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  1. I have a fantasy that involves Trump, Biden and CONTROL-ALT-DELETE. Then I wake up to a Dystopian world in which these two are the main candidates for POTUS. I used to call myself a conservative. Now I am moderately so. I really haven't changed, but the world and the Republicans have. For example, I believe that the US should support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. We should counter Chinese ambitions. I used to be considered a bit of a hawk and an anti-communist. Now, Trump and Tucker label me a globalist and say that folks like me (well, Ben Shapiro to be honest) don't love America. Of course, the alternative is Biden and Harris. So, I'm at a loss. Any counsel?
    5 points
  2. MrShorty

    Kirtland Temple!

    If it might interest anyone, this short (3 minute) video features Apostle Lachlan Mackay of Community of Christ sharing his feelings regarding this transaction. I'm not sure why this seems important to me. Maybe just to remind us that, while our branch of the Restoration is celebrating today, another branch of the Restoration is probably experiencing some mixed emotions.
    5 points
  3. I dislike certain tags that oversimplify and distort matters, such as the "Two-Cumorah Theory". Rather than state the matter as "there were two or perhaps more hills called Cumorah", which, though possible, sounds clearly like a stretch (or a tautology—"King Lear was not written by William Shakespeare, but by another playwright of the same name"), a better statement would be, "Perhaps the very name 'Hill Cumorah' simply means the hill chosen to house records." If we assume that records were always hidden somewhere on a hill so that (1) they would be marked by an easily recognizable landmark and (2) they would shed rainfall, it's easy to see that such a hill might become generally known as "Records Hill". Those concerned with record-keeping would quickly learn to look for the Records Hill in an area. If "Cumorah" denotes written records or a storage place for them, then this identification makes perfect sense. Of course, it's still an unsupported assertion, really just speculation. But it certainly has great explanatory value for those who believe the literal truth of the Book of Mormon and the narrative that it provides, and it doesn't immediately raise suspicion and mockery like "Two-Cumorah Theory" does.
    5 points
  4. For over a decade, I've felt that pretty much all politicians on the federal level, follow two great commandments above all else: 1. Thou shalt get elected and gain power. 2. Thou shalt remain elected and increase power. That viewpoint has helped me decipher pretty much everything every politician says and does. So, a political party is more a reflection on that party's power brokers (people and entities who can influence votes), than it is of any particular platform or ideology. Trump seems to be a far superior deal maker than the rest of 'em. I truly believe if he had won his 2nd term, Russia wouldn't have invaded Ukraine. Trump would have made a deal with Putin, probably over NATO expansion and energy. Also this:
    4 points
  5. I'll go further. The Republican Party is corrupt, and many or most Republican leaders are also corrupt and care about power and influence much more than freedom and liberty. Of the two major parties that have been thrust upon us, the Republicans are significantly less corrupt and awful than the Democrats, which is why I nominally support the Republicans. But I am under no illusions as to the purity of the Republican cause. My feelings about the Republicans are in line with my feelings about Donald Trump and a potential second Trump administration: It's much better than the alternative, but that does not make it ideal, or even particularly good.
    4 points
  6. Well, BYU is the home of various organizations that preserve and digitize records related to Judaism and Christianity, and we've been partnering with the Community of Christ's historian's office on this and other artifacts and documents for a long time. The original manuscript (including the 1823 Bible Joseph used in the work) is scanned and free online: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/the-papers/revelations-and-translations/jsppr5 But yes, it's nice to have things, and I'm very excited. I remember in the 1980's, people with passionate opinions about when we'd finally get the temple and the manuscript. I'm surprised the CoC has held on to them for so long, especially when we've been offering real $$$ for them for a long time.
    4 points
  7. mikbone

    Kirtland Temple!

