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One of the things I like about X and reddit's r/latterdaysaints is that the number of Church members participating means lots of good stuff cycling through to edify your day. This one is well worth sharing, IMO, and contains things I have not heard before, so I'm sharing it here. I recommend we use this thread as our "feed" to share good stuff we run across.

There is a story that goes round in my ward from time to time. When my wife's grandfather was Bishop a sister approached him who felt she couldn't afford tithing. Together they struck a deal, she would pay an honest tithe, and he would give her the exact amount she had paid as a church welfare payment. This way, she is still honouring the commandment, and it gave her a bit of flexibility to organise her finances. After only 2 months, the sister decided she didn't need the welfare anymore, and was able to keep paying tithing. I can't see such an offer being extended to the family you've mentioned unfortunately 😬

I am of somewhat different mind. I do not wear any kind of jewelry. Not even a watch or wedding ring. Especially on men – I believe such things to be vain. But I must be careful. I have never been able to become attached to things – especially physical things. I do believe in stewardship. I do not understand fashion (especially clothing with unnecessary holes – I believe to be a public display of stupidity) and yet I do believe in organizing and taking care of things in my stewardship. I do not understand why people (especially people with pets) insist on living in filth. I would say something about wearing a cross. It seems to me that if you think such identifies you as a Christian – that you have no idea who Jesus Christ was or what he taught. When I am asked my religion, I respond by telling them that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I use the word disciple because it requires discipline that I believe is a necessary element of true worship. I like almost everybody and find it difficult to love those I do not like very much. I am aware that I am difficult for some to like but I do not know anyone as my enemy. The Traveler

https://johnhiltoniii.com/can-we-use-the-cross/ I found this blog post to be an interesting read on the topic. Personally I don't see anything wrong with wearing a cross, or having one in your home. I have one of solid gold, it was and still is precious to me. Coming from a creedist (protestant) background (I specify protestant because protestants don't usually use crucifixes which have a little Jesus glued on, whereas orthodox/catholic do tend to.) It was never an object of worship, but more Protestants answer to a CTR ring. I stopped wearing it because my wife got funny with it, and of course, temple garments have somewhat replaced the need for it, but I still frequently return to it when I need a pick me up. To look upon a cross I find to be a very personal, powerful reminder of the suffering christ endured, and the fact it is empty, a reminder of the victory over death. I personally feel we'd be better off reclaiming the narrative (so to speak), than shying away from the symbol. But that's just an opinion, of course there is idolatry at play in some homes, but done right, the cross is one of the most powerful symbols religion has to offer.

Please tell me you use this to serve chilled foods……. About 32 degrees

Street gangs are not what we as LDS would think of as Gadiantons/secret combinations, though they have some similar behavior patterns. Your statement is otherwise 100% accurate.

I would not call them a national threat as you are describing. Some of them are actually sophisticated in some of their operational organization.

I look forward to reading/viewing the content here. Unfortunately, I'm on neither X nor reddit. So, I won't be contributing much.

As someone who used to have this antique inherited Masonic plate hanging on his kitchen wall, I agree. It ain't idolatry if the only reason it's there is to test the courage of your LDS guests.

There is the "right way to do things." And there is what people have difficulty doing because of difficult situations. e.g.: Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread because he was starving. To such a situation, I say It was still wrong for him to steal that bread. The circumstances make it more forgivable in the grand scheme. When I talk to some people who are REALLy poor. I tend not to hold it against them if they withhold tithing. Should they withhold? Absolutely not. But I can understand them doing so. I also have a lot of respect for that person who gives that honest tithe of $2/month (widow's mite). I also find it wonderful to think that some people give a "generous" fast offering of $1 /month. This is why I tend to get flustered when I KNOW that this particular family spends $1000 on Christmas presents and have a few major expenses per year (like an ATV) and yet believe they can't afford to tithe.

I have a thing for watches but I don’t wear a wedding band either. Instead we have multiple tattoos dedicated to one another. Been married for 23 years now so it works for us.

This is what I expected but to clarify for both myself and other readers – street gangs, though a public threat, are territorial and lack the sophistication to operate effectively beyond their specific and limited geographical turf. They are not a national threat that requires (or even needs) federal oversite and coordination. The Traveler

Maybe they'll add Michael Row the Boat Ashore.

When it comes to implementing socialized or universal health care, a major stumbling block exists in the form of the US military and US Veteran's Administration health care systems, both of which are run by the US government. The US military health care system is very erratic and inconsistent in terms of quality, to the point that a great many people - like myself - have been victims of malpractice. Making matters worse is that for a very long time those of us who were victims were falsely told that because the military was part of the government it was illegal for us to sue. Even active duty military do not always get the best care, such that at one time the name-brand painkiller Motrin was nicknamed "Ranger Candy" for how often care providers would just tell service members (especially in the Army) to go have some Motrin and get over themselves in response to various medical complaints. The Veteran's Administration system, meanwhile, was rocked by a massive scandal some years ago in which it was found that due to a lack of capacity to meet demand they kept deliberately postponing and rescheduling meetings and appointments for weeks or months at a time, to the point that a number of veterans died waiting for care. These two systems are metaphorical bloody shirts that can be waved around as "proof" that the government can't be trusted to run health care, and so until they undergo needed reforms and the capacity increases accordingly they'll continue to be used as arguments against socialized or universal health care.

