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The craziest thing to me is the current status of the work of salvation: 1. Redeeming the dead - The vicarious work of ordinances has completely stopped. Family history is all that can be done. This work is severely diminished. 2. Perfecting the Saints - Meeting together often has almost completely stopped throughout the whole world. This work is severely diminished. 3. Proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ - Missionaries being sent home, limited to their apartments, and not gaining access to the homes to teach others. This work is severely diminished. Now, as I know the Lord is over all and has a perfect understanding of everything, it is exciting to me to see how He intends to do His own work! One thing is for sure... I believe this general conference might have the closest attention paid to it of any previous general conference! The excitement of the saints to hear from the Lord’s prophet is palpable!

Yes. A person who dresses in their best clothing to administer and partake of the sacrament couldn’t possibly be trying to show the Lord their reverence for His great sacrifice for them. Nope. It’s all virtue signaling. In the privacy of his home. Where nobody except his family is gathered. 🤔 Sorta reminds me of someone who gets upset about what others wear when partaking of the sacrament in the privacy of their own home and then judgmentally declares them to be pharisaical without being able to look at the intentions of their heart.

Then it's pandemic sloppy reporting, not (just) CNN bias. Your analysis appears convincing, but I'm not at all ready to grant China the least amount of credibility. That corrupt communist government has proven itself an enemy to truthful discourse and a jealous guardian of information. They are as corrupt as the Soviet Union ever was, though perhaps not with all the organized crime tie-ins. But that will inevitably come.

Moderator reminder - be nice people. Don't make us ration posts and set curfews and refuse to test you for the virus unless you're nice. Or something. Anyway, polling about white shirts and ties might sound weird, but consider: For most of us priesthood holders, we haven't actually prepared/blessed/served the sacrament in a long time. 2 decades for me, 3 decades for my ministering brother, when we took it to our neighbor's house last Sunday. Reading through the guidelines, we're reminded about stuff we forgot long, long ago. It's not like a blessing or a prayer that can happen anywhere, at any time, the ordinance of blessing the sacrament, is included in a sacrament service, which, depending on how you read the new handbook, seems to require reverence and appropriate attire. It's a valid thing to wonder about.

Psst. "Look at me, I won't participate in that poll" "Look at me, I'll criticize you if you do participate" "Look at me, I'm more virtuous than the rest of you who participated" Y to the awn...

https://preppercop.blogspot.com/

You are utterly misapprehending both Nibley's intended meaning and the Lord's actions. It's not concern for proper dress that the Lord finds abhorrent. It's hypocrisy. The same Pharisees who were übercareful about appropriate dress were leaving their parents to starve while they kept their money under the pretense of "corban". The same scribes who prided themselves on their extensive knowledge of scripture made sure that everyone knew of their fasts so that they would be widely admired for their piety. If you think there is something wrong with adhering to and advocating an appropriate mode of dress when exercising Priesthood authority, then you don't know what you're talking about. If you think the people who avoid R-rated movies and wear a white shirt to Church are the hypocrites because they care about trying to obey, then you need to open your eyes to what's going on around you.

No. I'm on a well so storage is directly in my feed line. It's constantly refreshed. If worse comes to worse, I have a deep well piston that I can hand pump with, too. If it gets worse than worse, I have a life filter good for about 3 years for a family of four and a beaver pond out back. They say you should have 1 gallon per person per day. If you have a 55 gallon drum, and it's clean, you put can tap water in it with no treatment. You should just rotate it every so often. To purify water, they suggest 1/4 teaspoon of bleach per gallon, then let it sit before drinking it. To pre-treat water so you don't have to rotate as often, they say 1/8 teaspoon per gallon. Treating with bleach typically means your water will smell and taste like bleach. I suppose that's better than smelling and tasting like death. Personally, if I wanted to store 55 gallons of water all the time "just in case" I'd probably not treat it, sterilize the storage, then rotate it more often. You can always boil before use if needed. If you're paying for city water/sewage, that will be extra. You could always fill it to get through this crisis, then look for inline storage after. I chose my home to avoid all that, though.