    Bet we will be using the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible quite a bit more in our classes. 192.5 M well spent.
    4 points
  8. A big part of why we're spending so much money on our military is because our ostensible allies spend so little on theirs.
    4 points
  9. We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown.
    4 points
  10. ZealoulyStriving

    Jesus being mean

    A couple years ago as I read about the cleansing of the temple I noticed Christ's mercy in the incident, specifically for the sellers of doves. The money changers I'm sure kept immaculate records, so they could easily sort out the mess later. Herd animals are often marked in some way and/or know their owner's voice, so they could be gathered. But the doves... If they scattered they would be lost and income lost. What did Jesus do: "And (Jesus) said unto them that sold doves, 'Take these things hence...'" He wasn't there being mean, trying to destroy their livelihoods. They just needed to do it somewhere else. ZealouslyStriving (Mosiah 27:35)
    4 points
  11. Amazing. Whenever I need to feel a little hope for the human race, I go look at what SpaceX's latest milestone.
    3 points
  12. mirkwood

    Mosiah 15:4

    Think of "they" in context of an organization. Example: Officer Mirkwood works in Utah. He is part of the police. They work together to solve crimes.
    3 points
  13. zil2

    Mosiah 15:4

    It's an interesting question. In our day, we emphasize that each member of the Godhead is a distinct individual, but all united in purpose. In no small part, this is to counter the false teaching of the Trinity. The Book of Mormon people had never heard of the Trinity, but being from among the Jews, the idea of only one God would have been hyper-important to them. This is reflected in the Book of Mormon text where, despite knowing of each member of the Godhead, they seem to go out of their way to emphasize that there is only one God. There's no telling whether, in their heads, they thought of three distinct persons, each being God, or whether they thought of three distinct persons acting together as a "God-unit", or something else entirely. The fact is that They are one, so each individual is God, and any subset of Them is God, and all of Them together are God. (And trying to figure out / remember the capitalization rules is making me wish I was born in Germany...)
    3 points
  14. mikbone

    Kirtland Temple!

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/sacred-sites-and-historic-documents-transfer-to-church-of-jesus-christ
    3 points
  15. The Folk Prophet

    Kirtland Temple!

    3. It's always a bit odd to me to have a lay member state they're not sure how comfortable they are with something the church did as if the church is not led by God.
    3 points
  16. Vort

    Kirtland Temple!

    I think this is rather more similar to buying a gallon of milk from a store that also sells cigarettes and booze. Engaging in a financial transaction could certainly be considered "supporting" someone or something, but that's a problematic stance to take for an organization that does not want to be isolationist.
    3 points
  17. Daniel Peterson has a few personal anecdotes to share about the CoC. It's a pretty interesting read. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2024/03/a-few-more-thoughts-on-the-kirtland-temple-deal.html
    3 points
  18. JohnsonJones

    Kirtland Temple!

