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Yay! Arguing economics! I bet if we try hard, the two of us can come up with at least 3 opinions! I'm new to opining about such things, and trying hard to cast a wide net across folks who seem to be bright about such things. It seems to me that the US has great leverage with China, but China may endure all sorts of hardships in order to save face. Trump is supposedly the dealmaker, the next few months we might see deals being made. I don't know. True, but even as we speak, all the companies importing things into the US are looking at what they import from China, and finding ways to import from other places, or even move manufacturing into the US. Probably my biggest worry about Trump, is how he has acted against the court in that one case. I've always been big on presidents acting presidential - it's been a gripe I've had about a lot of presidents. And POTUS is supposed to be big on checks and balances and our constitutional institutions. The fewer the steamrolling over court decisions the better. Oh, and Trump is a Republican in the same way that a biological man is a woman. Pretending it's true does little besides weaken what words mean, and tick off conservatives. The dollar is doing extremely well, as usual, thank you. That 6 month panicky chart sort of disappears into the noise when you look at a higher elevation.

It's the easiest thing in the world to just say "Just about everyone should serve a mission", and be back on the right side of things, aligned with our prophets. But people don't know enough about their fellow saints to be able to love them as God commanded.

Trump is absolutely playing unfair hardball, unashamedly, out in the open. The math is simple - we don't buy necessities from China, just stuff we can do without. China's economy is based on exporting to us, and they need us to fuel their economy and stay employed. China has upwards of ten million jobs they could lose very quickly. The US has maybe a little cold breeze through our economy as everyone retools and finds other suppliers. Everything else is just noise. Interesting question: If China refuses to blink, and just goes on a murderous deadly communist rampage to suppress the dissent of its own citizens as they lose their jobs and get mad, is it Trump's fault? The US administration is changing from the world's pushover parent that hands over the credit card to all it's kids to shut them up, to hard-nosed my-way-or-the-highway domineering parent that forces it's children to work 4 hours of backbreaking chores on Saturday before they can go play. Punishment is swift and severe for children who disobey or talk back. I have mixed emotions. I liked the post-WWII US-led peace and prosperity that has caused the greatest lifting of human rights, health, and wealth ever seen. I'm not sure what things will look like after the transformation. On the other hand, it has been obvious to me and others for over a decade, that the US can't continue to survive with it's ever-increasing deficits, waste/fraud/abuse on a global scale, and a million corrupt ways to funnel money to our enemies. So, yeah. Bumpy ride. China doesn't appear happy.

The answer to this question is yes -- yes, this scripture does help us more further understand that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that we will not be able to claim ignorance and still be saved. I often think of agnostics and atheists when reading these verses. An agnostic, after death, will ultimately claim ignorance after death, "If I had 'known' (temporal evidence) I would have believed." And will expect to be saved without pleasing God through faith. Once they realize they outsmarted themselves they then will experience the gnashing of teeth. I also find this verse interesting because it ultimately deals with the after life, and not our mortal life. There have been many of our brothers and sisters who have perished without knowing who Jesus Christ is, thus salvation was never declared unto them. Ultimately, they are ignorant, and upon these the Lord's mercy is extended (Mosiah 15:24). In their mortal life they were ignorant, but the gospel will be preached unto them in the spirit world -- so ultimately -- no man/woman is saved in ignorance.

Close. A little more than that: 17.4% https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-chinas-dependence-on-u-s-trade/ Let's give credit where it's due. And how much do they buy from us? $36.4B vs $501B Who will lose more if we completely shut down trade between us? I think you overestimate the ability and willingness of the rest of the world to go along with that. Time will tell. I agree. 4 years is unrealistic to re-adjust to everything. But the overall plan is a multi-variate equation. And there is a lot more going on than a simple look at trade relations with a single nation alone. Where did you get that from? Admittedly, for a well-oiled machine to work properly, all the pieces of the machine need to work toward a common goal. That's true for any leader. But if you're making this into some mob-boss edict or dictatorial paranoia, you'll have to show some evidence of that. I'll offer a different perspective. He fully expects to be assassinated in this term in office. That's why he's getting as much done as possible before he dies. He doesn't want it all to be for nothing. That chart is about as exaggerated as the increase in left-handedness was used to compare the rise in trans. Take a hard look at the numbers and what the percentages and scales are. That's nothing.