Currently I find the most used deconstruction to be something along the line of - "I was doing all the things I should. I read my scriptures everyday, prayed every night and day, fasted more than once a month, attended the temple weekly and also attended all my church meetings." "But then the answers G-d gave me while doing all these things, turned out to not be true." And now they say that - They no longer attend church, do not pray, read scriptures nor attend the temple - but are getting answers that turn out to be true and that they are closer to the spirit. Interestingly they no longer obey the laws of G-d - like the Sabbath, Chasity, Tithing, Word of Wisdom and so on. Some other thoughts: Facts are truths alter by opinion. There are versions of history but the versions that claim to have no bias are often versions of greatest bias and the versions of history that readily admit a bias are often the versions of greatest accuracy. Science is not always the correct answer but rather the best answer. There is a difference between evidence and and preponderance of evidence. Things that seem to be true but are in conflict are neither true nor logical - especially if the thing is an opinion. Just because you realize someone else is in denial does not mean that you are not. And last but not least - is someone else's opinion makes you angry it is most likely because your opinion in the matter is flawed. The Traveler

I went to my local WalMart this morning in Colorado Springs. Everyone was happily socially distancing and behaving themselves. Plenty of people were wearing masks. The high-demand items like TP and sanitizing wipes and stuff, were still in the stockroom. They had a cart showing what was available, and you told people which items you wanted, and they'd go get you one of everything. This was the produce section today, Thursday March 19 around 9:30 am. Plenty of everything, at least for produce/milk/eggs. This country certainly doesn't have a production or distribution problem, just everyone is panic buying and stocking up.

What this sounds like to me is you getting triggered because several of us were talking about wearing Sunday clothes. So... what is it? You did not wear Sunday clothes and our talk made you feel diminished that you didn't so you put the blame on us? Or are you one of those "deacons shouldn't have to wear white shirts and women should be able to wear pants" progressive character?

"Because the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Border Force, New South Wales Police, Victorian Police and elsewhere are onto this at the moment, and this is part of our demand problems. "We will come down like a tonne of bricks on those individuals." Mr Dutton said anyone who has photos, car registration details or any other evidence of people acting in such a way to contact Crimestoppers. Incidentally, Minister Dutton has been in hospital for about the last ten days with corona virus. Doesn't apply to me. My preps were in place LONG before this boogaloo.

Her point about safety is not the Christian one you frame it as. She doesn't encourage us to turn to God, or follow Godly principles of whatever faith you belong to. Her point is that we need a government to provide us with our safety nets. Not God. Not the individual. The government. I have 2 thoughts in relation to this mindset. First, I see this as a city mouse / country mouse dichotomy. When you move into the city you voluntarily give up some freedoms you already have simple because of how dense it is. If your freedom to swing your fist ends where my nose begins, then in the country you can use extend your arm like Inspector Gadget but in the city you might have to keep your palm open. That's just a simple density problem. My problem is when the city mice with their control over the media tell the country mice that the city system of management really is better, even in the country. And then to take it a step further and suggest that those who govern both city and country should impose laws over both that solve city problems. I think @Vort has admitted in the past that there are inherent problems with living in the city because, duh, it's a city. I'd like to hear from him what are some limitations that should be expected because of the urban environment and where he would draw the line for it going too far. My second thought is to compare the hurricane crises from the start of the Trump administration. Both Texas and Puerto Rico were hit. The news cycle quickly abandoned Texas and moved to Puerto Rico once the opportunity presented itself. Puerto Rico had the federal safety net and was dependent on the Federal government being organized enough to send out relief, and dependent on the local government being organized enough to distribute that relief (they were also dependent on the local government having that safety net, but it wasn't there so it got escalated to the Federal level). The video footage of Puerto Rico showed people the start of the local distribution chain saying "we need supplies" even as supplies sat behind them, and people at the end of the distribution chain saying "we still having gotten any supplies and we don't know what we're going to do". Footage in Texas, showed people firing up their fishing or recreational boats and helping neighbors. There may have been local safety nets, but from what I could see (and maybe some locals can confirm) the safety net was largely left to the individual - and the individual recognized that. And once the individual found himself and his family secure he extended his net to his neighbor.

