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@Grunt, I gotta share this with you. So a long time ago - at least 15 years ago - at ward council, the Primary President brought a cake, chocolate with luxurious frosting. She showed it to the council and asked who wants a piece. We all raised our hand and she smashed the cake with her hands and tried to give us fistfuls of cake but we, of course, didn’t want it then. She then told us - no matter how great the message and the lessons and the work is that we’re doing, if we just hand it to members like fistfuls of cake, nobody will want it. I didn’t know if it’s gonna work with kids and their parents. I was worried the kids would be “Give me smashed cake give me give me!”. I tried it anyways... and it worked. The kids were very sad to see the cake smashed so it was easier to get them to make serious contributions to the discussion which, normally, boys don’t like much - they prefer to get up and be rowdy. So just a thought that you might be able to use the same object lesson in your class.

The Torah says Balaam was slain in battle (Numbers 31). Verse 16 says what the offense was (although Balaam did not curse Israel, off-screen he advised Balak that the Lord's favor only works on principles of righteousness, so all blessings can be negated if they succumb to temptation - so feel free to tempt). As for the reference in Jude, it's not suggesting that Balaam (or Cain for that matter) died with Korah. It's saying that all 3 are guilty of the same sin of rebellion wrapped in righteousness. The 3 examples are used as a progression. Cain rebelled, Balaam compounded the error by profiting off of it, but (as with Korah) God will destroy them (can't use Balaam as the example unless Jude wants the church accused of assigning members to be "avenging angels" (danites) since he was killed by Israelite soldiers).

Shortly after my mission, I dated a young lady who was pretty amazing. When I prayed, I felt that she would be a great eternal spouse for me. This was exciting! However, I then felt to pray further and ask if I would be a great eternal spouse for her. The answer was, “No.” I would not have been the person she would need. This was a turning point for me in my spiritual progression in realizing that sometimes I wasn’t asking the right questions. I have since found that there is often further insight to be gained in most anything God reveals. Just like Lehi’s dream, it was actually Nephi’s further questioning that gave us the insights we have come to rely on.

Sure. Spiritual prompting always have a purpose. But I'm not convinced we will necessarily know what that purpose really is, at least not in this life.

That's why democracies are better. You get to elect whoever you want to disappoint you.

Sure. I had a habit of biting off more than I could chew as an investigator. There were several things that almost kept me out of the font, but this one was one of the longest, most agonizing, and resulted in some crazy, almost unbelievable, Devine intervention to get me back on track.

I feel that there will be something spectacular for the Saints that are well versed with the doctrine. President Nelson keeps using the word restoration. My hope... That the 116 pages that Martin Harris lost have been found. I expect that the D&C will get new additions. The Living Christ & The Family a proclamation to the world. I would be thrilled if portions of the KFD are restored via revelation and canonized into a new section. New Hymnal Presented. Plus many other policy adjustments.

Fine. We'll broadcast from some valley in the middle of Missouri then.

Heh... I was just going to say if the roles were reversed... We would be telling the guy to get a clue... stop being all creepy obsessive and that this was a clear NO and NO means NO. But it looks like you got there before me

I was a little tongue-in-cheek about the “tactic” bit and hope I didn’t give undue offense. That being said—if an adult crying at the first hint of unpleasant news is a normal and healthy, hormonally-based outlet; then so is the tendency towards rage; and so is the tendency to simply avoid unpleasant/unproductive communications—the latter of which, of course, is fundamentally what a “ghosting” male is doing. I don’t think we should give a pass to someone who manifests a stereotypically “female” response, while making a point of rebuking someone who manifests a stereotypically “male” one. I should hasten to add that I don’t think ghosting a good thing to do. But to be blunt: in all but the most extreme circumstances, crying and raging and abruptly terminating contact are all inconsiderate, immature reactions signifying poor communication skills and a lack of self-control. We probably shouldn’t be terribly surprised to see that from people in their late teens and early twenties.

Maybe stop thinking of it as a "tactic" and instead as a natural hormonal response which doesn't need solving or defending against? IMO, tears (assuming they're real) in a woman (and probably a male) are generally a release valve for overwhelming emotion. We all have multiple such release valves, and tears are a more common one in females, but that's exactly what they are. They aren't something to be stopped or a problem to be solved - they are, in fact, the solution to the problem (the problem being excess emotion which needs release, relief, or expression). So just let her cry. Maybe give her some Kleenex® brand facial tissue.

