises their hand, these are the steps that I more-or-less follow for facilitating/moderating Sunday School. 1. Begin by giving a decent amount of context on what the Israelites were facing (or Saul, David, Solomon, whoever). 2. Ask a class member to read an important passage of scripture from the week's reading 3. Follow-up with that class member that just read - and ask what their thoughts are on the scripture 4. Give my own impressions on the verses that were just read. Talk about the teachings of the church concerning that specific topic, whether it be on complaining, seeking after other gods, or trying too much to fit into the culture of another land. 5. Talk about how those principles are relevant in our day and time. 6. Ask open-ended questions to the class. i.e. How might we be tempted to fall into the exact same traps as the Israelites? And what are ways we can check ourselves not to fall victim to these outside pressures? 7. Let the class take over. Ultimately, the spirit will take over. There's revelation scattered all over the room. The more we stay focused on a specific issue and a specific doctrine, and build off of each other, the more I feel like we understand a passage of scripture in the spirit in which the author intended it to be understood. I will insert thoughts from time-to-time related to the discussion - and will sometimes reel the class back in if we veer too far from the topic. 8. If the discussion dies down, then I proceed to the next portion of the lesson - and repeat the cycle. Usually classroom comments take up 80-90% of the class time. That's the way it's intended to be, IMO. It's really cool when the doctrine is taught, the spirit is felt, and you can see people's eyes just light up.

I've read Gene's 2001 autobiography "KISS and Make-Up". I bought Paul's autobiography at one point, but when I went to go looking for it I couldn't find it; best guess is that it must be one of the books that went to storage to make room when some family decided to come up for the holidays one year. I have some medical bills I need to square (I'm finally getting some checkups done after years of drama with my insurance provider) and so I'm going to have to hold off on getting Ace's autobiography. I don't think Peter has written one yet, and I doubt Vinnie would have been able to convince anyone to publish his after his rather massive fall from grace. Other recent autobiographies I've read include one from Bruce Campbell and one from NBC CEO Grant Tinker. I've got Kari Byron's autobiography that I'm working through, and I have a book written by Lee Iacoca to get to as well.

Very cool. Kiss fans have always been a pretty weird bunch.

Generally speaking, every year there's at least one inductee who is seemingly selected because of their name and its potential ability to get people watching the actual induction ceremony. This year it's Dolly Parton, who actually *refused* to accept the nomination but was inducted anyway as she'd legitimately gotten enough votes. Actual figures in the world of rock and roll have been quite critical of this, ranging from classic acts like Chubby Checker whose admission is long overdue to modern figures like radio host Lou Brutus ("Hard Drive with Lou Brutus" and "Hard Drive XL") who have been in the industry long enough to see it happen time and time again. ** If I could select a full year's inductees all on my own? Non-Performer: Casey Kasem Early Influencer: Chubby Checker Sideman: Rudy Sarzo Inductees: The Runaways (putting Joan Jett in the Hall twice), Montrose (putting Sammy Hagar in the Hall twice), The Scorpions, Chic, Rainbow (putting Richie Blackmore in the Hall twice), UFO, Judas Priest I'd also introduce the "Significant Member" rule, where members who weren't in the "classic" or "famous" line-up but who made a significant contribution to the group and/or achieved fame in their own right would be inducted as well, especially retroactively. Under this rule, my above proposals would also mean that Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath, Rainbow) and Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO) would be in the Hall twice.

I'm an entertainment writer IRL. It's *literally* my job to know these things.

True I'm a huge fan of Billy Joel's work. But I've become disappointed in him personally. He flat out admitted that he really doesn't have a love for music. He's only in the business to bed women. He achieved every teen boy's dream when he married Christie Brinkley, then disappointed everyone when they he divorced because the most beautiful woman in the world just wasn't enough for him. Later in fife he got heavy into drugs and he's now looking at a lonely retirement where he doesn't even have much of a relationship with his daughter (although things are still positive, the relationship isn't really there). And who knows how many others he has fathered? But he gets to pal around with Elton John (who helped him through the drug phase). Meanwhile Christie carries on a close relationship with her two daughters. She's become the "model" of how to age gracefully. At 65 she did a runway show and also graced the cover of Sports Illustrated with both daughters.

Look, there is a certain class of man that is absolutely terrified of the possibility that every sexual encounter may result in a years-long child support obligation. And the entertainment industry is full of such men. For the most part, they’re terrible people—dysfunctional and often overtly predatory. Always have been, and likely always will be. Frankly, their patriotism (or lack thereof) is the least of our problems: their products—music, film, television, and now internet-based—are shaping the way our kids think about relationships and their own futures.