There are parts I agree and parts I do not agree. I agree that there are some that do it just to check a box or to show how righteous they are. A prime example is the way the Members sought to get Eagle Scouts and be an Eagle Scout. If it was such an important thing and they truly felt that the Scouting program and the measures set (scout oath, scout law which states to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent...something that MANY LDS Eagles did not actually really exhibit from my experience [though there were also those that DID more so than most Eagles as well] in their lives afterwards) than there would have been a great many that stuck with the scouting program AFTER the church no longer were sponsors of it. Instead, we see that it was mostly virtue signaling for many. They never truly believed in the program nor the things that it taught. Instead, they were in it simply because it was the Church program and the Church sponsored it. They had no true desire to actually be scouts. In the same way, I think you are right with what many members do. IT IS GOOD that they avoid R-rated movies or other such things, but the only reason they do it is because of the Church. The adhere for obedience...WHICH IS GOOD, but they truly don't have a desire to do this on their own. Thus, they may avoid the technical ratings, but they will watch things FAR WORSE if it is rated PG-13 or has no rating at all reasoning that they are obeying the letter of the law...while not understanding the spirit of the law (invariably, if one keeps the spirit, which is to avoid ALL material which does not promote spiritually uplifting things, they will by default keep the letter of the law as well). This also shows how they have no real desire of themselves to do what the Lord would have them do, but instead to simply mark a checkbox. On the otherhand I think there are many who DO have a true desire to do what the Lord would have them do. They want to go on a mission, not to mark a checkbox, but to serve the Lord because they love the Lord. They want a temple marriage/sealing because they really do believe in eternal families and want to be sealed to theirs for eternity. Which brings us to wearing white shirts and ties on Sunday. Is it virtue signaling? It could very well be for many. ON the otherhand, that's not exactly WHY I wear a white shirt or tie on Sunday. One of the things that can be hard for people is to get into the right mindset of reverence and respect for the Lord and his ordinances. There are different ways one can do this. One of the ways is the same way you would show respect to those in the real world. If I go to teach a class I may wear a colored shirt and tie. This is simply university ideas of how to bring a more formal and respectful attitude in class. If I am meeting with someone that I am trying to get a grant from in a formal meeting, I will dress even more nicely. I'll dress in a suit and a white shirt and a tie. In this way, you show respect for those you are meeting with, it puts you in the mind of formality, and engages you to be more mindful of your surroundings and what you are doing. In this same way, dressing in the very best you have can help put you in a mindset of an even higher power. This helps to remind one that this is not just a casual thing to do, but a holy ordinance in alignment with one who is even greater and more powerful than those who would give me grants or any human or mortal power or authority. If I need to dress in a respectful way for the human powers and authority to help me in my formality and mindfulness, how much more should I with one that is far greater? That does not mean a shirt and tie are required or necessary. It is just one method that can help one develop the reverence they should have towards one who has far greater power and authority than any mortal or earthly being or creation. If clothes help bring that reverence, even if one does not have suits and ties and white shirts, perhaps whatever is the nicest clothes they have. Perhaps their is a formal dress code for their area which helps them to remind them of this manner even more than the custom of Western cultures (for example, in some Pacific Islands they wear some slightly different attire). There are other ways that remind us than just clothes...it could be bathing and ensuring we are clean for the Sabbath. It could be a period of intense prayer or other things. Whatever we do, many cannot simply just become as cognizant of the reverence we should be exhibiting simply by getting up on the Sabbath and going about our daily routine. Perhaps there are a few out there that can, but many cannot. As such, we have various rituals of preparation to help us get in the right mindset. For many of us, that is dressing in a certain manner. In addition, doing such and showing others that one does this can help them also to attach a certain reverence in dressing so, and help them also attach a mindset of getting more reverent or respectful when dressing in such a manner. Showing that one is dressed for the occasion is also a way to help others. That does not mean it is required or necessary. Each of us probably has ways which help us attain the proper mood and attitude in keeping the Sabbath day holy as well as respecting and honoring the Lord and his ordinances. I agree, there are many that probably do it simply as a checkmark, but I think there are also many valid reasons for people who dress up in their Sunday best for meetings and ordinances. The biggest being it helps to put us in the mindset of respect and honor for the Lord. In showing that one does this, it can also help others. It is not necessarily for show, or pompousness in this, but as a value to help us be in the right mindset and to realize who it is that we are honoring and also to realize how important and holy the occasion actually is. If we would dress up for the Queen and Crown Prince of England (or other rulers) how much more important is it for us to do so with the measures of the Ruler of Heaven and Earth itself, not as a show of our own importance, but out of respect. If that means your Sunday best is your best pair of jeans and your cleanest T-shirt, and it gets you in the right attitude and mood to show that honor and respect, than it is probably just as good as one who wears a white shirt and tie. It is simply one method to put us in the right attitude that works for a great many people. If there are other ways which one attains that mood and honor to the Lord, I would imagine he has just as much respect for them as those who are dressing up to do the same thing. For me though, dressing in Sunday Bests helps to put me in the right attitude and emotional state to be better prepared to show honor, reverence and respect to the Lord and his ordinances. This is why I do so. Not to show off, but to try to be in the right attitude on the Sabbath towards the Lord and his day of rest as well as the ordinances he has us perform.