Saying this as a) a male, and b) someone who was married off before “text messages” and “internet dating” were Things— What is a guy supposed to do when a girl is more interested in him than he is in her—particularly when flatly telling a girl that often leads to tears, which tactic males have no defense for?

Erm, is one of them dead now? Cuz if not... (I'm not gonna guess one way or the other what is or is not revelation, just that in addition to all the other ways in which we misinterpret these things, timing and bumps along the way often make us assume final outcome despite the outcome not being final at all.)

This might have meaning for you:

I have to say that the historical accuracy didn’t bug me nearly as much as the intensified 1 Nephi 3:7 scene where the orchestra began to swell as Nephi uttered those famous words. It would have been far more powerful had Nephi just said those words as a faithful disciple and not as a glorified one liner. I really hope they don’t do that with Moroni 10:3-5 and other popular scriptures

Back to OP. I think it could be any of the following announcements: 1. Lightening up on WoW 2. Announce plural marriage/sealings for deceased unwed women 3. Section 139 of the D&C 4. Ratify into scripture/cannonization of something like King Follet Discourse, or maybe some previously unrevealed revelation of a modern prophet (kimball/hinckley/david O) 5. Additional "translation" from the sealed portion of the BoM (maybe we are ready / maybe not) 6. My favorite idea: They finally got around to locating and translating the scroll of Joseph which was one of the manuscripts purchased by joseph when he acquired the book of Abraham and the mummies.

In this area, we Americans will certainly put up a good fight. But after watching European and especially UK politics for decades, I think this just may be a battle we cannot win.

I am one that dated a lot but managed to screw up most social stuff I was involved with - with the one exception of marriage. One thing I have learned about revelation - the easier it is to receive a revelation - the more difficult it will be to live up to it. I would make a suggestion about your daughter. I have some apartments in Provo that I rent to mostly BYU male college students. I have one very impressive student (guy) that is completing his PHD in electrical engineering this year. He is an RM, an athletic (cyclist) and I have known him as a tenant for a few years (you learn a lot about a person when you rent a living space to them). He is leaving BYU without his MRS. He is a typical engineer - which is problematic for many young ladies that like guys good at putting on a romantic show. If your inspired daughter is smart enough to get along with an engineering mind - this guy has offers that would allow living in very upscale places just about any where in the USA. The Traveler

Sorry to be a pedant, but the UK is a democracy as well as a monarchy. We have elected politicians too, and they are quite as capable of disappointing as the US ones are.

So first meeting, we had 4 out of 8 children present plus 2 visitors. 2 parents out of 5 attended plus the grandma of the 2 visitors. We started 37 minutes late waiting for the 2 parents. It wasn’t going to be worth anything without parents so we let the kids play basketball until they showed up. I set this up on the board: I started with the scripture in the middle then walked the discussion through the left side. Then, because we didn’t have much time, I just handed them a blown up copy of the activity pages from the pamphlet and told them to take it home and fill them up with a goal that they want to work on as a group for each development area. Then I showed them the tentative calendar that we have from our discussions last year. Next meeting we’re going to work on adjusting the existing calendar and filling up the vacant months.

I appreciate this. I really do. But it’s mentally exhausting. I would think if the Lord wanted us to know or do something it wouldn’t be so murky, requiring mental gymnastics and contortions to have it make sense. There have been times in my life when I have had clear impressions. Small things like how to comfort a hurting child or testifying of God to a doubting son. Clear, precise. I guess when we have to work so hard to justify something or cram a puzzle piece in where it doesn’t fit, it wasn’t a true prompting. I do believe in coincidences and chance happenings. Even after praying for that thing, it isn’t always from God.