    The CoC SHOULD BE A WARNING about the dangers of trying to go with mainstream Christianity. The Churches that are staying with their more traditional teachings and values are (in general) staying stronger with their membership (though most are also still declining if it is a larger church) than those that have tried to "modernize" and "mainstream" their various religions. I think the Temple in Missouri (theirs) will be one of the last things they would let go, and 190 million will keep them going for a good while at least. Interestingly enough, this is similar to one of the original divisions within the Islamic religion. The question of whether the successor to Mohammad should be his son Ali or a council of others. This caused a division in the religion that has animosity between the both sides from back then during the division to the present day. At least we are not angry and violent towards each other like the divisions of Islam caused.
    3 points
  19. I consider them dear distant Cousins who left the family long ago, and have fallen upon hard times, and we figured out how to help them financially. Reading through their FAQ is sort of disheartening.
    3 points
  20. When Sotomayor and Jackson both join the majority in a unanimous decision, you know you're an idiot for your illegal actions. What an unmitigated failure for Colorado. What a rebuke to the orchestrating Democrats and other leftists. What a deep embarrassment to any sentient American who supported such a farcical move.
    3 points
  21. J6 just made life weird. I'm used to being online interacting with lefties and atheists and church critics, and sometimes it seems like the sky in their world just isn't the same color as the sky in my world. And here in a post-J6 world, I encounter a constant slew of folks on the right, my people, folks who think and vote like me, just saying such weird stuff about J6, that I wonder if the color of their sky is the same color as my sky. @Jedi_Nephite, of course many of the horrible things that happened on J6 were "done by right-wing extremists". I'm amazed that anyone could possibly argue against such an obvious set of facts. Q-anon, Proud Boys, and Oathkeepers are 100% the dictionary definition of "right-wing", and a crapton of them fit the "extremist" definition like a glove. 1200 folks arrested, ~730 guilty pleas, ~165 convicted at trial. Each one of 'em more red-blooded right wing American than the last one. An awful lot of convictions for seditious conspiracy from those folks. I mean yes, there were also neo-nazis and white supremacists and neo-confederates and kkk folks and that Mormon cosplayer guy who showed up dressed like Captain Moroni with his Title of Liberty. Those people can't be called "right wing", although the media sure pushes that narrative on occasion. But holy crap - how can anyone who has given even a cursory scan of the facts, claim that "what happened was not done by right wing extremists"? There I was - sitting in my basement office during Covid remote-work lockdown. On one screen, I was doing my work. On the other screen, I was watching Trump's "stop the steal" rally. Holy, holy, holy, HOLY CRAP was Trump, and Guliani, and especially Trump's son yelling crap into their microphones. Stoking outrage. Claiming foul. Demanding action. Whipping up the crowd into marching on the capitol with inflammatory phrases like "go march and demand justice", and "take back our government". Not so much Trump, but yes Guliani, and especially Trump's son. About an hour before we started seeing the news of people breaking in and doing damage, I came upstairs and expressed serious concern to my wife. "I don't understand what the crap Trump is doing. Doesn't he realize that the most mentally-ill and the fringe-est of the fringe are listening to him and getting ready to start hurting people and get themselves arrested?" Trump was charged for "incitement of insurrection" by the house, (who impeached him over it and the senate acquitted him of it after he had left office). So yeah, nobody got convicted of insurrection. Just seditious conspiracy. And not Trump. "Donald Trump never said anything even remotely close to inciting an insurrection." Ugh. What an impossible opinion to defend. He did indeed begin instructing people to be peaceful, but not until after all the horrible had happened. The march hit the capitol a little after 2PM. Pence and the Senators, engaged in certifying the election, had to stop certifying the election, and started getting evacuated around 2:13. The peaceful transition of power, a founding cornerstone of our great republic, was interrupted by the people who hit the capitol. These people had been whipped up into action by Trump, Guliani, and Trump Jr. This didn't happen until 2:38 PM. Look at the time stamp on the tweet, and do the math to convert to Eastern Standard Time: Trump's later appeal for calm happened at 3:13 PM. His video for calm happened even later. I'm a fan of fiery protests. I'm a fan of people swarming the streets and demanding change. I'm a fan of "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances". I'm not a fan of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bodycam_video_taken_at_US_Capitol,_January_6,_2021.webm I'm not a fan of this (34:20 is when Ashley Babbit begins getting herself shot): https://archive.org/details/nYiFQbNc65jwFYCWY?start=1993 Look, my fellow conservatives. Our side screwed up royally on J6. If we're gonna have problems with Antifa and BLM riots, and defend what happened on J6, then we're just as hypocritical as the folks who defend Antifa and BLM riots, but have problems with J6. Don't be like that.
    3 points
  22. National Review is good for conservative commentary and insights. What I like about the WSJ is that it's news section is rated as moderate, while its editorial section is moderately conservative. It hasn't joined the Trump Train, but still leans into a pro-America, pro-free enterprise perspective. It's faith friendly, though not specifically religious. I just searched and found out that The Weekly Standard still exists (editor = Bill Krystol). It's conservative, but I'm sure Trump would label it Globalist. I always remember one colleague saying that I cheated when it came to news because I read (rather than listen/watch). 😉
    3 points
  23. I generally go to the Wall Street Journal, but sometimes read the Federalist, New York Post, and Real Clear Politics. What better source(s) do you have in mind?
    3 points
  24. If we were looking at a repeat of Trump's first four years, this would be easy. A super majority SCOTUS. Excellent. The problem is that we have our judges and Trump presents as an isolationist. Further, he's driven away some of his most redeeming supporters (Pence and Barr--remember that BOP was under the DOJ during Barr's tenure--he was a solid leader). I support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan--I'm not sure Trump will. Biden's weak--but at least he's on board. Harris? All bets are off with her. BUT Trump is an isolationist and a protectionist. He also seems to feed the worst elements--both his supporters and his enemies. Those 80% of us in between just watch in horror.
    3 points
  25. I hated voting for Trump in 2016 and 2020. For reasons outlined by @JohnsonJonesI might not be able to do it this time. If I vote for Biden it'll be my first Democrat vote for President since I began voting (previous millenium). God is good. This election is tough.
    3 points
  26. How can an eclipse be a sign of the end of times when eclipses have always occurred throughout history? Hear ye, hear ye, in the end of days something will happen that......has happened since the earth, sun and moon were created and put in their orbits. But....you know...THIS time it's a sign....
    3 points
  27. Jamie123