On a serious note... my missionary son just told me baptisms are to be scheduled for July or later.

Anddddd. Don't like the poll(s), feel free to ignore them and move on. To go size. Enjoy.

This guy hit the nail on the head with this quote from a 1973 lecture that Nibley gave at BYU, later reprinted in the collection, What is Zion? Joseph Smith Lecture Series 1972-73. …the worst sinners, according to Jesus, are not the harlots and publicans, but the religious leaders with their insistence on proper dress and grooming, their careful observance of all the rules, their precious concern for status-symbols, their strict legality, their pious patriotism. Longhairs, beards, and necklaces, LSD and rock, Big Sur and Woodstock, come and go, but Babylon is always there: rich, respectable, immovable… We want to be vindicated in our position and to know that the world is on our side as we all join in a chorus of righteous denunciation; the haircut becomes the test of virtue in a world where Satan deceives and rules by appearances.

Not my little corner of it.

Okay. On a serious note. President Nelson shared the following message of 'HOPE', almost a decade ago:

Epicenter was 4-6 miles from my house. I was at work (and still am), so as far as I know the only damage is a jar of salsa and a container of protein powder.

Thank you for your responses. I am likely the senior member on the forum (over 70) and somewhat old school. I realize that a lot is tradition and upbringing. I am also a 5th generation member so tradition runs in my family. My wife's parents were converts (after they were married). From my youth we were raised to wake up, make your bed and get dressed before leaving your bedroom. We were not allowed to breakfast in our pj's or with our bed unmade or a messy bedroom. Also if you missed the scheduled breakfast - you fasted tel lunch. Everyone was expected to eat breakfast at the same time - together. Boys wore a white shirt and tie on Sunday. Back then there was no block. Priesthood was usually at 7:00 am Sunday School at 10:00 am and Sacrament meeting at 4:00 pm. We wore our Sunday attire for the entire day. Our Sunday attire was our most expensive and since we purchased our own clothes we did not engage in activities that would create extra wear and tear. When boys were ordained to the priesthood it was expected that we wear a white shirt and tie when involved in any priesthood ordinances or official activities (like ward teaching or blessings). There was no official handbook of instructions. It was what everybody did. I remember being in the army and was given two pocket sized books by my bishop. One book was the Book of Mormon. The other was a priesthood instruction book with information for servicemen. The instruction book recommended that if not in uniform a priesthood holder should wear a white shirt and tie for blessing the sacrament etc. But I was taught that these things were not required but as a manner of respect - both to the L-rd and the the priesthood. As a side note - no one ever wore denim in the chapel and girls were expected to always wear a dress in the chapel - even if one was not attending a meeting. If one was not dressed properly for being in the chapel they would route themselves to avoid the chapel - which was considered a sacred place. In many ways I am glad that standards have been eased a bit as to allow for a more welcoming atmosphere at church but at the same time I miss the exceptional feeling of reverence and sacredness that I experienced in my youth. The Traveler

Do with this what you will. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/handbook-2-administering-the-church/priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings/priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings?lang=eng#title_number25

The principle is Sunday best. We can govern ourselves from there.

Heard on the news this evening that The Church of England has cancelled all services but churches are staying open and Muslim leaders have called for all services including Friday prayers to be suspended. My (inactive) sons response ..... well looks like God told the prophet first

True. And yet, moving from kids in school with 100s of other kids, to kids in a small daycare with under 10 - doing so favorably changes the magic bell curve of infection we all keep looking at. And, this is for health care workers only. They don't have a choice - they have to work right now.

I believe that the book of Job gives insight into how God works with men. As Elder McConkie said, "Job is for people who like the book of Job." I do not believe that God and Satan casually chat, as the highly formulaic retelling in Job might suggest. I don't believe that Satan goes before God to request permission to afflict people, and that God then grants that permission. I do not believe that Satan creates life or manipulates non-human life to afflict mankind. Insofar as the book of Job suggests otherwise, it's clear that the book of Job is speaking figuratively or in allusion or as a fable. Job may well have been an actual man, and the trials that he faced in the book might well reflect actual trials faced by a real Job (and perhaps by the rest of us). But to use that to draw the conclusion that Satan bargains with God to afflict mankind is as absurd as using the Biblical account of the sun standing still during Joshua's defeat of the Amorites to draw the conclusion that the sun circles the earth.