There are issues with “free” health care that I never see addressed. The main issue is what to do about individuals that deliberately seek and choose unhealthy behaviors that directly affect their health adversely? The two greatest health issues in the USA are the result of sedate lifestyles of minimal physical activity and obesity. And yet, at the same time, the two most “prescribed” institutionalized health care provided are drugs and surgery. If one does not take responsibility for their own health, all the charity (government or otherwise), all medical help (drugs, surgery, advice or whatever) becomes useless and wasted. I also believe that there is a great misunderstanding about the United Order being somewhat like socialism. Both ancient and modern scripture condemn idleness and teach that those that are idle are not to be care for. See Doctrine and Covenants 42:42. For any individual to be free and enjoy liberty – they must first be responsible. There obviously are exceptions, which boils down to the very young, the very old and the very incapable. Not even G-d is merciful towards the deliberately irresponsible. In all of societies the worse applications of mercy are those that preside over the societies of the world and dictate how mercy and compassion is metered out. Nether mercy nor compassion can be forced by any means, because the moment it is, mercy become unmerciful, and compassion becomes uncompassionate. The Traveler

While I haven't heard them (the alternate tithe definers) say the following, I have heard others say it: "That counsel was for the 12 apostles, not for the ordinary membership. Therefore, it doesn't apply to me." (Sometimes the second sentence was implied rather than spoken.) And I can easily argue that you cannot pay tax on or from money you never earned. If it was yours, then it was yours. And I could then mention the concept of "firstfuits" or "firstlings".... Thankfully, I'm not a bishop. I also don't live someplace where people are taxed 90% of their income such that 10% of their gross would leave them with nothing. I'll leave such puzzles to those with keys. I have come to prefer not knowing how other people view tithing or the Word of Wisdom. Ignorance is bliss and avoids the temptation to judge unrighteously.

I feel like Matthew 6 debunks this world view. Paying after tax I can understand. But food transport/everything else, it's essentially tithing whatever is left, it is not seeking first the kingdom of God, it's an afterthought.

To my knowledge I have never met a Nazi. I have dealt with white supremacists. There are aryan gangs and I view them through that lens (street gang lens.)

3 Nephi 19:24 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples, and behold, they did still continue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire. Learning to allow God, through the Spirit, direct us in our prayers is the ultimate form of prayer. That's not to say expressing our own thoughts and feelings is unproductive but if our goal is to unify our will with God's, we can't hope for anything more than to have it given unto us what to pray for.

The concept that culture defines my rights is baffling. Take that to the extreme. If culture dictates that it's legal or otherwise acceptable to rape and murder, you'd argue that those being raped and murdered should just accept that because of the so-called "rights" set forth by said culture or legality? Or do those being murdered and raped have the God-given right to rise up in rebellion against that abuse? I'm not even arguing for or against free Healthcare. But it's not a cultural question. Abusive is abusive. By the way... there's no such thing as "free". Someone is paying. It's only a question of who. Obviously higher taxes because of so- called "free" Healthcare isn't in the same class as rape and murder. But the logic applies, generally. That's not even my problem with a welfare state though. I'd be fine with higher taxes and free Healthcare IF... government didn't suck at everything! There may be exceptions... but they're few and far between. By and large, if you want to make something worse...put it into the government's hands. Socialist government's aren't compassion. They're beauracratic, wasteful, self-serving, corrupt machines of destruction. By human nature and the fact that they have their priorities wrong. ALL governments are beauracratic, wasteful, self- serving, corrupt machines of destruction. The best have checks and balances against such, and prioritize freedom above ALL else, including Healthcare or other welfare issues. Governments that prioritize welfare over freedom and/or have no checks and balances allow for unrestrained evil, pure and simple. No one is against welfare. But at the cost of freedom? Nope. Because welfare without freedom is for no one's welfare at all. Moreover... government can't and won't understand what's actually beneficial when it comes to things they can't and won't understand, because they're politicians and driven by politics. Capitalists have to understand or they don't make money. It's not a complicated idea, actually.

There's a big difference between "depicting people as they naturally are" and "there's a checklist of who and what must be depicted in order to give the appearance that you're all for everyone". The church is now a global church and so the materials are trying to reflect this. It's an organic shift. What activists and whatnot have tried to push is "I don't care if it's not historically accurate; you *must* have all of these groups in your movie at once or you'll be blacklisted!".

I was just pondering the words "diversity" and "inclusion". I realized that wokeness has poisoned the words so much that I've gotten sick of the concepts. So, why is the Church using those words? If I can have enough faith to believe that the Brethren are directing/approving this tactic, then I need to look at what is causing my disdain for these words. It appears (at least for the moment) that "woke" is dying. With that so are the DEIs. What I perceive on the horizon is that we've gotten so sick of these words that we'll naturally gravitate towards their antonyms. We want to exclude and only deal with people within a very narrow Overton window. Humans have a hard time dealing with nuances and the balanced middle. We tend to gravitate towards extremes. I hope to not be one who runs to one end or the other.

So, there is a claim made by the prog-mo internet that the Church is moving toward the world. Specifically, the Brethren are going woke to be more "inclusive." One example was that they "sneaked" the cross symbol (🗡️) on Google Maps onto all our churches. And, sure enough, if you look up our churches on Google Maps, they are represented with a cross just like all other Christian churches, as opposed to the Moroni/trumpet symbol. Two points: They did not "sneak" anything. Church officials communicated with Google that if the cross is the standard Google symbol for Christian churches, it would make sense for Google, as a company, to include our churches as having the same symbol on Google Maps. Such change to Google iconography is not religious in nature. It is commercial. It's advertising/marketing. The Moroni symbol is still used to identify temples. Obviously, this is not where we want non-members to go when they are searching for someone to talk to about the Church. So, there is no real impetus to use that symbol for temples. But if they ever did that, then, I still don't see a problem. To me this is no different than when Ammon tells King Lamoni that "The Great Spirit" is "God". I don't see this as the Church moving toward Babylon.

Guitar, huh? Well, at least it's not a brass instrument. I hate to see a cultural change ruin a perfectly good joke.

I think India has the right idea. East American Ocean and West American Ocean

If anyone deserves social security, it’s dodecagenarians.