    Abortion

    Many, many years ago a very good friend of mine had an abortion. She was a girl i used to hang out with a lot (not a girlfriend) and we used to watch movies together and eat pizza, and I'd go to her apartment to keep her company when she was feeling down. (And no I wasn't the father, in case you were wondering.) She didn't tell me about the abortion until afterwards, which in some ways was a good thing, because had I known I would have pulled out every stop to talk her out of it - including offering to pay for the child's upbringing myself. My own family would have then called me an idiot, but I know what I'd have told them: "All death diminishes me for I am involved in mankind" (which I've probably misquoted). As it was, all I could do was try to be supportive of her. Anything else would not have brought the baby back.
    3 points
  28. laronius

    I come quickly

    JS Matthew 1:48 Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. We know that if we are wise and understand the scriptures we can know the season in which Christ will return but not the specific day or hour. This verse seems to imply that even if we know the season we may still be surprised when it actually happens. It makes me wonder what the conditions will be like so as to make His coming unexpected. I was watching a YouTube video yesterday where the guy was performing some pretty serious prophetic gymnastics to make this General Conference as a possible time of His coming. While I gave him a really low overall score I did award him some difficulty points. 😃 But it did make me wonder about two different possibilities for an unexpected Second Coming. The first is that some signs are fulfilled without us fully realizing it (which this guy was relying heavily upon). The second is that certain events happen so quickly that it just catches us off guard how quickly things transpire. This second theory would seem to support the idea of a hastening and the times being cut short. While I don't think things will happen so quickly as to make this General Conference a viable candidate it does make me wonder just how quickly it could take place.
    3 points
  29. After years of study and meditation (which recently I had several years to do) I finally realized it's about authority and the temple. When Israel's priests weren't behaving well, where could the people take their sacrifices? They still had to take them to the same priests at the same temple. So, using that scriptural precedent - even IF the Church is having issues, your access to eternal temple covenants remains with the authorities of the Church. ZealouslyStriving (Mosiah 27:35)
    3 points
  30. Anddenex

