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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/03/19 in all areas

  1. zil

    Essential Oils, Do they work?

    @NeuroTypical, @anatess2, @Vort (68gsm Tomoe River paper in a Hippo Noto notebook)
    2 points
  2. This year’s Christmas gifts:
    2 points
  3. And thus why I love these words from Nephi, "And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." We don't have to have every question answered, nor do we need to know everything. We simply need to remain faithful to what the Lord has witnessed, while keeping our eye on the tree of life. Stay true to that and then we will be like Joseph F. Smith, "It is not by marvelous manifestations unto us that we shall be established in the truth, but it is by humility and faithful obedience to the commandments and laws of God. When I as a boy first started out in the ministry, I would frequently go out and ask the Lord to show me some marvelous thing, in order that I might receive a testimony. But the Lord withheld marvels from me, and showed me the truth, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little [see 2 Nephi 28:30], until he made me to know the truth from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and until doubt and fear had been absolutely purged from me. He did not have to send an angel from the heavens to do this, nor did he have to speak with the trump of an archangel. By the whisperings of the still small voice of the Spirit of the living God, he gave to me the testimony I possess. And by this principle and power he will give to all the children of men a knowledge of the truth that will stay with them, and it will make them to know the truth, as God knows it, and to do the will of the Father as Christ does it. And no amount of marvelous manifestations will ever accomplish this." (emphasis mine)
    2 points
  4. I don't see much difference with the two organizations mentioned and how we once had the High Priest quorum ward level and Elders Quorum ward level, and now we have one quorum of high priests and elders. The truth is Article of Faith #9. It is just as plausible as the Church strengthens -- people actually live their testimony -- we may witness once again a separation of the two quorums at ward level. So, what is truth? What is revealed in our day is the Lord's truth -- at this time -- for us. People simply need to look with an "eye of faith" to their questions, not with an "eye of doubt." I do not think the Church ever said "there was no reason." I am pretty sure they specified they are unable to pinpoint/find the exact revelation/reason for the ban. These two concepts are completely different. 1) There is no reason 2) There appears to be a reason (we have statements) but are not able to find any written record that specifically lets us know. This is in fact the Church's fault for not keeping good records, which is what we are experiencing now. How many times did the Lord say, and even today, that we are to keep good records? 3) They clearly specified the decision though required the revelation from the Lord. This gives the default, if something requires revelation from the Lord to be removed, then obviously some revelation was given, although we are not able to find/locate the exact reason (again Church's fault for not having good records). Are you able to point out where they said "there was no reason"? What I read, I sure didn't see them stating that. The first statement I don't find to be true. There is a place to turn, if they are asking and seeking with an "eye of faith." They turn to God and trust in his love and given witness. I think this forum can help, but can also turn someone with an "eye of doubt" away real quick. If a person comes to this forum with an "eye of faith" they will have answers that they can then take to the true source of all knowledge and wisdom pertaining to the kingdom of God on earth -- the Lord. Sadly you are correct. People are getting answers (opinions over history and taking the opinion as fact) from disaffected members or all out anti-Mormons. Because they rely on "humans" to give answers (even church leaders can only do their best, just like missionaries can only do their best) but true comfort and answers come from one source -- the Holy Spirit. True, and I think the Church is working on that, at least from what I can view.
    1 point
  5. Do you know that my son still carries the same 2 Lamy's that I first gave him? He is taking both on his mission in January. I had to stock him up on inks because they are pricey in the Philippines and he's been going through a Lamy bottle in a few months!
    1 point
  6. anatess2

    Mary’s age

    You can answer that question by answering the flipside - if it was of substance, why is it not included (or even at least just the doctrine) in the restored gospel?
    1 point
  7. No, it was "must spend collective resources on saving ......." that I took issue with. Protecting the "right" and protecting the "life" are two very different things. One requires action, the other requires nothing. The State acknowledges a right. They can't protect it, preserve it, or anything else. That is my individual responsibility, ultimately. The State can only punish those who violate my rights, and even then only part of the time.
    1 point
  8. Vort

