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My one "major evil" tendency that I've struggled with since as far back as 2 years old (yes, I remember that far) was my temper. If I was just "being my authentic self" I'd have been locked up in a penitentiary before I hit puberty. But luckily, I was taught rules of good behavior that people in civilized societies abide by. If you think I have trouble being civilized today, you should have seen what I was as a kid. It took a long time to tame the feral animal I was as a child to become the highly irritating/grating human being I am today. I've also had many so-called "minor evil" tendencies that may not have gotten me thrown in prison, but probably excommunicated an shunned from society before I reached the age of majority. But thanks to religion in my life, and by the grace of God, I've learned to control those tendencies. Many have faded sufficiently to be non-existent. Others still rear their ugly head now and then. But I control them. So, yes. This idea that "we're fine just as we are" is lunacy. No society could possibly survive like that and have any real growth or longevity.

No. What David did was wrong. This question about Uriah honestly surprises me. Rather than focusing on Uriah's honor, this question turns Uriah's experience into something he was not. If Uriah was as the question suggests, which as a servant in the army this would have been known, then Uriah is subject to the following verse of scripture, "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." David wouldn't have had to send him to the front line, he would have been able to use the Law of Moses to end Uriah's life by the law, and which would have kept David spotless from murder. Uriah's honor here is amazing to me. Why should I take pleasure, when my man "and my lord Joab" aren't able to also receive the same privilege? This part of the scripture "and my Lord Joab" -- if my Lord a master is not able to come home and lives in a tent, I should also not partake of any drink and pleasure when the one I serve is working and the servants of my Lord are working. This can easily be symbolic of us and Christ who was betrayed. While Christ works should we be lazy and eat and drink because we are tempted to "rest" or should we be doing what our Lord is doing? Uriah appears to have honor that isn't seen in many man -- especially our day, and because of this honor we somehow call to question his orientation?

I wonder if this is really as common as some think it is.

I share the same aversions and conflicts as the OP. I think that God had to provide/allow at least one trial for the latter days that was so confusing, so heart-wrenching, and so entirely reliant on the Spirit for guidance that it could deceive the very elect unless they learned to hear Him. I think we have two right now: gender confusion and sexual orientation. It breaks up friendships, marriages, and church membership for a growing number of us. There are no clear right and wrong answers other than the unchanging doctrine that eternal marriage is between a man and a woman and gender is divinely appointed. Satan is so cunning and brilliant that he is pushing the second great commandment over the first great commandment. He makes the fight binary where we feel an impulse to choose one over the other. For some, their heart strings get tugged for people struggling with same sex attraction and push for social change in the Church and rail against the prophets. For others, they condemn their own children or friends and treat them with disdain. It is an incredibly hard tight rope to walk to be able to love the sinner and condemn the sin. But that is our duty if we are to become more like the Savior. I don't pretend to be far along on that path. I am very conservative and all of this makes me uncomfortable. I wish it would go away but it isn't. And it is going to get worse as this rising generation grows up largely without those hard line teachings from the 70's and 80's against homosexuality. So buckle up and learn to hear Him or you may get yourself sifted out.

I think the world today has lost a sense of responsibility. Today a group of people want to make it all about lust and romance. They don't put any factor about responsibility into it. If you marry someone and have a family, it does not matter at that point if the romance has gone out of your life for that time. You are responsible for your family. As a father you are responsible for your children. You are responsible for trying to do all you can to help them and your family if you are a Father. If you are a mother you are responsible that they know they have a loving mother who supports them. It is more than just about what YOU want, it is about taking care of everyone in the family. I fee this is forgotten today. A LOT of it is about the individual and what THEY want rather than what is good for everyone else. It is about selfish desire rather than expressing the love for others. It is about what you can get rather than serving and helping those around you. Those fathers that abandon their families because of worldly lusts (or mothers who do the same) are individuals who make me sad. It is also about commitment. I love my wife tremendously, but even if I did not I would still be committed to her. I made that commitment many decades ago and that is an important factor in marriage. You commit to putting your spouse above all else. Even if you are gay and decide to get married in a heterosexual marriage, that should not be something you toss away. You should remain committed to the ideals of the gospel and to living a life that is committed to something more than yourself. If you choose that path, you should stick to your decision rather than deciding years later that you no longer want to honor your commitments. It harms those you committed to, it harms those you brought into the world, and to me it is a dishonorable way to act. If you don't want that responsibility and commitment and are a homosexual, it is better to NOT trod that path than to try it out or even start down it. IMO.