    I come quickly

    When I think of this scripture a few things come to my mind. The first is when Christ said to Peter, paraphrased, "Before the cock crows thrice you will deny me thrice." The hour or time for this to come wasn't known but it did come quickly. In the moment, Peter could have easily seen what was happening, but it wasn't until the third crow that the prophesy did prick him. This highlights that members of the Church who are not read (prepared for) the signs of Christ coming will come as a thief in the night. Also, Peter did not believe this would be the case, so when the cock was crowing his mental state dismissed the first and the second. For some, they will dismiss the signs because they do not believe these are the signs. The second is that we are aware of a general assembly that will happen. We understand Adam will preside (if I'm remembering correctly) and Christ will come to his people at this assembly. These people will not be surprised as to the day and hour the Lord will come again. This brings back to my remembrance the words of Nephi when they were in a time of need and the Lord said, "Tomorrow I come into the world." (paraphrased) If we believe in the signs, if we have studied the signs, we will be watching and we will be prepared. The Spirit, like with Nephi, will bare witness of the Lord's return to those who are listening. To those who are not, it will be similar to the Nephites at Christ's first coming to them. The Spirit spoke (or the Father here) and they comprehended it not. Or like Amulek, who said something to this nature the Lord did call but I did not listen.
    3 points
  31. I noticed this for the first time when Hilary was running. The amount of hate directed at her from the hard left surprised the heck out of me. But it made sense after a little thought. 15+ years ago, Democrats were the people-friendly anti-corporatists, and Republicans were the pro-business fans of deregulation. By the time Hilary was on the ticket, we all knew the Dems were all making millions with insider stock trades, in bed with big business and lobbyists. They were livid that Hil and Trump were basically both (in their minds) corrupt capitalists bankrolled by big business. In fact, it was from a hard leftie that I got this pic: Agreed. They're all about supporting the 2020-21 BLM civil unrest, but they do it by wearing blinders and refusing to acknowledge the lawlessness/rioting/looting/destruction/violence. The average democrat or liberal has zero interest in actually moving onto the street and trying to do something themselves. They're all about having government do the things with other people's money. As for J6, I'm grateful they found, arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced so many. 98% of what happened that day was just fine, but holy crap that 2% was a doozie.
    3 points
  32. As long as we're talking about hymns we don't like, how about "I Believe in Christ" - I mean, yeah, true teachings and all that, but I really dislike the tune, tempo, and I don't know what, but I'm not just indifferent, I dislike it. :glances upward to see if lightning bolts are inbound: My list of "favorite" hymns is ridiculously long, and yes, "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" is one of my favorites. "How Firm a Foundation" might top the list.
    3 points
  33. The washing of feet was an ordinance. That is completely not understood by wider Christianity—by pretty much anyone who is not a Latter-day Saint—though it's glaringly obvious to us. They turn the washing of feet into a cheap trope for treating strangers nicely. But even beyond that, a point that it's hard to hold non-LDS responsible for missing, the commercial is a disaster on many levels. It's condescending, filled with leftist tropes, unchallenging, hippie-Jesus, about as tasty and satisfying as overcooked pasta with no sauce or butter. Matt Walsh had what I consider to be a very good take on this.
    3 points
  34. "HIPY PAPY BTHUTHDTH THUTHDA BTHUTHDY"
    3 points
  35. Deseretdog

    Deseretdog

    Thank you all. I'm hoping to get a little theological insight and exposure to some different views. So far everything that I have researched resonates with me much more than other denominations but my more importantly, my most powerful experience with feeling the spirit came when I was listening to a sermon? at General conference I believe by president? Nelson.
    2 points
  36. mikbone

    Enos 1:3-8

    Word change The song (I am a child of God) was first performed at a stake Primary conference in 1957. Several years later, apostle Spencer W. Kimball asked the Primary general board if the phrase "Teach me all that I must know / To live with him someday" could be changed to "Teach me all that I must do / To live with him someday". As Kimball later explained, "To know isn't enough. The devils know and tremble; the devils know everything. We have to do something." The Primary general board accepted the change.
    2 points
  37. Vort

    Enos 1:3-8

    Notice that the answer to "How is it done?" is not a lesson in the details of divine spiritual mechanics. Nothing like "if one who is innocent willingly accepts the natural consequence of blah blah blah" here, just an immediate reference to the blood of Christ—literally, HOW one accesses forgiveness. Like someone asking, "How do I get to the 104th floor of this skyscraper?", and the respondent not launching into a lecture about stairs and incremental rises against gravity or counterweights and electric motors, but rather just pointing the guy toward the elevator door.
    2 points
  38. JohnsonJones

