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We will be doing our passover seder this evening. Having the missionaries over as the guests. We walked through town on palm Sunday and talked about Jesus’ triumphant entry. Monday we cleaned the house - based off Christ cleaning out the Temple grounds. If you ask ChatGPT to make a LDS based worship plan for the Easter Holliday week, it actually does a bang up job.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, went willingly and deliberately to His death, having told His followers that this would happen. Why? one might ask. The answer: to give immortality to all mankind and the promise of eternal life to those who believed in Him, to give His own life for a ransom for others, to overcome Satan’s power, and to make it possible for sins to be forgiven. Without Jesus’ Atonement, there would be an impassable barrier between God and mortal men and women. When we comprehend the Atonement, we remember Him with awe and gratitude. - Robert D. Hales, In Remembrance of Jesus Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. - John 10:17-18 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13

No, no, no, no, no. You're drinking the koolaid and falling for the disinformation. Here's your documentation of Garcia's gang affiliation: https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1396906/dl?inline&fbclid=IwY2xjawJt82JleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHhBLNqbLfq-ugUUfiRsasSd5239_E0o8U2WKWkN4P5-Ce1EgsvDrMN3YUaw1_aem_9bAn0M_5UuMCmi0SIRTOAg Unless you've got some good documentation, I have to say the attempt to smear anyone here as a "dirty cop" is loathsome. Shame on whoever made the claim to you, and shame on you for passing it along as if it were some sort of concluded fact. His request for asylum was denied. His request to not be deported was denied. Here are the court docs: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.1.1.pdf His appeal was denied. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.11.0.pdf The courts just said that he couldn't be deported to El Salvador. NOT that he couldn't be deported, NOT that he was granted asylum, NOT that he was granted citizenship. He was NOT "allowed to stay", and he is NOT now, nor has he ever been, a legal resident. He is not a "Maryland man", he is an illegal immigrant and MS13 gang member named Chele, running with the Westerns clique, holding the rank of Chequeo in that org. And in case it's news to anyone, Mara Salvatrucha, aka MS-13, is an international criminal gang that have is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. They are bad people engaged in bad things, from drug dealing to human trafficking to murder. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-13 @Phoenix_person, I get needing to resist orange man. I get that Trump steamrollered over a federal judges ruling, and that's unconstitutional and needs to be stopped. I hope Trump gets smacked down hard enough, and feels enough pain, that he gives up pretending the courts don't have constitutional authority to limit some of the things he's doing. But democrats peddling falsehoods and pretending evil is good, is not the way to go about it. I call on you as an honest person who values truth, to bring these links and these facts into greater awareness in your political circles. Truth is a valuable commodity these days - and your side is spreading lies on this topic like their lives depend on it.

For me Bruce Porter's is the outlier in these videos as it's not as well sourced as the other two (or, a least the principles do not come up as often). When it comes to healing, the videos refer to it as the power of righteousness and a product of faith. I refer to it as a gift of the spirit - no complaints there. But Porter talks about specific rites in the patriarchal order and specifically talks about father's (and mother's) blessings. I don't necessarily disagree, but 1) I haven't seen it sourced, 2) it's not currently taught in the Church, and 3) it seems to go against what the Church instructs with respect to father's blessings as performed "by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood" (not patriarchal).

Sit before. That's why the Church makes presiding leaders sit in front of everyone else.

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses! This is such a wonderful community. You've given me a lot to reflect on. I deeply believe in the truth of the Gospel and have no desire to stray, so it's been invaluable to connect with other members here and gain their perspectives, especially since I don't have many opportunities for that in my own ward.

In August and September 2019, dude had two hearings on his request for asylum. His petitions were denied by US Immigration Judge David M. Jones. He was not given amnesty, he was not granted residency, he was granted protection from getting shipped back to El Salvador because of the threat from a rival gang. That's his due process. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815/gov.uscourts.mdd.578815.1.1.pdf @JohnsonJones If you think he was denied due process, could you clarify why you think that? I mean, he shouldn't have been shipped back to El Salvador, that's the 'clerical error' everyone is talking about. But the only people who claim he shouldn't get deported, seem to be speaking out of ignorance or believing falsehoods.