I saw a video a few weeks ago that I will try to find again, but it was from an American guy who speaks Chinese, and often visits China. While there he was asking to look at young people's phones who used tiktok. The feeds that these young adults were getting were all the same...videos of Chinese people doing great achievements in athletics and musical performances, quick strategies to solve difficult math problems, cool science and space exploration videos, and there was also the occasional cute kitten video. Meanwhile...here in America multiple phones he displayed had completely different videos popping up - you have to search for that other good stuff. What comes up in the algorithm automatically here are videos that mess with young kids brains. It could be dangerous physical stuff like the tide pod, ice salt, or bird box challenge. Other videos were about the best ways to transition your gender in your early teens without your parents knowing, how to "properly gamble" to make a profit, or college students screaming for the death of supreme court justices while waving gay pride flags and twerking on top of cars. Big difference what is being peddled to our kids vs their own.

I think it is more of influencing rather than simply just spying. From what i understand, TikTok in China for youth and children focuses on upping the amount of educational videos shown. The algorithms for the US are the opposite. I suspect China has a HUGE presence on social media in general (Tik Tok, reddit, etc) to try to disrupt the United States and the Western World. If they can make people unhappy enough with their governments and Democracy they can destabalize the free world to the point where they may be able to make inroads of their own. I see an awful lot of sentiment from youth who spend an inordinate amount of time on these social media platforms (instagram, Tik Tok, reddit, Imgur, etc) that indicate there is a much higher number of far left commentary, far more atheists or those who claim atheism and anti-religion, and who disparage democratic institutions on these platforms than what I see in everyday society or even in polls of what Americans actually think, believe, and feel. If they are spying on you it is probably connected to an algorithm that tries to figure how to play content that best makes you upset and disgruntled with the society around you and the emphasize those feelings so that you get angry at society around you. It can work for both sides, both right and left politically speaking. I think that may also be part of why we see such extremist views arising on the both the left and the right over the past decade as China has gotten more involved with buying up or being involved with social media in the background. They are the serpent in the grass and we aren't paying attention.

Heh. Halfway-related, but in 2018, Colorado Springs figured out that speed kills, so they put a more restrictive police pursuit policy in place. It worked, and the number of high-speed pursuits declined: What could possibly go wrong? Well, people found out cops usually won't follow you if they try to pull you over, and you just floor it. Eludings doubled. So, be clear - ColSpgs police did around 30 fewer pursuits per year. And felony high-speed eludings increased by ~250 per year. Speed kills, so the effort to avoid high speed deaths resulted in more people speeding. Now the city council is trying to put things back to the way they were before some random schmoe speeds away from his speeding ticket and kills someone. It's human nature. "I don't break the law because I'll get caught and punished." So, what happens when you find out your police department's funding has been slashed, resulting in less officers on the street to catch you doing bad things? It's not rocket science.

I thought mikbone was pretty clear that it is the effeminacy that bothers him, not the supposed tradition of ballet being a female and not a male endeavor (which is, of course, untrue, and has been false since ballet began). My authentic self would kill my neighbor to get access to his wife and plot overthrow of legitimate power. I think I've done pretty well reining in my supposedly authentic self. Ditto for all those whose authentic selves would marry children, steal resources, enslave others, etc. One major purpose of any real religion is to help people be something much better than their so-called authentic selves.