OK - First of all I'm not going to say anything about whether or not the donkey actually talked. That question's been done to death elsewhere, and if we concentrate on that we're bound to miss something else important. What bothers me more is whether he was a good man or a bad man, or somewhere in between, and what we can base that information on. Wikipedia has this to say about him: Notice that all three references here are to the NT: where in the Torah is he identified as "wicked"? OK: 2 Peter 2:15: Jude 1:11 Revelation 2:14 The first of these is very general, and can easily be squared with the OT story: it could simply refer to the fact that Balaam responded to Balak's offer of a reward. He refused to do anything that God forbade, but he was nevertheless motivated to use his prophetic powers for financial gain. He acted cautiously, but his heart was still in the wrong place. The second is similar but a bit more specific, in that here Balaam dies in Kora's rebellion. That is not mentioned in the original story, which ends with Balaam's departure. So where did the idea come from? It seems unlikely to be an original revelation from God, since Jude is comparing the actions of Balaam to the way people of his own day were behaving. He would surely have used something his readers were familiar with to illustrate his point - not to confuse the issue by introducing new never-before-heard-of information. The third is more specific still. Where in the OT does it tell us that Balaam taught Balak to make the Israelites sin? Certainly nowhere in the Torah***. Some may say "Well John was a 'revelator', so why shouldn't he be 'revelating' new facts?" But if so, how would the people of Pergamum already have heard of this "teaching" to follow it? Unless of course they were simply leading each other into sin and not associating what they were doing with Balaam - but again it would have made more sense for John to have compared their behaviour with something they already knew about, rather than choosing that moment to inject new information. I can only suppose that a lot more was known about Balaam at the time than has actually made it into the Torah. For one thing, the book of Numbers introduces Balaam without even telling us properly who he is. It's as if he was already too well known to need much explanation. (An equivalent for us might be Merlin or Robin Hood or Paul Bunyan.) Perhaps there were lots of stories of Balaam - the mysterious sorcerer/prophet who could talk to his donkey, and that John and Jude are alluding to some of these. *** OK I was wrong about this - as mordorbund and Scott pointed out, there's a reference to it in Numbers 31.

A few days ago, I told my 13-year-old that I had a device that allows me to see through walls. He didn't believe me, so I showed him. He then told me that he had a device that allows him to walk through walls, to which I replied, "Of course!"

I hear you. I think it's perhaps because I grew up with The Lord of the Rings. I re-read it through my 20s and 30s, and it percolated into my consciousness. (Even the epigraph in the front of my PhD dissertation is from one of the songs.) So rankles me to see "Tolkien done wrong". Maybe it shouldn't, but it does! I did enjoy the movies though, for all that!

From: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/assessment-for-learning-stem/0/steps/7332 a hinge is a point in a lesson when you need to check if students are ready to move on, and if yes, in which direction; a hinge-point question is a diagnostic question that you ask your students when you reach the hinge, responses to which give you evidence about what you and your students need to do next. A hinge is also a component of a door or a box. Something that allows you to pass from one place to another or open a container that safely guards precious objects.

That's because Joseph's original audience was not Church investigators, but seasoned Church members. IIRC (and I got this wrong just recently), the so-called King Follet discourse or sermon was delivered at General Conference. If there is an example of "deep doctrine" outside the basic principles of the gospel, the King Follett sermon would certainly qualify. But I don't think it was ever intended for a general, non-LDS audience. There are Godly truths which, if we knew them, would destroy us. They would poison our faith, just as steak and potatoes would poison a newborn. Witness the misery and breast-beating caused by the mere idea of plural marriage, a doctrine which hasn't even been a sanctioned practice in well over a century. People should not be given what they are not ready to handle. The sweet milk of gospel truths are palatable to anyone who is not actively in the bondage of Satan. Doctrines such as what some call deification are not the sweet milk of the gospel and should generally not be openly given or discussed. The mere fact that such things are true doesn't mean they're safe for spiritual infants and children. It's one of the reasons that we receive temple instruction under a strict covenant of don't-open-your-piehole.

There is one IP that got transferred really well from manga to movie - Alita Battle Angel. Yes, there are still limitations to the story because being true to the manga story will not fit in a 2-hour film. And there are sacrifices in characters and character arcs because of the different storyline. But otherwise, the characterizations was sufficient, many scenes where almost exact to the manga or to the anime adaptation as portrayed, etc. It's quite impressive how they managed to closely stay true to source. Here are a few examples of scenes in the manga/anime versus the movie:

KFD almost resulted in me not joining the church.

It always makes me go hmmm when people believe that a government (especially not a US one) can adjudicate injustices better than Canon law just because some priests failed in their adjudication of Canon law. May I remind everyone that Epstein didn't kill himself and THAT's even in US prisons, how much more in governments without the protection of the US Constitution.