    Mary’s age

    Life expectancy is merely an arithmetic mean, though "merely" might be a poor word choice, given the rather sophisticated statistics used to calculate such a running average over a lifetime. If the life expectancy is only 21 years old, you can still have a survivable population even if its members don't reproduce much (or at all) before 21. For (an extremely simplified) example, suppose you have a population where 60% die at childbirth and the surviving 40% live to around age 50. The life expectancy will be 50*0.4 + 0*0.6 = 20 years old. Assuming half of the survivors are women, as long as each surviving woman averages giving birth to five children, the population will survive. On average, three of those five children will die at childbirth, but the other two will reach maturity and reproduce. If each surviving woman averages six children, the population will grow. Even with a life expectancy of only 20 years. If @MarginOfError is around, he can probably provide a lot more insight into the issue.
    1 point
  9. Not that my preference means ANYTHING, but I prefer it shrink rather than be diluted. I think changes by the First Presidency and Quorum recently will lead to a stronger core. I think the changes we've seen (at least in my ward) regarding missionary work will add the strong to that core.
    1 point
  10. I came home a few months ago to find two-fifths of vodka and two-fifths of rum on our counter. I wondered whether Sister Vort had made some, um, decisions of which I was not aware. Turns out I was right. Sister Vort had decided to try out making vanilla extract, and the 80-proof vodka and rum were perfect for the job. She got some Madagascar vanilla beans, and several months later, we're giving out rum and vodka vanilla extract to our relatives. They're really cute, in little 6-ounce bottles with cool-looking stickers attached. If I remember, I'll take a picture and post it. (The first three words of the previous sentence translate to, "Don't hold your breath.")
    1 point
  11. Not really. Liberty is individual. If there are 5 of us in a room and 3 of us vote to beat you up and take your clothes, that doesn't make it just.
    1 point
  12. Even so, parents giving their children money is willful. Me giving the Church money is willful. Me donating to charity is willful. Even if I don't agree with how it's spent, the choice is mine to give. The government taking money from me by force and giving it to my neighbor isn't willful.
    1 point
  13. JohnsonJones

    Mary’s age

    I agree. All we have pertaining to the ages of Mary and Joseph really is speculation and guesswork. Some have relatively educated guesses, but it is still just a guess. In truth, I don't think we have any thing in the Scriptures that actually define the ages of Mary and Joseph at the birth of our Lord.
    1 point
  14. Run. Run far, far away.
    1 point
  15. Do you even get what I'm saying? If your vision is to take a little weight off the backs of some all Americans (the dividend is not just for some but for all - the concept is to prepare all people for when unemployment soars due to tech advances - a faulty premise to begin with, because what does it mean that horse carriage makers, carriage drivers, street poop scoopers lose their jobs because of the invention of the combustion engine?) giving an arbitrary fixed dollar amount across wildly varying "Price for a Basket of Goods" ranges is... dumb. He is not. Andrew Yang is one of the few Democrats that actually heavily criticize the "Tax the Rich" scheme of Warren and Sanders. How is this "Taking From the Rich to give to the Poor"? Are you just yapping front-runner Democratic talking points? Now let me explain to you what Artificially Increasing Cash Supply means. This is a Keynesian economic model wherein the government injects money out of Public coffers to transfer into the Private Market. Capitalism is only operating in the Private Market. The government is exempt from Capitalistic rules because they can print money, set interest rates, collect taxes and tarrifs, etc. etc. - they basically do not need to produce anything to gain assets. In the USA currently, all products are produced in the Private Market. If Bernie gets his way,this will change to most if not all products will be produced in the Public Enterprise. Now take note that in a Capitalistic System, Price is determined through the balance of Supply and Demand. Therefore, injecting a supply of Cash into the Private Capitalistic Market without a corresponding increase in production of Value (Demand for Cash), reduces the Price (Value) of Cash. In simplistic terms, if I have a doodad I'm selling in the free market, the Price for that doodad will rise to meet the amount of Cash you have in your pocket to pay for it. And because it didn't cost you anything to acquire that Cash, you will not have a corresponding value to attach to the worth of that Cash to you outside your desire to own the doodad. This is why College Tuition increased drastically after the government gave out Pell Grants. Colleges increased their tuition to gobble up the supply of risk-free money. Students were willing to go to College for whatever the College charges because the students don't attach any production value to that Cash that magically appears to pay for the tuition. The only way you can combat this is to do what Insurance Companies do - Instill Price Controls. When the government is supplying the Cash, the government can instill Price Controls. Now, see if you can identify what economic model you just converted to? China. Yep. Andrew is a Yang through and through. Yes. Let's. It, of course, comes with the presumption that you actually understand the implications of what he's saying.
    1 point
  16. I highly doubt that much money could reasonably be taken from the wealthy on a monthly basis, however, if that is really the amount of money 'available', wouldn't it be better to put it directly towards the national debt and have our country debt free in less than10 years?
    1 point
  17. anatess2