That's beyond the point though. It may or may not be doxing. It doesn't need to be for Elon to be consistent. It only needs to be true that he THINKS it's doxing. I'm not saying Elon has being consistent across the board. He hasn't. I just don't think this particular case is inconsistent in any regard. FWIW, Elon claimed that tracking his plane was not possible without revealing private information. It seems clear he believes what was done crossed a doxing line. Which seems fine to me. Moreover, they weren't permanent bans. They were warning bans sending a message. This isn't allowed. Which it probably shouldn't be. I'd also guess those banned would feel the exact same way as Elon did had their information been shared in like manner. Now if the same thing happens to someone on the left and Musk shrugs it off and doesn't ban in like kind, sure....then he's behaving like a leftist. I wouldn't put it past him. Most people aren't entirely consistent. We all let our biases sway us, knowingly or not.

Yeah, until they become mine. Ever been in the position where you have to choose between your beliefs about the very nature of reality, and your love of your family? My point is not that Vort's joke isn't a good one. It's precisely the sort of joke I would have made 2 years ago. But just be careful Nemesis doesn't bite your butt like she did mine.

I wasn't talking about you so much as me. Let's just say that any fun I might have poked at the they/them/their crowd over the years has been well and truly paid for.

I don't detect anything in the joke that makes fun of others. It looks like a simple, humorous comparison of "them thar" with "they/them/their". Can you point out the part that makes fun?

https://interpreterfoundation.org/bibliographies/hugh-w-nibley/lectures/

This might shatter some dreams, but virtually no one who uses Tiktok is interesting enough for China to spy on. Could they be spying on us? You betcha, but no in China cares about the 87.00$ in your checking account and the cat videos you share. Right - 'virtually no one'. That's correct. And TikTok doesn't collect or move data about finances, or even personal data really. What it does do, is provide location information. And again, 99.5% of Americans being in America isn't useful. The intelligence value comes from our military and folks overseas using the app. It gives China decent intelligence as to where our people are, and how many there are. It's not sexy like the cool spy stuff you see in the movies. But you can't call it nothing. And when all it cost is a team of app developers and a bunch of servers, holy crap where can a nation get cheaper and better location data on our troops and boats?

I'm genuinely curious. Do the news sources you frequent talk about the skyrocketing crime rates in heavily Blue areas which have applied "defund the police" ideology? Forget about definitions or percentages of people who want to completely abolish police. How do you think the words "defund the police" have produced in reality? What has been the practical resulting reality?

...the Resurrection and Atonement wrought by the Savior and the promise of eternal life with our loved ones are of such overwhelming significance that to not rejoice would demonstrate a lack of understanding of the Savior’s gift. Joy comes when we have the Spirit in our lives (see Alma 22:15). When we have the Spirit, we rejoice in what the Savior has done for us. Quentin L. Cook, Rejoice! But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

This is something I have not heard of before, but in light of the "unknown origins" (so to speak) of the Book of Mormon (and how the Book of Mormon discusses a very intelligent society) I found this interesting:

The issue is that Byte Dance, the owner of TikTok, is basically a wholly-owned subsidiary of the mainland Chinese government. There is concern that China could be using the app as a tool of espionage, accessing everything from GPS coordinates to personal information stored on whatever device it's being used on. The United States military has already prohibited service members from having or using it, and I think a number of contractors have already implemented similar bans. So I'm not initially surprised by this, no.

No actual record exists. But according to Jewish tradition, the adultery took place when David was in his late 50s to early 60s. So, yes. He was not a young man.

It's not about the spying as much as it is the indoctrination and degradation of today's youth.

If every single US Senator voted to ban the application it means something nefarious is going on. They almost never vote unanimously.