Which then begs the question, how do you know the adversary can not or has not received permission with this either? The point being Satan was given permission and did create boils.

It's funny. All of a sudden I'm no longer the kooky guy in the office. People are now asking me for advice.

He has FAR more power than we probably give him credit for. He has power over the waters, or so it was believed by many in Joseph Smith's time. The Bible relates that he had the power to replicate some of the miracles of Moses including snakes, blood, and a few others. There is ALSO a war that is still going on. Many think that the War in Heaven ended when 1/3 of the host of heaven were cast out of the presence of our Father, but as we can see in Genesis, the Adversary is still here on this world. He has been given some authority and power to control things. He has not been given the power to directly take over bodies or flat out destroy them, but he can influence things to harm or eventually cause death. This is an ongoing war and he has the worst of intentions for all of those who opposed him previously. I would not be surprised if many of the evils such as viruses and sicknesses were created by him to plague and torment mankind. He hates us and wishes ill. He can only do so because he is allowed to do so (and a prime example is Job, where he was allowed to do such things, or the story of Moses and Pharoah's sorcerers), but I think he's allowed greater variance than some think in that arena as well. He, as we are, is still a child of our Father and as such still has some gifts that are granted unto him until the final day of judgment. In this, there is an ongoing war and he is the enemy. I feel he uses all the weapons at his disposal to harm or hurt. His first goal is to make us miserable and if he can do so by making us fall from grace, he will. Then, if he can kill us before we can repent or gain grace again, he would probably try if allowed. If he can kill those who will refuse to turn and who will stay faithful...he probably would try if allowed. He is an enemy and as such, he is going to do all in his power to destroy us one way or the other. Fortunately, we have the Lord. The Atonement ensures that even if the adversary harms us, even if for a little while, by causing us to leave this mortal coil or to suffer in this life, that eventually he will be crushed. Unless WE CHOOSE to allow him to make such misery permanent, he can have no power to do so. He can cause us temporary misery, but by accepting the sacrifice and atonement of Jesus Christ and repenting and allowing the Lord's power to guide us and direct us, we can triumph over the adversary. He may be able to harm us and hurt us, but through Jesus Christ we know he will be destroyed in the end and cast into outer darkness.

"So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with asore bboils from the sole of his foot unto his crown." Seems like scriptures potentially present a different theory. Remember, the creation of this earth was accomplished by individuals without a body.

I'm am prepping by following the council of the Brethren, as always.