    Mary’s age

    Yeah.... it's hard to remind people of the life expectancy of 21 years in those days. You make women wait until they're 18 before they can marry and have children, the human population might just go extinct.
    1 point
  18. Do they work? Well... depends on what you mean by "it's working". Yes, essential oils work - if you're talking about what they're INTENDED to do (which may not be what you're EXPECTING to happen). Essential Oils is simply one of many homeopathic remedies in holistic medicine. Here's a reply I gave in another thread about homeopathic cures: If you're thinking of selling essential oils like Do Terra and all those other "Fad" outfits - yes, you can make money but you HAVE TO already know how to run a business and sell something like any other sales endeavor. If you're one of those many many people who think, oh, I'm going to sell essential oils while I ... take care of my brand new baby... or... in my spare time... or... as a hobby.... or... I don't like selling but talking to my friends about essential oils is not selling... or... etc. etc. you're going to lose your money. I just started a soap and candle making business that uses essential oils. My target income is $1,000 per month. It's not going to support my family but my husband supports my family. My soap and candle business is my answer to my mid-life crisis. Can I make my soap and candle business profitable enough to support my family? Yes. I am very sure of it. But it will be an 80-hour per week job at the onset until I get profitable enough to hire out. I can make a lot more money with a lot less time doing what I do best - programming on my computer.
    1 point
  19. Andrew Yang is an idiot. You would think with all his academic excellence it would occur to him that the purchase power of $1,000 is not the same across the entire country. Think about it - $1,000/mo can't afford you a studio apartment in San Francisco whereas you can pay the mortgage on tens of acres of land with that money in Marquette Kansas. And, he must have gone to the same Economics College as AOC because he also can't grasp the concept that artificially increasing the supply of money has an economic impact to cost of goods... and @Suzie, you don't need to wait for all those experiments to know what will happen with giving people money - hello College Debt Problem... that's EXACTLY why it has become a problem - government giving students money to spend on college drastically increases the price of college. You want to do socialist programs, you end up having to install communist governments because it breaks the free market cycle. There is a much better way of accomplishing Yang's vision - and it has been proposed in Congress. But because it's by Republicans (or Libertarians) nobody pays it attention. It's called THE FAIR TAX. It has a built-in tax refund (same as giving people money if they have zero tax liability) tied to the poverty line amount in each State - think about it, the poverty line in California is a much higher dollar amount than in Kansas as the dollar has a much lower purchasing value in Cali than in Kansas. And here's a bonus - the wealthy doesn't necessarily get to bear the brunt of the subsidy... the Spenders do and everybody has the freedom to choose to spend or not spend. And just so we're clear... this right here is 100% proof Yang is an idiot. "I'm giving people money" - hello Yang, it's not YOUR money, it's THEIR money you are giving back to them. It's like me taking money from my husband's wallet and buying him a Christmas present for it signed From Your Wife.
    1 point
  20. anatess2