Amen to that. AuH2o, Reagan and Buckley (all great men) would be appalled by Trump.

China's economy is based on ~15% of its exports? I imagine they can make up at least some of that if their efforts to strengthen trade with their immediate neighbors prove fruitful, and the rest can be made up by increasing exports to countries that are on Trump's black list. China has become the biggest exporter in the world in the last 20 years. Trump isn't negotiating from a position of strength, and China knows it. Where? Mexico? Canada? Because those trade talks are going so well? The US has become heavily trade-dependent in ways that can't be reversed in 4 years. I'm more worried about dissent suppression a little closer to home at present. Trump cares about personal loyalty to HIM above all else. And now he doesn't need to worry about winning another election, and he's acting like he has executive immunity thanks to his SCOTUS basically saying he does. There's a reason he wasn't this brazen in his first term. He (or someone advising him) understood that vindictiveness doesn't win elections. I don't want a vindictive Republican in office any more than you (or I) want a vindictive Dem there, especially if Congress isn't going to fill their role in the "checks and balances" part of governing and no one is going to enforce court decisions. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/trump-s-attacks-on-justice-department-independence--then-and-now https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/24/trump-actblue-fundraising-order-investigation-foreign-donations/83250033007/ Again, I don't see where the leverage is with Trump's sweeping tariffs. IF tariffs were to be effective, they'd have to be more strategically targeted. All he's doing is removing the US from the trade market and creating an international rush to fill the void. Because despite what you seem to think, the world economy doesn't revolve around us. How's the Dollar doing, btw?

Spokesman for the Chinese Embassy, posted Friday evening:

We have a few RMs in my ward who make a big song and dance about how everyone should serve a mission in priesthood and Sunday school. In my opinion these people are akin to the hypocrites who pray on the street corners who Jesus bashed in the sermon on the mount. If you are concerned about your stake devolving into what you describe, then that cruelty needs to be challenged and rebuked. According to D&C 20, this is also a priesthood duty:

This can be done in a great many ways outside of what we refer to as serving a mission. I have helped reactivate several people over the years since returning from my mission. I feel like they are bigger "successes" then what happened on my mission.

"True to the Faith That Our Parents Have Cherished" - Elder Hans T. Boom, Saturday Afternoon Session With the footnote to President Nelson's April 2022 talk, "Preaching the Gospel of Peace": FWIW

I believe that sometimes the message gets lost in the messaging. When Pres. Kimball declared that "every young man is to serve a mission," it seemed pretty clear to me. But when pressed about it, I reworded it that "all young men are REQUIRED to serve a mission." And that was clearer, but not quite accurate. When I heard Pres Nelson's wording, it seemed a lot clearer to me. "For young men, it is a priesthood responsibility." That made a lot more sense. It pointed out how important it is that we do this. But it also leaves some room for exceptions. Medical/financial hardship on the family is certainly an exception. So is physical or psychological handicap. Let me be clear. I disagree with your wording that you were "not a good fit." There is no "good fit" for a mission. We're simply to be instruments. That was something that I didn't learn until the very end of my mission. Now, to address your core issue... What seems to bother you is not the "requirement" or "responsibility." It is the reaction that others had/have towards you for not serving a full-time mission. IT'S NONE OF THEIR FRAGGING BUSINESS!!! Tell them to go phillips themselves. Whether you were an exception or not is between you and the Lord and no one else. If you were an exception, then the Lord knows your heart. If you just "made up an excuse" then you'll have the Lord to answer to, not these yahoos who don't know a thing about you.

That was surprising to me when I joined. You’d hear people say “we’re family! I love you forever!” then they stop talking to one another after wards get dissolved or someone moves. It would be more honest if those people said “We’re family, as long as you stay in this ward, agree with me fully, and I see you weekly.” Of course, this hardly applies to everyone but it’s not just me who says stuff like this happens.

Pure evil. After I saw a Chick trac at a very young age I was terrified all my friends and family would burn in hell for eternity just because they were Catholic. Big moment for a second grader.