I agree. Trump throws stuff at the wall to see what sticks, including blatantly unconstitutional things. His unconstitutional stuff shouldn't stick. Separation of powers is crucial to the survival of this nation, and as a good little constitutional conservative, I'm happy to join efforts to preserve it.

Acknowledging that we violated the ONE agreement we made with him, that he wouldn't be sent back to El Salvador to be tortured and possibly killed, isn't the moral victory you think it is. You're right, I should vet my sources better. But I still believe this man deserved more due process than he received before having his life destroyed. And it doesn't change the fact that a directive from SCOTUS seems to have been ignored. That's really the bigger issue here, because SCOTUS is the one chance we have of keeping Trump from doing things like this to US citizens, should he choose to act on that whim. So if SCOTUS doesn't have any real authority over the executive branch, and no one in the congressional GOP will stand up to their leader, then where is the balance of power that has kept this country from falling into tyranny for the last 250 years?

I think the problem is he was denied due process. That is a cornerstone of judicial and legal rights. For example, if I decided you were an illegal immigrant, and illegal immigrants were not granted due process, I could simply deny you due process and send you to a Prison in El Salvador. Now, if those people hated you (and this is why you were originally given assylum, because they would kill you) and wished you harm, once there you would have no protection. It probably wouldn't take a genius to figure out what may happen. No, let's say you were actually a US citizen. Doesn't matter, I already denied you due process. Doesn't matter if it was a right guaranteed to you as a US citizen. I deemed you an illegal, and without due process to say anything different, you were judged and the sentence executed forthwith. Our ideas of what he is or should have had done to him can be important, but due process and other legal rights should be held as important things to uphold, otherwise no citizen will be safe from the same actions that sent this man to a prison in another nation.

I'm not sure on this one. You know I'm actually closer to being a Libertarian than a Republican, and some may even say that I'm closer to deregulation of things. I'm not exactly against people being able to do drugs and the Government getting the heck out of making them illegal. I don't condone people using them, but I'm against an overbearing government that tries to enforce what one has to do and limits freedom. On that note, I'm not sure what to think on this. It seems this is a center devoted to ensuring that if they do drugs, they don't OD on them, and it appears from the article that they've been successful in doing so. I'd call it an undecided on my part. I'm not against others making their own choices. I'm personally opposed to abortion. However, what right do I have to enforce my religion via government on anyone else? In that same light, I'm don't support government funds to pay for abortions except in specific circumstances (mostly similar to what the Church has espoused about abortion, which boils down to medical care. If the life of the mother or child is in danger and it is a medical procedure, then we should probably let doctors be doctors. I think Doctors should be the ones making the calls on the lives of their patients and necessary medical care, not insurance companies and absolutely not a government in most of these instances). This is a pretty long article. Before we being, I try to align my views as much as possible to the current views the Church has, or try to at least. After reading it, there are several subjects found inside of it, and the article itself isn't really a focus on Subsidizing Single Motherhood (and thus probably an inappropriate article to use as a focus for this particular vein of discussion) but more on the argument regarding whether the increase in Single Mothers among Black Americans is caused by more cultural influences or poverty. The article itself could create it's own topic on it's own with it's multi-pronged discussion on the subject, and could be an interesting subject all on it's own, especially within our more religious (I would hope) focused forums. You could post it. I could post a several thousand word post in response to this one article alone. Being concise on it will be more difficult. I support helping people in poverty, whether it is the single mother, the disabled, or the elderly. As the article seems to point out, it's not the poverty itself that is causing this problem. In fact, it's the very idea that poverty is the stem of the cause that makes it so that we ignore the root cause in and of itself, which is the cultural influences on society that create this single motherhood to be more acceptable in our time. Part of the problem with addressing this issue is because if one tries to talk about it in a way that frames it as a result of African-American Culture, they will shortly thereafter be blamed as racist. However, if one looks at how society has changed, and views it more as an issue caused by the Black Culture of the United States, or at least a small subsection of it that's been gaining in influence and popularity (via the movies, music, and other influences that we see stemming from it such as Rap and other areas which promote such moralities), then we see as the spread of this type of culture has gained a stronger foothold and spread more throughout the US, it's become more of an acceptable thing today to be unmarried and yet having children out of wedlock. I would say it's a bane in our culture and what is occurring. However, in regards to helping those who are poor and needy, we should always be ready to try to help them. We should also be firm in our morals and try to teach people that the lord loves them, and because he loves them he knows how to make people happy. People are happier where they have someone they can depend on to always be there for them and to be their own specific special spouse. Rather than a boyfriend or girlfriend that can leave on a whim, leaving children without stable families and parents, the Lord knew we would be happy within a stable family relationship. We should be trying to help teach people and bring them to Christ. I think medical care itself needs an overhaul. My son recently said I should have gone to the doctor for certain things more often. I am getting in poorer health, and as I do I don't want to burden my family in case I rack up heavy medical bills due to my ill-health and probably...death. In such a system overhaul, I do not know where or what would be covered, but people should not have to go bankrupt, or incur such heavy bills upon the end of their lives for medical care. For that matter, they probably shouldn't have to worry about the cost of medical care being so high in the US for any reason as most of the 1st world (and even much of the 3rd world) have better solutions and pay less for healthcare than we currently do in the US. How we can do that and retain our individual freedom and abilities as we do in our current healthcare system...I'm not sure. That is for smarter minds than my own to figure out someday. That said, under the current way our medical system works, I am against such taxpayer initiatives in this area. Hopefully that answers your questions on these matters.