I had an interesting conversation with my youngest son today. He is basically failing in all his school subjects. So, I delved to see what was going on. It had nothing to do with his intelligence. He gets into a lot of trouble because of his brains and lack of experience... or lack of humility. We zeroed-in on his typing program. Long story short, he was not doing what the program said to do. He decided he knew what needed doing and he did it the way he thought was best. But he just couldn't type enough to pass the tests. I had to explain to him that the method that they teach is designed to provide maximum efficiency. What he was doing was a very smart method for a few situations. But as an overall system, it really slowed him down. That was why he was failing. Part of it was that since it was only helpful in a few situations, he had to think about every word he typed, then make a decision about what method to use. He didn't realized that by doing some things instinctively greatly increased his performance even if it may seem more inefficient at the moment. Apparently his attitude of "I know better" was being applied to all subjects and even the more non-academic aspects at his school. So, he's really not advancing very far. I saw this as having a spiritual application. Whenever we're given a commandment or a guideline, we tend to think "I know better. I'm going to do it my own way." For many temporal things that may be a problem unless we really do know better. But with spiritual things, when we start saying we know better than the Lord... That's some pretty shaky ground. We'll see if my son actually applies the advice I gave him.

For the record I left the Republican party during the Nixon era - not because of Nixon but because the Republican party was deep into election cheating. I made every effort to become a Democrat but found that the Democrats were better at election fraud. It may be hard to swallow but even if a particular party knows they will win an election they will still make concerted efforts at fraud. During the last presidential election there was a rather odd statement made that even if there is fraud there is not enough evidence for further investigation because it was claimed there was not enough fraud to change the election. Wow -- are you kidding me????? Fraud is not just about winning an election - it is also about creating a mandate. The more a particular party can convince citizens of their win the more they claim a mandate and justification to implamate their agenda without compromise. I believe that election cheating is more likely when a particular party is convinced, they will win. Campaigns and elections are the engines of corruption in our government. Here are my suggestions: 1. No non-voting entity can contribute to any campaign. Only individual citizens registered to vote in a specific election can contribute. (Please note the period at the end) 2. All expenders of campaign funds must go through a third party not related or involved with the person running for office. Any connection will result in immediate removal from office. 3. Eliminate all pension funds for elected officials – including the president – they can draw SS benefits like the rest of us. 4. Limit that amount of aggregate time that any individual can serve in elected offices. 5. Elected officials receive the same medical benefits at the same medical facilities as those active in the military. 6. All elected officials wear a tracking device 24-7 while they are in office and provide a complete and accurate list of everyone they met with; on a daily basis. There can be an exception for listing individual at public meetings open to the press. 7. All voters must regester for each election they vote in - no automatic regesteration. The Traveler

I recently read “Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes”. The authors suggest that a) Bathsheba’s being seen in flagrante delicto by David was probably no accident on her part; b) David’s affair with Bathsheba couldn’t help but have been known by the various palace servants and courtiers (he had openly asked his servants about her name and background); c) Uriah must have heard about what his wife and the king had done; d) David knew that Uriah knew; e) David asking Uriah to . . . err . . . go to his wife was a tacit way of asking Uriah to publicly forgive (or at least ignore) David’s offense, and f) Uriah’s response indicated that he was not. having. it.

By "get with the program" I didn't mean "start cheating". I meant start closing these stupid fraudulent loopholes.

If Republicans also begin ballot harvesting our elections will become simply a matter of who can cheat the most by using this process to cast ballots. (Maybe if Republicans began to do this and began to win elections perhaps the Democrats would want to go back to old system with showing up at the voting polls with identification to cast a ballot.) As I said before, I believe mail in voting without a voter soliciting for absentee ballots makes it a lot easier to commit voter fraud and never be held accountable for it.

These are the “good tidings of great joy” we celebrate at Christmas—not only that Christ was born but that He lived among us, gave His life for us, was resurrected, and ultimately “finished the work which [His Father gave Him] to do.” We rejoice because the confusion and chaos of this world can be hushed by the promise made to us from the very beginning—a promise fulfilled by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. For this reason, the story of Christmas is not fully told without the story of Easter. It was the Savior’s atoning sacrifice that made holy the silent night in Bethlehem. It was His gift of redemption that caused us to shout for joy in the premortal world—this gift that heals our sickness, restores our sight, and wipes away all tears. Craig C. Christensen, The Fulness of the Story of Christmas For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

The only thing stopping us is the political will. We have the technology. We can build them.