    Prince Andrew

    The battle between William and Harold is not a "spoils of war" nor a "right of conquest". The battle between William and Harold are 2 members of the Permanent Class battling over who gets to be King when the Permanent Class Rules of succession comes under question. It basically amounts to sibling rivarly as the inheritance is passed by blood or marriage which is "My Privilege is higher than Your Privilege". This is completely different from the American territories as the Natives held no concept of "property ownership" after the fall of the Nephites and Lamanites. They were nomads. The American equivalent to the European gypsies. Therefore, European settlers taming the land and establishing colonies is the FIRST historical claim to ownership after the fall of Moroni. Of course, ownership is only good as far as one can defend one's claim to it, hence, the formation of the militia that kept Natives and other settlers out of the land according to the dictates of the land owner. If you want to equate this to England genesis, you will have to go even farther back from the Heptarchy as even they already have established property ownership as they established Kingdoms - they simply went to war to claim other people's property rather than being the first to settle in an area and claim first ownership.
    1 point
  21. I just absolutely disagree with your wealth redistribution model, so we'll have to agree to disagree. Just because other nations enslave one part of its population in forced service to another part of its population doesn't make it just. It's still theft.
    1 point
  22. We have to love the honesty. All I have to do is change the BoM and Restored Gospel to Bible and 'faith in Jesus,' and I would be delighted by this response. It's not acceptance, but the individual knows where they currently stand. So many are angry and choose to blame God and church. Others are currently self-satisfied and do not yet perceive their need. Some, as you suspect of me, just aren't ready. I can appreciate everything you're saying.
    1 point
  23. Equality in outcome is not fairness. Taking from one and giving to another is not fairness.
    1 point
  24. Traveler

    Mary’s age

    In general we all like to pick and choose what we will believe from the available information that comes from "historical" sources. According to all available accounts from that time period Mary was 12 years old and Joseph likely close to 40. That Mary was a second marriage for Joseph that had previous children - which would be step siblings to Jesus. And that Mary was raised in the temple (an ancient definition of a virgin) by Elisabeth and Zacharias. Joseph and Mary were poor by today's standards but not by the standards of that time period. Joseph was a skilled worker of some means. In addition the gifts from the kings (wise-men) would have definitely placed the family within the definition of the wealthy class capable of sustainable "ownership" - unless the gifts were squandered and used unwisely - which is never implied. Sometimes by some individual - Joseph, Mary and Jesus are labeled as "homeless" - but their condition and demeanor is nothing like the circumstance of inner city homeless in or society and is unwarranted. From my investigations - the "stripling warriors" were the age of common deacons in our ward culture. Think of sending them off to war. In our culture few of such age can even be trusted to make their own beds in the morning or walk themselves to school if more than a few blocks (a mile). Somethings do not translate well between cultures. The Traveler
    1 point
  25. Just_A_Guy