So, this happened to me just this morning, actually. I got called to be ward Sunday School president and have been considering who to recommend to fill out the presidency. I spent all week mulling it over with one particular person in mind, and then yesterday the second and third just fell into place and it seemed to all make sense. I texted the bishop about it this morning and was told that the one person I’d been thinking about all week—who I was more sure about than either of the other two, and who had been on the list of potential names that my bishop had given me—is now unavailable. (Stinkin’ elders’ quorum!) I don’t know what to make of it. I am still convinced it could have been a great presidency and that this particular brother would have been a big part of that. But . . . meh, I guess. God knows more than I do. Maybe I misinterpreted, or maybe there will be a future time when I need to know what could have been. Frankly, I’ve got too much else on my plate to really dwell on it. I wonder sometimes, if much of the angst of my youth was really just a byproduct of me not having enough to do.

When I was in middle school, there was this boy that had a HUGE crush on my gal friend. He hung out with us all the time, they flirted, etc. I truly believed that they were PERFECT for each other. But, he was nervous and It took him until Junior year of HS to muster the courage to formally ask her out. And she turned him down!! He was devastated. But still, he felt so strongly for her. Freshman year of college, he asked her out again, and she said yes!!! I was so excited!!!! When I heard the news, I literally danced in my kitchen for an hour-- finally she had realized it, and the were so wonderful for each other!!! 22 days later she dumped him. And not nicely either. There was no coming back from this. ...why was she like this? Didn't she understand how they were so great for each other? A few years later, I'm hanging out with this male friend more-- cause we were still friends after all. And he asked me out!! What the?!? I sobbed. Literally. The water works, snot running down my face, "What about Sally? She's was meant for you." Really confused, he responded, "No... yeah, I liked her for a long time, and that's part of my past. But it's just the past. I want to be with you." Fast forward: we have been blissfully married for seven years. God... is all knowing. We really don't appreciate the grandness of what He sees, the way His marvels work. And just because the marvel didn't turn out the way *we* thought it would, don't make the grand design any less.

Continuation to above: A woman-friend would tell her crying friend to "go ahead and let it all out". Whereas a man tries to figure out how to make it stop. IMO, the man would do better to learn to say "go ahead and let it all out".

And this was my point - the thing I had been thinking about. Trying to "make it stop" is actually hindering the solution. You're seeing the tears as the problem1 rather than the solution to the (second) problem. The first problem (the thing which still needs solving) is whatever evoked overwhelming emotion. The second problem is the overwhelming emotion, which is solved by venting (whether the venting is tears, physical activity of some sort, raging, sulking in a dark corner, whatever). The venting doesn't need to be solved (unless it's abnormal for some reason), but rather allowed to continue until the emotion is spent and reason can then rise again to address the first problem. 1 Perhaps because "real men don't cry". That said, I doubt most people have given this much consideration. I had no choice as two of my characters were having a prolonged discussion on the matter. (NOTE: This isn't to say I don't think tears are ever unwarranted, insincere, or not helpful. In the above, I'm assuming a genuine or normal response appropriate to the emotions evoked by the first problem.)

And even then, I was maybe a little overly harsh talking about tears generally. It’s one thing to deliver bad news (or bear your testimony, for that matter) and have some damp eyes; but actual crying is a whole other matter. And whether men should or shouldn’t learn to get comfortable with that—the simple fact is that most of us haven’t; and we’ll go to extraordinary lengths to make it stop. (Though I confess that having daughters, and taking people’s kids away for a living, does tend to facilitate a certain amount of immunity after a while . . .)

Excellent point - tears as a knee-jerk reaction to a guy breaking up with you (assuming you're not married, blah blah blah) probably is over-reaction and evidence that something isn't right with your perspective. Good rest of your post. Never. I had recently been considering this issue of "a woman crying is something that needs to be stopped", and responded to that issue without considering the fact that in the described circumstance, tears weren't warranted in the first place.

Oh ye of little faith!

(This is what I get for using a stub nib to draw.) (Lamy Al-Star 1.1 stub nib, Diamine Blue Lightning)

And the guy in white is not mentioned again once Lehi gets into the dark and dreary waste. Did the guy leave him there? Did Lehi get excited to tell the tree part of the vision and forget to finish this guy's story-line? Did Nephi edit the guy out for the Reader's Digest Condensed version? (I noticed this just this morning. Along with more meaningful thoughts, I had to wonder about the guy in white.) </derailment>

Not sure about the secret combination part, but it's rankling to see Nancy "I pray to God for President Trump" Pelosi openly celebrating his impeachment that she worked so hard to push through.