My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation, which President Thomas S. Monson just taught us, and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. We feel it at Christmastime when we sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” And we can feel it all year round. For Latter-day Saints, Jesus Christ is joy! That is why our missionaries leave their homes to preach His gospel. Their goal is not to increase the number of Church members. Rather, our missionaries teach and baptize to bring joy to the people of the world! Russell M. Nelson, Joy and Spiritual Survival And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. Luke 2:8-18

Too bad it takes more energy to make nuclear fusion than it gives off presently. Here is to hoping that nuclear fusion can become a power source soon that we can use. I doubt we are close to discovering this though. Nuclear fission with Thorium seems like a good source of power from what I have studied. I have also heard one way humanity can dispose of nuclear waste is very deep drilling into the Earth in a stable region. The waste would be placed so deep that once the hole is sealed the waste would very likely remain undisturbed for over tens of thousands of years.

Those who find a way to truly behold the Man find the doorway to life’s greatest joys and the balm to life’s most demanding despairs. So, when you are encompassed by sorrows and grief, behold the Man. When you feel lost or forgotten, behold the Man. When you are despairing, deserted, doubting, damaged, or defeated, behold the Man. He will comfort you. He will heal you and give meaning to your journey. He will pour out His Spirit and fill your heart with exceeding joy. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Behold the Man! Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. 3 Nephi 1:13

Luke’s account of the story of the Annunciation to Mary gives us a window through which to better appreciate this remarkable young woman. Through her interactions with Gabriel and Elisabeth, we see a young woman trying to grasp and understand her unique call from God. The magnitude of that call must have weighed heavily upon someone so young, and yet she readily submitted her will to that of the Father. Her story reminds us that God is aware of all of His children and that He calls ordinary men and women to participate in extraordinary ways to help build His kingdom. She became Jesus’s first disciple, and thus she is a model for all who choose to follow Him. Gaye Strathearn, Mary, the Mother of Jesus O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

I turned that last one up loud, and now all the glassware in my house is shattered. Seriously though, I really appreciate this thread!

Love is like the Polar Star. In a changing world, it is a constant. It is the very essence of the gospel. Gordon B. Hinckley, Quoted by Robert F. Orton in The First and Great Commandment A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34-35

The prophet Isaiah spoke of Him centuries before His birth: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” This little child, born in a stable and cradled in a manger, was a gift from our loving Heavenly Father. He was the promised Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the Son of the living God. He was with His Father before He came to earth in mortality, the Creator of the earth upon which we stand. Henry B. Eyring, The Gift of a Savior For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17

On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures; and reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world; and the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world; that through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved. Doctrine and Covenants 138:1-4 The gospel is the good news of Christ. It is the revelation that the Son of God came to earth, lived a perfect life, atoned for our sins, and conquered death. It is the path of salvation, the way of hope and joy, and the assurance that God has a plan of redemption and happiness for His children. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Way of the Disciple

@JohnsonJones A previous poster referred to the revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants to show that the early implementation for the Law of Consecration had the member voluntarily deed their property to the bishop as agent of the Church, who in turn deeded a "stewardship" back to the person. The Joseph Smith Papers editors note that the execution was limited in scope and duration. "Not all features of consecration were implemented, and many members of the church were never invited to practice consecration as outlined in the scriptures." I've searched for examples of these deeds either to the bishop or from the bishop and have turned up empty. The closest I can find is 1) general land transactions and 2) dissolving the United Firm. For 1) every Kirtland transaction and Missouri transaction I see involves the exchange of land for money. For 2) I haven't found the deeds, but Revelations in Context says Whitney's store stewardship was deeded to him after the Firm was dissolved. Is this what you were talking about with the deeds not actually being deeded? Or are you talking about something else? As a historian, I would appreciate it if you would provide sources for your claims that Consecrated properties were communal and theocommunistic in practice.

For what it’s worth, missionaries who regularly review mission standards should know what to tithe on and what not to tithe. There was a similar statement in the old (white) missionary handbook.