I'm glad we agree. I'm going to assume you have a source for that? Every report says it was a confidential informant. That's not a cop. So, whoever said it was a cop was probably also lying about it being an unreliable source (i.e. dirty cop). Well, the immigration court says otherwise. I'm sure the public doesn't know all the details. But there was a process that he was sent through. And it has been the accepted practice for non-citizens for decades. Only the activist judges seem to disagree. Yes, he was essentially given asylum. And quite often, when an asylee does not apply for citizenship, then he is returned to his country of citizenship after the danger for which he applied has passed. It had. So, he was sent back. That's in dispute. A DOJ lawyer – who has since been relieved of duty, a saboteur, a Democrat – put into a filing incorrectly that this was a mistaken removal. It was not. This was the right person sent to the right place. -- Stephen Miller. (White House deputy chief of staff for policy) Everything Trump has done regarding immigration has been according to the law. And it's hard to call Bukele a dictator when he was duly elected. And he's popular enough that he won 85% of the vote for his reelection. Even so, I understand the "dangerous doors" point you're making. And I'm wary of it. But so far, I do not see any lines being crossed that I wouldn't have made myself when dealing with criminals being protected by activist judges.

If we're going to potentially send US citizens to this prison, as Trump himself has expressed desire to do, we need full transparency about the place we're sending them to. And yes, it's mostly a dumb photo op, kinda like when GOP politicians from places like Iowa go to Texas to take pictures with border patrol and call on Dems for better border security. And both parties seem to have very selective concern over the Uyghur genocide in China. It's the game of politics and selective outrage, and both parties play it. BTW, I've looked, and I can't find any documentation of Garcia's prior gang affiliation, aside from a single report from a dirty cop. The only gang ties anyone else has been able to make stem from the fact that he fled El Salvador to escape gang violence. He has no criminal record in either country. He was put through deportation proceedings in 2019 and was allowed to stay. So while it's true that he came here illegally, he was a legal resident for the last 6 years. The Trump administration admitted that he was erroneously detained and deported to a prison with a violent reputation, possibly filled with some of the very people he was fleeing in the first place. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/abrego-garcia-and-ms-13--what-do-we-know I don't like drug cartels or terrorists. I also don't like when people who preach about "rule of law" and "law and order" disappear people off the street and ship them to ruthless dictators to do the work we're too "noble" to do ourselves. It opens some very dangerous doors, and I doubt very much that it will stop with undocumented immigrants.

Oh, isn't it sweet: Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts.

And now, I hope it is clearer why part of that hope in Christ is hope in the future, a future that includes resurrection and salvation and exaltation. Paul explained to the Romans that Christ submitted Himself to death but, “being raised from the dead[,] dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him” (Rom. 6:9). Jesus Christ, our Savior, has always been the master of life, but through His atoning sacrifice, He also became the master over death. Physical death has no dominion over Him; and ultimately, it has no dominion over us because of Christ. - Chiko N. Okazaki, Raised in Hope Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. - 1 Peter 1:3-5

I’ve always thought there’s a simple cure for low activity rates: be happy. It does not take great insight to grasp that people are seeking a happy place to be in this world. If we created an environment where people left happy, we’d have no issues with retention and activity.