This is how government documents have been signed for decades, if not longer - multiple pens, all given out to various folk after the fact. And the US certainly aren't the only ones who do this. Not sure how this relates to secret combinations - though the sight of all those ballpoints makes me suspicious. That said, anyone who's worked closely enough with the US federal government, and who understands the idea of secret combinations, can't hardly help but believe there are secret combinations therein.

At this point in my understanding pertaining to promptings, yes, all promptings will have a reason. Whether or not we know/understand the reason for the prompting is a different questions. Not every prompting though is from God. We are to become like God, and at times, our own Spirit will prompt us to do good. I like these because it is telling me that my mind and heart are in fact becoming more like God. We also have promptings (although we call these temptations and rightly so). We need to be enticed.

I personally don't think we put enough in our impressions such that many good ones are ignored because we create confusion by saying, "Was that from God, or just myself"? Then we don't act. Not every impression is meant to lead to a garden of Eden. Something I just noticed in the Book of Mormon, Lehi's vision, is that the messenger from God who bade him to follow him first lead him through a dark and dreary waste, which lead to even further darkness, by which Lehi prayed for mercy and then obtained mercy. Something to think about.

I'm what @Wilderland refer to here as a "gunner" spreading priestcraft. He's, of course, wrong. I was born with what my parents call the "gift of gab" which is a funny way of saying "she won't shut up". I was only 3 years old when my mother would stand me up on the coffee table to talk to guests while she prepares food and my politically-involved father would put me on stage to entertain in rallies. Thoughts crowd around my brain wanting to go out and it literally gives me a headache if it doesn't get out. So, there are 2 ways I can deal with it - 1.) I don't pay attention, 2.) I exhaust the energy in other ways - I bring a coloring book so half my brain is pre-occupied and is not jumping at the bit to engage in conversation, so I only engage when what I want to say overrides my desire to color. My eldest kid that is currently 2 weeks away from entering the MTC is plagued with the same gift. His YM President told me when he was preparing to apply for the mission, "I am going to predict that God will call him to a foreign-speaking mission so that he will have to slow down and talk in simpler sentences." He was right. My son's mission field speaks at least 6 different languages! Some teachers like that I engage because they find it makes their preparation easier as they don't get into a situation where it becomes a "death by powerpoint" lesson - they go where the lesson takes them. Other teachers don't like that I engage because they prefer to drive the lesson to where they want it to go and not have to worry about bringing the lesson back from where I took it. In any case, this is not about showboating or being prideful, although I agree there are people who talk a lot that do showboat. This is simply about a difference in personality. P.S. I'm not the most talkative in my ward's RS (thanks to my coloring books). There are several others who actively engage in the class. Our lessons are quite lively depending on whether the teacher leaves the lesson for discussion. I don't feel like any of them are showboating. There are also others who I've never heard speak in class, ever.

I’m seeing Facebook adverts soliciting participation in a “multicultural choir” for the upcoming conference. I suspect that the conference will be something that’s a little novel culturally/procedurally, but nothing earthshaking institutionally or theologically. Remember, from the perspective of the Church leadership (as given by pretty much every “welcome to conference” sermon by every prophet since President Hinckley at least), every General Conference is “historic”. I love President Nelson and try to live according to the precepts he teaches, but I’m not setting high expectations for April 2020.

Glad to hear #metoo folks calling out Clinton - it speaks to the movement's genuineness, since most of them are on the left. Yeah, when you take all the credible allegations of sexual assault against Trump, and set them next to credible allegations of sexual assault against Clinton, well, that's a healthy dose of perspective. Because one pile is quite bigger than the other pile. And only one president made this face, while seated in the audience when one of his accusers had the microphone:

Remember what they said about Nixon before all the crap went down? "He may be a *beep*, but he's OUR *beep*". Meaning, for all his horrible qualities, he's making all his efforts to push our agenda, so we'll keep him.

Character still matters. However, it isn't the ONLY thing that matters.

My wife would agree with that.

Well, as someone who grew up watching Thunderbirds, I can tell you exactly what the deal with those pens is...