Which covenants is he breaking though? Has he been to the temple? If we go scripturally, no where does it say if one drinks an alcoholic drink they are going to hell. It doesn't even say that if one drinks alcohol, coffee, or tea that they can't go to the temple. Instead it is a matter of policy that the church enforces today. The Lord drank wine (though I have heard many say it was instead grapejuice and there is a good argument to that matter, but the Bible does say wine). I would imagine he is NOT going to hell (or we hope not or we all will be there together). Where does it say we have to go to church every Sunday? It says to meet often as members, but I don't think it ever specifies that one has to do that via going to Church every Sunday. Where does it say we must read the scriptures everyday in the Bible, Book of Mormon, D&C, or Pearl of Great Price? 90% of the people of the world in the past (actually it's more than that, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt) could not even READ, much less study books of scripture. Even if you do such things as drink alcohol or smoke, once you've been to the temple, if you do not feel you need to go again, you can be a faithful member for the most part and still disobey the word of wisdom. You won't be able to pass a temple recommend (which is unfortunate for them, but it is what it is today with our policies), but there is nothing held against them within the church. Now, there are other covenants and promises he made which he may be breaking, but that's not what I want to point out here. Many times people confuse modern traditions and policies as commandments. Like the Pharisees we put too much emphasis on policies and cultural aspects rather than what the Lord truly tells us to do. We worry FAR more about others than ourselves and what is pertinent for our OWN salvation. Now, this individual you mentioned seems to be very happy and thrilled with the gospel even if they are not keeping all the covenants they have made (perhaps they are doing other things such as breaking the law of chastity, or other such items which would probably not be following the Lord exactly). Some time ago I had a young man come to talk to me about a new member in the ward. He had no interest in the Church itself, but did wish to try to persuade others to not be baptized. He came in confidence and informed me that the young individual that was a new member had broken the law of chastity with him since their baptism. I had no doubt that he was telling me the truth. This young man believed that we should excommunicate this new member. However, I did not punish the new member for this. I did bring it up and tried to clarify how much the new member understood about the Law of Chastity and counseled with them, but when I considered all the things in relation to this, I felt any Church punishment at this stage for this new member would be detrimental. They did not have as good an understanding of the gospel as many others. In some ways, though they knew it was wrong, they did not realize how much of a sin it may be, especially what they were participating in. The young man who had visited me had one intention, to drive this new member out of the church by any means possible. Yes, the new member had been involved with sin, but they were at a different level of understanding with the gospel and the seriousness of certain sins in their life. Now this may bring condemnation from some here, but I did nothing towards the new member in regards to church discipline or any other matter except discuss the issue with them privately. I felt greatly impressed that they were still progressing and learning. In that same light, many new members become inactive very shortly after their baptism. In some instances they have a great understanding of the church, but in others they do not. In some of these instances these new members become older members that have not gone to church in decades and when they did...it was for only one or two Sundays. However, I find with a few of them that they still have a strong testimony of the gospel. They read parts of the Book of Mormon and were touched by the Spirit. They may be actively doing the best they can as they understand the gospel. Sometimes they have other issues which they have problems with. I knew an older lady that was committing adultery. She was inactive. For whatever reasons she had a difficult time getting a divorce from her husband. From what I understand he was rather abusive towards her and at one point she had escaped to police protection at a woman's shelter. In the intervening years she had fallen in love with another individual. She KNEW what she was doing was not in accordance with the laws of the Lord, the covenants she made in the temple, nor the rules of the Church. However, she actually still loved the Gospel and the Lord. Now, I could have condemned her in this situation or demanded a Church court. I did not. She was already inactive and suffering from the consequences of her actions. She knew others were probably judging her from it and I felt this was also a reason she was not going to church. Once again, I took no actions in regards to Church discipline. Instead, I got to know her better and invited her to come back to church. As she felt the love and fellowship of the leadership and eventually other sisters in the Relief Society she grew in her own desire to follow the Lord more fully. She eventually got a full divorce and marriage to the man she was living with. She returned to full activity in the Church. I feel that the Lord inspired the path we took with her as I feel it helped her far more in this instance than if we had decided to simply install Church punishment upon her. I see the Church as being a vessel to deliver the gospel. It is a way to help it's members return to their Heavenly Home. We are here to save souls, not drown them. In the above circumstances I did not feel as if Church discipline was the answer. In both of these one could say that they were quite actively breaking their covenants they had made. I know some may say I was a bad leader and condemn me for these actions. However, in both of these I feel we did the right thing under the inspiration of the Spirit. This is not to say this is the only way things go, I have seen many undergo Church discipline including the unfortunate situations of excommunication. These too are done with love (though I think many in the latter circumstance will disagree at times) in the hope that such a decision will drive home the seriousness of what they are about and drive them (hopefully) to their knees in repentance and return to the Lord and the Gospel in the Church. However, there are also times when the situations are catered more towards the individual needs rather than what a strict adherence to law and judgment may decree. I know another man in a similar situation as the individual you talk about above. I love this member. He is wonderful. He loves everyone. He is so charitable and friendly. He has strengths in charity and caring that I can only dream of. He never has a bad word for anyone and tries to help anyone who is in need if he can...including giving the clothes off his back and needing to buy more. He is an absolutely wonderful individual in regards to loving his fellowman. He is also a smoker and drinks heavily. He is not always at Church. He acknowledges these difficulties and at times I think he has given up even trying to overcome them and has instead settled down to a life where he has decided to enjoy it while he can. However, who is the better man, me or him? I, with my judgmental attitudes (not always, but at times) and pride, or him with his more temporal problems? I think he is probably a better person than I am. I think the Lord loves him dearly and appreciates the great love the man exhibits. So, I can see how one could love the gospel and still be doing things that are not in accordance with it. Actually, we ALL do such things. This does not mean I will condone someone for drinking, smoking, inactivity, or disobeying the commandments...but that I can understand how one can love the gospel and yet be involved with activities which may not be in synch with the gospel. I think we ALL have our own pet sins we participate in, some more visible than others, but ones that we need to overcome and work on to be perfected nonetheless. There is only one perfect man who has ever lived on this Earth, and that is the Lord. PS: Sorry for the long reply, but I am trying to explain how one could be of this mindset and still love the gospel and love the Church. It may have instead just made people think I am a bad judge of character and a bad leader, but hopefully at least one can understand the idea how one may not be keeping all their covenants but still love the gospel. In fact, come to think of it, except for the Lord, we all are basically in that situation to one degree or another depending on our understanding and advancement in faith and adherence to the commandments.