The cuts at the VA were upsetting, but unsurprising. I'm also seeing a lot of frustration over widespread staff cuts at social security offices. Trump and Elon are playing a dangerous game by messing with the care and income of two of the GOP's most reliable demographics: veterans and seniors. And we haven't even seen yet what will happen to Medicaid under the Republican budget, but I imagine it will be hard to hit the goal of $800B+ in spending cuts without affecting Medicaid and SNAP, and some Republicans know it.

Almost all religions are experiencing a decline in membership and activity rates. Everyone wants to think their religion is immune to this, and that’s fine, but it’s not true. Religions all across the board are struggling right now.

Let me update a possible overreach. NPR (who I do not trust) reported that any woman who has married and assumed the last name of her husband will have difficulty voting in the next election. This is because her last name will not coincide with her birth certificate. As it turns out this can be mitigated with a marriage certificate. It is argued that this is discriminatory because it requires these married women an additional level of difficulty to register. However, there is more to this that meets the eye, and this is in part due to NPR and how they go about covering the news they broadcast. Before Trump took office there was a law passed concerning what is called a “Real ID”. Some states include this real id with a driver’s licence by adding a star in the upper right corner of the driver’s license. As of May 7th a real id will be required to board any flight in the USA (domestic or international). In addition, a real id is required to enter any Federal Government Building or apply for any Federal Government service (like food stamps). What the new law for proof of citizenship to vote requires is tied directly to what is called a “Real ID”. A passport is also a real id. I realize that women who are married with a different last name on their birth certificate will have to supply additional documentation for their “Real ID”. That is just a fact and does not have all the blame of the Trump administration and NPR is attempting to imply. If there are other issues – please, lets be sure to hear both sides of the issue before we go ballistic. I am still trying to find out how it is that front line nurses taking care of veterans are being fired when more are needed. The Traveler

I am currently away from home (in the mid-west). I was with a friend (and wife) celebrating their 50th anniversary. Among those attending was a lady that is currently a nurse working for VA. She is a supervisory nurse that has worked mostly from home since COVID. She told me that she had to weekly send in a status report with 5 accomplishments. She felt that a month of doing so ought to be sufficient. She is not a Trump and Musk fan. I defended Trump and Musk that under the current government circumstance a status report was hardly an overreach. She agreed. There is another problem. This dedicated nurse (VA nurses are paid less according to her) serving our veterans informed me that nurses are the most critical service to the veterans needing medical care (I agree) but that the VA budget and been cut and at the VA hospital where she worked 20% of the front-line nurses had received termination notices. They are already woefully short. There are a number of seemingly overreaches taking place by the Trump agenda. These overreaches are touted only by the Trump opposition (like NPR) but are never-the-less serious and needs to be addressed (true or not). Though I am a veteran, I am healthy and utilize my benefits acquired as a civilian – so I am unaware of any VA problems. It is my belief that as a nation we need to listen to one another without a spirit of anger. But more so we must be charitable as Saints. I a-d m of the mind that if we waver from our covenants with G-d – to love one another – things will not go well. The Traveler

This is technically flawed and easily proven to be false. The Church was organized on April 6, 1830. The number of members were 6 and they were all men. The Traveler

That's true, to an extent. In San Antonio for instance, no one likes working at bars or restaurants in the Stone Oak or Alamo Heights areas. People get pre-conceived notions of their clientele based on experience working in different areas, but a good server will still give you a chance to prove that you're the exception to the rule. And ultimately, a good server treats all customers well regardless of how much they think they may get as a tip. True story, when I moved back from St Paul after my recovery, the only furniture I got from my ex was the bed I bought myself before we were married. I went to Savers and bought a recliner, an ugly but very comfortable reclining sofa, and a desk to put the TV on for a TOTAL of about $30. I value practicality and utility, not aesthetic.