I 100% agree with this. Opening the windows of heaven to have blessings poured out does not mean temporal blessings always. The greatest gift is eternal life with Heavenly Father. What greater gift can God give one of us? However, in paying my tithing I have seen many times the LORD rebuke the devourer for my sake. I believe I cannot afford to not pay my tithing.

There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. Let it be a time that lights the eyes of children and puts laughter on their lips. Let it be a time for lifting the lives of those who live in loneliness. Let it be a time for calling our families together, for feeling a closeness to those who are near to us and a closeness also to those who are absent. Let it be a time of prayers for peace, for the preservation of free principles, and for the protection of those who are far from us. Let it be a time of forgetting self and finding time for others. Let it be a time for discarding the meaningless and for stressing the true values. Let it be a time of peace because we have found peace in His teachings. Most of all, let it be a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the Wise Men. Thomas S. Monson, A Bright Shining Star Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. Doctrine and Covenants 59:5

Patiently I await For this joyous day to come. Where we can come together And bow before the Son. James D. Maxon, A Christmas Poem Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:7 These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever. Doctrine and Covenants 76:62

I missed yesterday, so am doing two today. For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. Jacob 4:4 Jesus is the Son of God. He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal father. He made an infinite Atonement for man’s sins. He was resurrected, thus opening the doors of immortality and eternal life for all mankind. Jesus is the only individual who ever lived to have the details of His birth, life, mission, death, and resurrection spelled out in public documents centuries before. Who could have written the life of any great man before it happened? Nothing but divine foreknowledge and power could have revealed the life of Jesus in such detail and then brought it to pass. No person could have done this. It was God’s way of placing His divine stamp on the life and work of His Only Begotten Son, a means for letting all mankind know that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the hope and desire of the ages. Institute Old Testament Student Manual, The Messianic Hope in Ancient Israel

In my younger years, it would be necessary to bring up topics with my kids so they would be prepared to deal with them as the grew up. It was incumbent upon my wife and me to determine what topics were appropriate at what age. But today we're not so fortunate. Inappropriate topics are forced upon our children when they are far too young to really comprehend the issues involved, much less, come to a well thought out conclusion about them. So, we're forced to have age inappropriate conversations with our children because society is forcing the issues upon them. Recently my 10 year old was part of the conversation about the family friend who recently committed suicide. When we discussed the transgender thing, he said that he wished he could "unknow" that. I don't blame him. Why does is it so controversial to believe we shouldn't talk about certain topics until they are older?”"

I agree with much of what you say, but let me push back a smidge on this part: Why? Have we not just seen the entire church suspend its meetings for something like a year due to a highly infectious physical disease whose childhood mortality rate was nevertheless lower than .01%? And even now, on the back side of the pandemic underlying that decision, do we not sympathize with and even applaud the hyper-careful folk who proclaim that their peculiar circumstances mean that they still must stay away? A big part of the gay rights argument used to be “it’s not the flu; you can’t catch it from others” But with what Shrier calls “rapid-onset gender dysphoria”—apparently, you can catch it. Or at least, teenagers (especially girls) can. Over 65% of teens who announced rapid-onset transgenderism had increased their social media use and online time in the immediate run-up to coming out. Almost 70% belonged to a peer group in which at least one friend had already come out. In 60% of cases coming out resulted in a popularity boost for the child. Nearly 70% of children who experience childhood gender dysphoria, and do not receive affirmation therapy or socially transition, eventually grow out of it. If what Shrier says is true, and many kids that actually don’t have clinical gender dysphoria are nevertheless being pressured to declare themselves “transgender” and engage in life-changing hormone treatments and surgeries, and if (as some participants here have suggested) it turns out that a significant part of this pressure has been happening at church— —What then?

Why? Serious question. I don't dialog with my two-year-old granddaughter about whether Grandpa loves her. I instruct her on the matter. That's because I'm the adult. Why would I willingly abdicate that position when talking to my 6-, 8-, 10-, or 12-year-old grandchild about sexual orientation or gender identity, arguably far more important topics?