    Mosiah 15:4

    To echo what @Traveler stated above, up until recently (and possibly still today in some locations) the Ruler of a Nation and certain individuals under them would be counted as the same individual in some instances. In some Middle Eastern Cultures slavery was common. There were slaves that were your right hand of power and control (probably somewhat like what Joseph was in Egypt). These slaves were seen as basically part of you. They were extensions of your voice and will. Whatever they said was what YOU were saying. To defy them was to defy YOU. When they came, they would be seen as YOU in the flesh and treated as such. For all intents and purposes, unless you were together, they would be seen as you in many instances (obviously NOT YOU, but also because of their position to act in your place, basically as you). In this dynamic we see some classes of slaves as a HIGHER class in society than freemen. This is because the slaves reported directly to the ruler and as such, were held in higher esteem than those who were not part of this slave class. This was most often seen with slaves (as they were owned totally by their master and as such, when loyal, were seen as an extension of that master. A slave could be killed at whim if they disobeyed or did what their master did not desire...whereas a free servant was not so easily done away with), however, on occasion it could also be seen as done with a servant as well. On occasion this is also done with Dynastic rulership where the Son is considered an extension of the ruler. Not entirely the same, but a similar vein could be seen with Young King Henry who was crowned King under his father King Henry II. He was King, but his father had the reins of power. Now, he didn't have as close or as good a relationship as those I spoke of above, but when he was acting in line with his father's wishes, the easiest way for people to talk about them and who they were differently was relating in a way such as one was the king and the other was the young king. (Interestingly enough, as Young King Henry died before his father, he is not counted among the Kingly line of Kings of England).
    2 points
  39. I'm not sure that's the end all of the temple recommend question though. When I'm asked if I keep the Word of Wisdom and say yes it's in light of no coffee, tea, alcohol, or tobacco usage. But..... I often consider whether my eating and drinking choices are in alignment with the Word of Wisdom and make adjustments. I don't think if I confessed that I sometimes have drunk too much Dr. Pepper that any church leader would say, "Well...then we can't issue you your temple recommend, garumph, harumph." But that doesn't mean it's all hunky-dory for me to be pounding 300oz of the stuff in a day.
    2 points
  40. More like "If you don't hire our services, how can you be sure that you won't get canceled for doing something wrong?". It's basically an updated version of the "Nice place you've got here; shame if something happened to it" bit that protection rackets always say in the movies.
    2 points
  41. Correct. It's the financial term. An "endowment" is a big pile of money that sits in income generating investments. You spend the income generated, not the endowment. And there's usually respect and praise for whoever donated the big pile of money. You can endow a college, and get a chair (or even a building) named after you.
    2 points
  42. Stop! Says the Constitution, Before you break the law, Think it over ....
    2 points
  43. I’m confused as to why anyone would take any of the J6 accusations of “insurrection” seriously. It’s been well established that what happened was not done by “right-wing extremists.” Furthermore, those who listened to his speech that morning, know that Donald Trump never said anything even remotely close to inciting an insurrection. In fact, he said the exact opposite. He instructed everyone to be peaceful. But…Donald Trump said it, so he was really telling them to incite violence. Right? Also, those implying that Republicans trying to challenge the 2020 election are just doing the same thing that the Democrats did in the previous election, get real. Anyone who can do basic math knows that the results from the 2020 election don’t add up. In Detroit, on the night of the election, where thousands of ballots miraculously appeared overnight in favor of Biden, after Trump was winning, the election workers covered the windows during the count so that the public would not be able to see what was going on. And don’t get me started on changing the rules before the election, along with all of the ballot harvesting. It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to know that there was blatant cheating going on. People were questioning things before Republicans even said anything about it, but they did have a right and a duty to challenge it. I just wish they wouldn’t have given up so easily. I also don’t understand this idea of “Well, I want to be fair minded and impartial, so to prove that to myself and to others, instead of actually looking at the truth, I’m just going to claim that both sides are equally guilty.” Please. While the Republican Party certainly has its own issues, the biggest problem is that it has been infiltrated by the left. However, in no way whatsoever are the Republicans wrong on this issue.
    2 points
  44. It's been a while since I've read much in the Old Testament but the story of ancient Israel being lead out of captivity, rejecting God, traveling in the wilderness for many years before entering into the promised land is a theme we find all throughout the history of God working His children. It's found all through the scriptures, in the temple, our own church history, and in our individual lives to one degree or another. We have stake conference this weekend and one of the speakers in the adult session yesterday referenced Moses ascending up into Mount Sinai to commune with God. It got me thinking about how even though they eventually got into the promised land, the real destination was always in their midst, the temple or tabernacle. And while the temple became the center of their worship they always seem to struggle with moving beyond the physical manifestations of their beliefs into the things of the Spirit. So much so that when God/Jesus in a sense came down out of the mountain to them they still wanted nothing to do with Him unless He was willing to feed them like Moses did. There are a lot of, I don't want to call them fringe benefits of the gospel because they are important, things like community and a shelter from the world and purpose, but at the end of the day we are individually being asked to ascend up into the mountain of the Lord and commune with Him. But we are sometimes content to just enjoy the manna that membership in the Church brings and ignore or procrastinate the most central point of it all, content in the idea that the promised land is some future destination, meanwhile it's in our very midst.
    2 points
  45. It's bad enough voting for the least of two evils, this year it's the least scary. 🤷‍♀️
    2 points
  46. mirkwood

