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You're quite right - I misinterpreted the "they" before. "They" are not the dragons (or the jackals), but the Babylonians who used to inhabit these places.

In Australia we have something called an advanced medical directive. Its basically a legally binding document giving instructions to medical staff about how you would like to be treated if you are no longer capable of making your own decisions. It also includes instructions about whether or not doctors should try to revive you if you suffer some sort of catastrophic event and nominates who should switch off the life support system. My mum is far from being on life support or anything similar. However she is making preparations for the possibility that it might one day happen. She called me last night to ask if I would be the one willing to switch her off if she was ever in that situation. I told her I would need to think about it. I’m a bit uncertain about it. On the one hand I would like to honour her wishes. On the other hand I see how it as akin to killing someone. I can also see how I would be the better person to ask compared with my siblings. One sibling would never do it under any circumstances, another sibling would do it without hesitation or consultation. I think my decision about whether or not to agree with mum’s request will be significantly influenced by church teachings and practices on this topic. Does anyone know what the church’s teachings are on the cessation of life support systems?

In the US that directive is called a living will. The Church uses strong language against euthanasia (violates the commandments of God) but notes that what you describe is not euthanasia. Here’s the relevant section in the Handbook of Instruction:

Where else might they need one more then?

Indeed - very silly me. It's like "He was in love with the daughter of the king, who was very beautiful. (The daughter that is, not the king.)"

I recognized the joke and actually meant to be sort of continuing it. I should know better than to do that on the internet when that particular brand of my humor is often missed offline. The confused face was a response to the bot, not you.

LDSBot appears to share ChatGPT's tendency to hallucinate. I am having a conversation with it now about conference snacks. I mentioned the possibility of using a theme and asked for a list of foods mentioned in talks and received: Bread: Symbol of the Savior's body in the sacrament, and of Jesus Christ as the "Bread of Life." Honey: Symbolizing the "sweetness" oof God's word and law. Fruits: These are often used to symbolize the results of righteous living and the blessings of following gospel principles. Milk and meat: These are scriptural symbols used to differentiate between basic and deeper gospel teachings. I gave an example of a story I remembered, hoping I could then prompt more of that sort of idea (The Privilege of Prayer by J. Devn Cornish, Sunday Afternoon October 2011). I gave the same citation information as I shared in the link above, and LDSBot apologized, said it remembered now, and made up a story about Elder Cornish finding money on the road while delivering newspapers as a boy and bought a chicken dinner for his family. I told it the actual details of the case (medical residency; bought single piece of chicken for self). It apologized for the confusion and found a moral in the story. Me: All that aside, can you remember any such stories involving snack foods? LDSBot: Hmmm, specific stories about snack foods might be a bit harder to come by in General Conference talks. But here's a story that might fit what you're looking for! There's a talk by Elder Michael John U. Teh called "The Sacrament Can Help Us Become Holy" from October 2016. He shares this little gem about a bag of popcorn: "While participating at a three-day Shakespearian festival with their English class during their junior high school years, our sons noticed that their friends were buying bags of kettle corn from vendors. They, too, wanted to buy kettle corn but didn’t want to spend any of their money. Since our family is always looking for ways to save money, they returned home and asked my dear wife, Grace, if they could make homemade popcorn and sell it at the festival the following year. After examining the viability of their proposal, the project was approved. The next year during the same festival, we brought four small tables, eight camping chairs, a small camp stove, two popcorn pots, and supplies for making the popcorn. Our boys popped it, Grace packaged it, and our little girls sold it. I guarded the cash box. It was a hit with their classmates because of the delicious popcorn and the affordable price. This continued for eight years until our youngest graduated from high school. Truly, the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money, they shall perish (see 2 Nephi 26:31)." I hope this little popcorn tale adds a flavor of fun to your snack-themed General Conference! 😊🍿 Elder Teh did not speak in the October 2016 conference. Also, a story about earning money by making and selling popcorn, immediately followed by "...if they labor for money, they shall perish," in a talk supposedly about the sacrament?