It's hard to say who is a good "Mormon" and who is not in many instances. The only person that we can really work on being "good" is ourselves. We can have an idea of what our close friends and family members are like in their beliefs, but the further we go from ourselves, the harder it can get. Most of us in this life have our beams in our eyes that affect us in our righteousness. Others may have motes or other difficulties, but the main focus for us should be whittling down those beams in our own eyes and perfecting ourselves so that we can be received into the Celestial Kingdom rather than trying to point out the motes in others eyes. The Word of Wisdom stands at a very interesting spot in many ways. We have been commanded in our day to follow it but this was not always so. It was a word of wisdom or advice for people to follow, but in the past it was not something they had to adhere to. In this, it is not a longstanding commandment such as the commandment to 'Keep the Sabbath Day Holy'. There have been apostles and even prophets in the past that enjoyed a good brew. One favorite among people is J. Golden Kimball. Elder Kimball was especially known for drinking coffee and cussing. He tended to have extremely colorful language, so much so that at times it was hinted that the prophet tried to help him overcome such things. I think some people enjoy listening to Elder Kimball's talks even now because he was a decent speaker, but also in many ways was relatable to each of us by showing us very clearly how apostles are not necessarily infallible but are like us...struggling to overcome temptations of the world. They have a special calling and election of which they fulfill, but they are still human and Elder Kimball was a very visceral reminder of this. There are things that I struggle with greatly, in fact it's many things that I struggle with. Some would think them no big deal while others may consider them extremely bad problems. One that I struggled with in the past and still struggle with is being good with a budget. Many Boy Scouts from the Church would bring up the Scout Law which points to one being thrifty. I have had difficulty with this to the point that I don't see how I can ever fully retire...I simply need to keep the money I am a prime example of not being thrifty. I think it is great that the man you met still had such a great feeling towards the Church. It sounds like he, like the rest of us have things we need to work on and it would be even greater if he could overcome these things. It seems his difficulties (though he may not see them as such) are a little more visible than many others. It would be terrific if he could overcome some of these and attend church meetings more often (and perhaps he is aware that drinking alcohol is frowned upon and is self conscious about this and thus avoids coming to church because he feels he would be judged about it, or many other things that people stop coming to church for). It can be hard for someone to take the first steps in this and sometimes they do not even feel they need to. However, I feel they can still have strong beliefs in the Church and perhaps be better than us it just tends to be that their difficulties are more visible than our difficulties. I have another difficulty which is not so visible at first. I KNOW I need to focus first and foremost upon myself and my own salvation, but at times I also tend to be judgmental . This is probably why I can write a little about this because I suffer from this fallibility in my own life. I think at times the best path is to know that we need to try to work on our own flaws and become better followers of the Lord first, and then encourage our fellow brothers and sisters in their efforts to follow the Lord. It perhaps is hypocritical for me to say this knowing my own flaws, but at times focusing on trying to be better people ourselves can be the better path. Sometimes seeing the flaws of others can help us realize our own flaws and help us to also focus on what we need to do. We also need to try to be good examples, and if we can be good enough examples, perhaps we can help others and encourage them through our example to be able to also work on their own difficulties and overcome whatever sins they may favor or problems in following the gospel they may also have.

Epstein did.

General Conference prediction: We'll have updated guidelines on how to baptize new members while practicing social distancing:

If you clicked the link he’ll get you on charges of trespassing!

Can't trick me, PoPo!

It's good that you don't have a Homeland Security boss like the Minister for Homeland Security we have in Australia. This is what he said this morning in a radio interview about people who were stockpiling: "Because the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Border Force, New South Wales Police, Victorian Police and elsewhere are onto this at the moment, and this is part of our demand problems. "We will come down like a tonne of bricks on those individuals." Mr Dutton said anyone who has photos, car registration details or any other evidence of people acting in such a way to contact Crimestoppers. Incidentally, Minister Dutton has been in hospital for about the last ten days with corona virus.

March Madness has been cancelled! Yup, Satan is involved.