You seem to be drawing political correlation based on circustance, not data. I won't deny that there are fringe groups on my side who crossed the line to antisemitism, but it was swelling on the far right in a big way prior to 10/7. I don't imagine that's changed just because we have a new president. If you have something more than a wiki article linking the rise in antisemitism to leftists specifically and exclusively, I'd love to see it.

We use our regulars as an observation group. You learn who has money and who doesn't and how they like to spend it. It's also possible that servers get to know their regular customers fairly well. Servers that adjust their quality of service based on the customer's perceived financial status tend to not last long in the service industry, and the richer folks that tip well often tip VERY well (Gregg Popovich is notorious in San Antonio for leaving $1000 tips at low-key establishments).

I think there's a lot of truth here, but I gotta say it also creates rather large cross-section of a pet peeve of mine. I am admin for a couple of buy nothing/local needs groups, and we have actual problems of ostensibly very poor people who are completely generous to the fault they can't take care of themselves. Now, I have no doubt some of the claims are pure fiction, but I also get the impression some are true. "I need groceries and dog food and money because I just gave all I had to my neighbor!" "I just adopted three starving cats and I have no means to feed them, please help!" If I'm honest with myself, I agree with the political compass quizzes that put me as pure moderate, but I agree with the conservative ideal of taking care of one's own as a value.

I am of a different understanding. It is my understanding that presiding is very different than authority. It is my understanding that the father does preside in a family but has no more authority than his wife. I believe that to execute any authority in a family, the husband and wife must both agree. For either a father or mother to assume authority without the other would be no different than an individual apostle to assume authority over the others. It is not allowed and out of order. The Traveler

Criticism of the IDF and Israeli government isn't antisemitism, and that's most of what I see on my side of the fence. I also see plenty of left-leaning Jewish Americans speaking out against Netanyahu and the IDF. The group of lefty organizers I affiliate with has rabbis, imams, and pastors working side-by-side. Sometimes literally.

I have frequently seen people near poverty part with small amounts of money to help people whom they felt had a greater need for it. And anyone in the service industry will tell you that poor people always tip better than wealthier folks. A lot of poor people understand that community doesn't have monetary value, and so they aren't above parting with a few dollars for the good of their community when they can spare a bit.

No, it is not. Almost all of what you posted has been said by prophets in not-so-many-words. The danger of emphasizing our belief in a Heavenly Mother comes when we tend to believe that our Heavenly Parents are somehow of different minds. They are both perfect. They are perfectly in harmony with each other. They are perfectly loving to their children. They would both provide the same answers to the same problems. So, I don't see how some people (especially women) who get it into their heads "My Father hasn't been fulfilling my needs. I know that my Mother would certainly treat me differently!" No. No, She wouldn't.

Scriptures also make it clear that those who were sealed to multiple women in mortality will be sealed to them in eternity. (Or so says my memory. I can go hunting, if needed, but this is inherent in the sealing power.) I believe polygamy, in those instances when it was authorized by God, was established by God. If it were only for mortality, we could say it's only to raise up seed to the Lord. But I don't see how we can make that claim. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'm quite certain polygamy will be a part of the Celestial Kingdom. And I can see only on possible reason for this (given that our God is a God of order): There will be more women worthy of Celestial glory and desiring to be sealed in the new & everlasting covenant of marriage than there will be men. Really, this is the most logical conclusion. If God knows the end from the beginning, if we really believe He's omniscient, then He's known all along exactly who will end up in what kingdom, and what the ratio of men to women is. Mortality hints that this ratio is a naturally occurring phenomenon. Obviously, polygamy facilitates what scriptures have mentioned: raising up seed to the Lord. But I don't believe this would necessarily explain why such relationships exist in eternity - certainly, it will be one of the benefits for participants, but I think it's a following benefit, not a causal motivation - otherwise, there would be competition for the most wives out of the available pool of women and some men wouldn't have wives... (to put it in base, mortal terms). Two of the thoughts that comfort me are (1) the teaching in the Book of Mormon that monogamy is the norm - I expect that to be the case in the Celestial Kingdom, and (2) the fact that if you sit around and think about it long enough, the thought of putting up with your husband for eternity (which is a really, really long time), starts to make it seem like being able to send him off for someone else to take care of for a while starts to sound rather appealing... (Yes, that's partly a joke, but seriously, eternity is a long time.)