Oh, you had to bring up words and etymology. You know I have to weigh in. The Masoretic Hebrew version uses the word "Saw-EER." This has been translated as many different words in several different verses where this word appears. Goats (and he-goats) and satyrs are both common Bible translations of Saw-EER. And we can see the usage of either one resembling the other. Jackals is also another common translation. Then we have the generic "howling creature." There was also one common translation which does not appear in any common Bible translation I'm aware of -- Baboon. But this was specifically a species of Baboon that is native to Babylon. And since that is the image that the prophecy invokes, it makes sense that his may be a valid translation. I don't know where you got the word tannin. That isn't what is used in the Hebrew Bible (Masoretic). You are correct that tannin (tan-NEEN) means jackal. But it is also the Hebrew word used for serpent (as in Exodus 7 where Aaron's rod became a serpent). NOTE: This is NOT the same word used in Genesis (Garden of Eden). The reason why satyr is used in Isaiah and 2 Ne (I believe) is that there is a background and history of the satyr that most people ignore in the romanticizing of Greek myth. Before the modern image of a half-goat/half-human (which was taken from the faun in later centuries) the prototypical satyrs were "men of hedonistic excess." Regardless, the implication here is that there is no civilization or social order remaining. Only wild animals and wild people who know no civilization.

Here's what Verse by Verse The Old Testament Volume 2 by Andrew C. Skinner, D. Kelly Ogden has to say about the satyrs: I think what @Vort said. "their" is not the dragons', but the Babylonians'. To re-translate starting in verse 21: "But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there [in destroyed Babylon]; and the Babylonians' houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell in Babylon, and satyrs shall dance in Babylon. 22 And wild beasts of the islands shall cry in Babylon's desolate houses, and dragons in Babylon's pleasant palaces; for Babylon's time is near to come, and Babylon's day shall not be prolonged. For I will destroy Babylon speedily; yea, for I will be merciful unto my people, but the wicked shall perish."

This is a great question to ponder for oneself. We are instructed by the Lord to become as he is. What manner of man/woman ought we to be --> even as he is. He is the prime example of what it means to become like the Father. When I think of the Savior I would think of "Good Shepherd". He is the Good Shepherd, especially from our purview, our vantage point. However, if we look at the relationship between the Father and Son, he is exactly the metaphor of a lamb/sheep. He knows his Father's voice. How do we know we are the Lords sheep --> we hear his voice and know who he is. In relationship to my Savior, I am a sheep. I at least would like to identify as a sheep, but may at times be a goat. In relation to discipleship, as with the Lord, I'm called to be a shepherd. It really depends on what I'm doing as to how I would identify myself with either symbol. The same would go with the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. I'm both, neither one would define me. The Savior was both a sheep and a shepherd. But from our purview he is the Good Shepherd, so always my Shepherd never a sheep symbol.

I tried asking the question about temples in a dozen different ways. It kept defaulting to the "it is a matter of inspiration" line. So, I asked it about specific areas of significant growth. It mentioned Africa tends to be an area of growth, but... (yadda yadda). It seems that the bot simply doesn't have the data to make even an educated guess. And there are some things that the bot isn't programmed to say/research, regardless.

Confusing pronouns, the plague of our day... (Where "day" doesn't really mean a single 24-hour period...) I thought I remembered where I got this example from: "The Magic Ball" was part of the regular Saturday morning lineup when I was a kid. I could never understand why Sam was "just like other boys" except for his magic ball. Wasn't it worth mentioning that his head was larger than the rest of his body, and put such stress on his spine so he had to see a chiropractor three times a week? Also it couldn't have been easy to balance.

Manchester, New Hampshire

Hey, Androids need help to dream of electric sheep.

I don't see anything like that in my browser history...

Got curious. There is a talk by that title, in that conference, by Elder Peter F, Meurs (70). No corn of any sort is mentioned in it. Nor anything remotely like what the AI dreamed up. Are you sure you didn't accidentally get the LSD AI?

Has anyone asked it yet what a woman is? (PS: I really like its emoji use, particularly after "have a nice day". )