Yes. Whenever the rioters are leftist, it's much more important to disperse the riot. Only the rare conservative riots merit actually arresting and charging the rioters.

Wow. I didn't know that. I've never been particularly attracted to the R&R HOF, and now it appears my lack of interest has been vindicated.

I think you’ve pretty much nailed it. Zion constructs, Babylon deconstructs. Zion produces, Babylon consumes. Zion is inherently orderly, Babylon necessarily chaotic. Zion produces the milk; Babylon can only skim the cream.

He can still be an idiot... he'll just be an idiot somewhere else.

Very cool. Always nice to see someone that devoted to their favorite bands.

The problem is more than just red states verses blue states. It also tends to be cosmopolitan verses rural. Even in a very red state like Utah the high population area of downtown Salt Lake City tips towards the blue Democrats. Manufacturing and agriculture tends to be more red where as tech and medical tend towards blue. And there are always exceptions. I tend to think that the USA will follow more along the lines of Israel and Ireland with pockets of opposition where there are areas where one just does not mix with the other. Perhaps fashion and style choices will determine with what side one has chosen. The prophetic division uses the symbols of Zion and Babylon. Most of us have a good idea what Babylon looks and acts like - but Zion??? We think of Babylon as the rich and prosperous and Zion as the industrious hard workers. I can see why the Zion population would not want to be involved with Babylon but I cannot envision why Babylon would be interested in Zion? All I have to go on comes from the Book of Mormon where the Gadianton Robbers seem to believe that they have the "right" to rule over the workers (Standard Socialists model) telling them what is freedom and liberty is. The Traveler

Founding line-up: Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss. Ace and Peter both fell pretty hard into substance abuse. Musician Anton Fig, who you might recall as being part of David Letterman's house band, actually ghosted for him on much of the "Dynasty" album because Peter's ability to perform had deteriorated that badly. Peter eventually quit after Gene and Paul made him re-audition, and he was replaced by Eric Carr. Carr adopted the "Fox" gimmick and costume. Ace eventually quit the group in frustration a few years later, a consequence of his substance abuse issues and the resulting clash of egos. Vinnie Vincent had been working with the band as a studio musician, so he was chosen to be Ace's replacement. He adopted the "Warlock" gimmick and costume. However, Vinnie's character didn't get over with fans, and with MTV already making their brand of stage theatrics redundant the decision was made to drop the make-up. Vinnie was fired after a single album due to murky behind-the-scenes matters that nobody is really all that keen on talking about but likely involved some sort of royalty disputes. He was replaced by Mark St. John, who only performed with the group for a single album before he had to seek treatment for a rare form of arthritis. Bruce Kulick came in to replace St. John. Eric Carr developed stomach cancer, and the band members ordered him to bed rest, not realizing that the cancer was already at such a state that Eric was *literally* living for the band; he wasn't long for the world after that, something Paul has expressed deep regrets about. Eric Singer, who had worked with some of the band members before on side projects, was called in. Vinnie came back for one album pleading severe financial distress, only to be fired a second time over the same murky issues. It would later be discovered that Vinnie owed another record label a large sum of money after he'd abused his corporate line of credit. Ace and Peter worked their way back into the group for a few years, only to be shown the door again due to a series of personal disputes and arguments over compensation. Eric Singer would come back as drummer, but both St. John and Kulick were busy with side projects. Thus, former Black & Blue guitarist Tommy Thayer, who had been working as Gene's assistant and who had been involved with famous KISS cover group Cold Gin was tapped to round out the roster. Eric Singer has actually been behind the drums longer than Peter Criss ever was, while Thayer is coming up on outlasting Ace Frehley.

Sometimes dispersing the riot is more important than arresting the riot.

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Oh! I never knew that. I’m not much of a Kiss fan.

*Chubby Checker* is still waiting to get in, yet acts like Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Tupac, and Biggie got in on their first years of eligibility. Meanwhile, many acts who do get in find out that only select members are being inducted, regardless of overall contribution. For example, KISS refused to attend the ceremony because only the founding four members were inducted, as they felt that every member of the group should be in the Hall; this is a pretty big deal, as Gene Simmons & Vinnie Vincent hate each other yet Gene essentially stood up for Vinnie in this regards. It'd probably take several years at this point for the Hall to get back on track regarding bands and non-performers who have long since earned their spot yet have been forced to wait.