Maybe it would be more accurate to say we can't "fully" protect children from it. But even then, that isn't really true to what I meant either. Kids simply seeing a man wearing a dress isn't necessarily damaging in and of itself if the proper responses, teachings and trainings are being done consistently. What I mean when I say we have to protect our children is, in part, that we need to be talking about this with them. Teaching them of the dangers. Teaching them of the corruption. Teaching them of the evil ideologies behind it all. Of course that teaching needs to include Christlike love, humility, patience, longsuffering, kindness, etc. It also means being exceedingly careful with kids and social media, serious consideration of home schooling, monitoring of other entertainment (#cancelDisney), etc. In particular it means affirming young girls of the awesomeness of their being female. I'm seriously not following why you bolded "The insanity is beyond. Beyond beyond." There's nothing contrary to what the church, scriptures, prophesy, or anything teaches in that comment. The insanity is beyond. Your understanding of this is a bit off to me. The church recognizes that biological sex is biological. But it also declares, unapologetically, that gender is eternal. The fact that it recognizes that some people 'identify' as a different gender is not contrary to @Carborendum's comments at all. This cuts both ways, frankly. For instance, there are people in my ward who are upset that a young man who came out as gay earlier this year is still allowed to bless the sacrament and attend the temple. "But he came out! PUBLICLY! There are consequences!" Alas, that is not what the Church expects, requires, or teaches. I do not follow how your response is even related to what @scottyg said. I will validate valid things.

Like the children of Israel, many today are chasing after false idols. Political movements and philosophy are more attractive than scripture and Prophets. Some even lie to themselves that a just god would accept their evil actions, and that those actions will somehow bring lasting happiness. It has become the norm for many LDS parents to say that because they love their children they will "support" them in their decisions. This includes leaving the church because their enlightened (woke) young adult children don't agree with those 15 old white guys. A couple in my ward no longer attend church because their 19 year old son came out as gay, and he doesn't want them to attend anymore because it hurts his feelings...so they left. Whether it is my sons choosing to not serve a mission, a child getting into drugs, lgbtqxyz, or any number of the stupid ideals now pushed as "equitable and just", I will always, always love my children...but that does not mean I have to support their wrong choices. If they are doing something wrong or stupid I will most certainly tell them.

I applaud your efforts. Your mentioning the YM and YW in your ward reminded me of something. My 13 yo daughter has a friend who is a boy. They are such good friends, some of the kids at school tease them about being a couple. They're not. Neither has any romantic interest in the other. And recently, I've begun seeing some signs that this boy is being influenced by the movement. Part of the problem is that their parents are liberals. Yes, that may not be what some liberals on this board want to hear. But at least in this case, it is true. They wholly buy into the movement. They're perfectly woke. It would be one thing if he truly had gender dysphoria in the classic sense. But instead, he suffers from lack of facts and lack of truth. And that emptiness is what is confusing him, not because he actually has gender dysphoria. They think they're "allowing" him to find his own way. But all the time they're saying, "if you think you're a girl, that is perfectly ok. Do you want to go dress shopping?" This is not allowing. This is encouraging. If they simply took the time to explain a boy has a p... and a girl has a v... then that would be the end of it. If the child still "feels" something else, then they're going against both science and religion. And the family would have to figure that out. But 99% of the cases of this generation are only because children aren't learning how to discern truth from error. They're allowed to believe anything anyone tells them not matter how harmful it may be. This movement is literally killing our children. And the band went marching on.

I am so distraught at what's going on with this stuff. It's SO terrible and having a daughter now...it just breaks me heart. Up to a year or so ago it hadn't hit too close to home, and I hadn't even realized how much of an epidemic it is, even in happy valley Utah, even in the Church, even everywhere. Now I have extended family (a close cousin's daughter) who had decided they're Trans. And I've heard of example after example from friends and family in their wards, schools, etc. We have to protect our children from this! Thanks @Just_A_Guy for the resource on it. We need even more. The insanity is beyond. Beyond beyond. And it's going to get worse. Elon Musks purchase of Twitter is helpful. It also won't be enough.