    Coming eclipse

    Here's the actual quote about the missionaries. Heber C. Kimball, Deseret News, May 23, 1931. “An army of Elders will be sent to the four quarters of the earth to search out the righteous and warn the wicked of what is coming. All kinds of religions will be started and miracles performed that will deceive the very elect if such were possible. Our sons and daughters must live pure lives so as to be prepared for what is coming. After a while the gentiles will gather to this place by the thousands, and Salt Lake City will be classed among the wicked cities of the world. A spirit of speculation and extravagance will take possession of the Saints, and the result will be financial bondage. Persecution comes next and all true Latter-Day Saints will be tested to the limit. Many will apostatize and others will stand still, not knowing what to do. Darkness will cover the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. The judgments of God will be poured out upon the wicked to the extent that our Elders from far and near will be called home, or in other words the gospel will be taken from the Gentiles and later on be carried to the Jews. The western boundary of the State of Missouri will be swept so clean of its inhabitants that as President Young tells us, ‘When you return to that place, there will not be left so much as a yellow dog to wag his tail.’ Before that day comes, however, the Saints will be put to tests that will try the integrity of the best of them. The pressure will become so great that the more righteous among them will cry unto the Lord day and night until deliverance comes.
    2 points
  47. I'm always happy to see Giving Machine-related news: Givers and receivers blessed by record donations at 2023 Light the World Giving Machines Warms my heart.
    2 points
  48. Ironhold

    Abortion

    It's been my experience that such individuals who "know" so much about the rest of the world have rarely, if ever, actually left their tiny little bubble within their large, usually coastal, city. ...And whenever someone calls them out on it, they have some excuse for having never left.
    2 points
  49. I strongly disagree. J6 was the act of right-wing extremists. Left wing extremists have no love for Biden. Liberal Dems will weep if Biden loses, but there won't be an insurrection. Liberals don't have the stomach for that. Investigations, perhaps, but nothing outside the official bureaucratic channels.
    2 points
  50. I sang hymns to my children for bedtime while they were little. A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief was one of the most popular—perhaps the most popular, often requested and greatly enjoyed. Secretly, I have never been a huge fan of the hymn. I mean, it's fine, nice message and all, but it has always seemed a bit maudlin and overwrought to me. Plus it has like twenty-eight verses, all pretty much restating the same theme of some hapless soul in need of charity who, in receiving the care, seems to give it back in manifold* measure. My wife likes it better than I do. But for some reason, my children just loved it. So I'm not sure why it's so popular, but it seems to strike an almost universal chord in the hearts of hearers, including my own children. *I've been working on my son's car with him, so I guess certain words are on my mind.
    2 points