    Mary’s age

    There are some truths that the western Christian world is pretty much unable to cope with at present. The fact that Mary was younger than any of Joseph Smith’s wives, is one of those truths.
    1 point
  26. Something that rubbed me the wrong way about one of the Presidents Bush (I forget which one) He had a much-ballyhooed tax reform thing, one aspect of it was 80% of Americans got an envelope mailed to them from the IRS, with two shiny new hundred-dollar bills in it. I utterly despised that action, because even though it was a result of lowering taxes, it was openly and brazenly pandering to America, pretending to be the president that gives 'ya money. The exact polar opposite of what one would hope would come from conservative principles.
    1 point
  27. I also like the idea of experiments because they can show/clarify points and ideas we only think we know... However I see some issues that a short term experiment can't take into account... For one Inflation. If people have more money then the cost of goods will go up. This happens slowly but it does happen... This is why you can't see a movie for a nickel anymore. If everyone has an extra thousand then in time cost will inflate and that thousand will not cut it. This puts us right back were we started. If we are going to do this I want a fix, not something that just passes it down to the next generation. The other issue I see is this While short term experiments can be funded by donations, grants, or other voluntary means... One can't scale up without it becoming compulsory. Plus there is the simple fact that if you become dependent on anyone for anything you become subject to control because of said dependency.
    1 point
  28. To the degree that Elder Richards (and others of his era) alleged that the primary reason for leaving the church was hidden “sin”, and by “sin” they meant affirmative sinful acts above and beyond mere intellectual curiosity—I don’t doubt that that summary was substantially correct through the 1960s and 1970s and 1980s. I’m not sure it’s really a safe assumption in 2019. That said: I think if we’re spending the majority of our lives in a state of being reconciled to God and His will, and communing meaningfully with Him on a regular basis—I think that’s ordinarily going to give us the spiritual “oomph” we need to get through the questioning and philosophical/historical questions that are more wont to come up now than they were thirty or forty years ago. And frankly, if I’m not living in that kind of state of grace—whether due to sin or sloth or simply not having made it a priority—at the end of the day, that’s still most likely to be on me. Quite bluntly, most of the people I’ve known who left the Church—while fine folks—were never quite as devoted Saints as they claim to have been; and I daresay most people on sites like MormonStories and its ilk are in a similar boat.
    1 point
  29. The Church holds the keys to the temple ordinances, which are requisite to exaltation. Is exaltation “for everyone”? (I’m open to the possibility that the answer to that question may be “no”.)
    1 point
  30. I would say if your investigator is wrestling with questions about Sealing then they have seriously derailed and you need to get them back to the basics. Is the Book of Mormon True? Because if it is not then the temple does not matter.. It fails with the Book of Mormon. Is Joseph Smith a prophet? Because if he is not then the temple does not matter... if fails with Joseph Smith. Are we currently lead by a prophet? Because if we are not then the temple does not matter... if fails with the current leadership. If the investigator gains their own testimony of all three. Then the temple is also true, while we might not fully understand everything about it. The Lord teaches line upon line. He gives us a little bit and then waits to see if we will act on it. If we do then he gives us more. Anyone that wants to understand the temple has to first know the Book of Mormon is true and that we are lead by God... and be acting on that knowledge. Until that happens the spirit will not be with them because of their disobedience and faithlessness in what God has already given them.
    1 point
  31. Vort

    Cain

    Cain studied gongfu, which in the Adamic tongue was wushu, later lending a variant of its name to a wonderful pork dish. He was an average student, but well-liked by his gongfu master, who called him "Grasshopper". Or maybe that was the master's pet grasshopper; Cain was never sure. One fine day, Cain's gongfu master was brutally murdered. Cain considered following the ugly path of mindless revenge, returning blood for blood. In the end, Cain found himself unAbel to follow through with his vengeful plans, and instead moved to the Old West and spent his time gently beating up bad guys. It's a magical story of redemption, of love of self and others. Also, while he was yet young, Cain found out there had once been someone else with his same name who was a real jerk. So Cain changed the spelling of his name. But I have retained the original spelling so as to avoid confusion.
    0 points
  32. If you do, this less faithful person will gladly assume your loan in exchange for ownership of the property. You can even keep living there; your faith rewarded! That is, assuming you've already paid about 1/2 the principal. 😀😀😀
    0 points
  33. 0 points
  34. I have to go renew my driver's license now, but I'll have a word or two for you when I get back (assuming I get back). You could save yourself by posting a FP-written response.
    0 points
  35. Yay Zil! Best way to kick off the Christmas season ever! I... I... I haven't fountain penned in most of 2019. 😩
    0 points
  36. Undecided. I've been lurking more over the past few weeks. What I can't figure out is why the Comet thread has yet to mention any of the other reindeer - I mean, if he hits the Earth that hard, I'm thinking it's gonna affect the other reindeer and the sleigh. And this would indicate Santa doesn't keep them on Earth (not enough room), but that would also explain how they manage to haul so many presents around so quickly... Sure, the moon is interesting and all, but not nearly so important...
    0 points
  37. Is the Fountain Pen Club forming again???
    0 points
  38. Fether

    Guaranteed Income Supplement

    If you read my comment, you would see that I said I don’t. I’m just trying to explain what he is wanting to do. My understanding may not be complete, but again, I do not agree with what he is proposing.
    0 points