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Hi. I’m a life-long LDS member outside of a break from the church from ages 14-21. I’m in my 30’s now, sealed in the temple with three young kids, and have remained very active over the last 12+ years since I came back from my “break”. I have struggled over a multi-year period on the question if God is real. The point of this post is not to try and convince anyone that God is not real, I genuinely want to believe that He is and am looking for people to help me work through this issue. The nagging question that has dominated my mind is if men have made up religion over time to help themselves feel better about, and give purpose to, life. Everyone wants to know why they are on the earth, how they got here, where they go after. I understand logically that religion provides answers to these questions and that these answers (if believed faithfully) give us peace and purpose. What I can’t get out of my head is what if all these things were made up specifically to fill those gaps but is not true. I’m not calling anyone a liar or saying anyone is pretending to believe - I absolutely believe the leaders of our church (and most members) truly do believe it all and are not trying to mislead us in any way. I desperately wish that I didn’t have these doubts, but I do. What is life is just completely random and the bad things that happen to us are not part of a plan? What if all the suffering (a child dying, losing jobs, etc.) has no silver lining and are just random happenings that will make our lives worse. I struggle to see how God could allow a lot of things that happen in the world everyday - there are so many places where people suffer and die from hunger, people are regularly beaten and raped. A family with young children loses a mom or a dad. How can that be a part of God’s plan in any way? There are other more scientific questions about the Big Bang theory, dinosaurs existing, evolution, etc. that seem to be real things and in my mind and conflict with LDS beliefs. A lot of places where the LDS answer is that “we don’t know why these things happen”, but we should believe there is a reason. One of the parts where this messes with me the most is with death (if not obvious from my examples given above). I love my wife and kids more than anything, but what if there is no afterlife? What if I’m one random act (a car crash for example) away from losing a child, and if there is no afterlife then I will never be with them again? If there is no afterlife and I die in a car crash, what happens next to me? Blackness for ever? A natural defense for someone (especially a life-long member) to know that God is real is to think back on the spiritual experiences they have had as proof that God exists. But what if these experiences were figments of our own imagination that we have convinced ourselves of and didn’t actually happen? It is easy for me to see that believing in God / religion results in a better life overall - navigating all of life’s trials and tribulations is 100x easier if we believe that it is all a part of God’s plan; if we believe that all bad things that happen in the world are for a reason and all make sense / work for the best from the perspective of an omniscient God. A few years ago I came to the conclusion that I would not be able to PROVE God was real, but I also wouldn’t be able to prove the opposite. So if I can’t take solace in any spiritual experiences I’ve had to date because I’m worried that they were made up in my head, then since it can’t be PROVEN one way or the other, it’s simply a choice of believing or not. I am trying to choose to believe but it has been difficult to not let these doubts take over. I have tried to pray for confirmation but the thought of spiritual experiences possibly being made up is probably blocking that from happening. On a separate note, I have both lived in accordance with the gospel and have done the opposite, and can say I have a strong testimony that following things like the word of wisdom, our views on family / marriage. etc. will result in a happier life while on this earth. I have not deviated from these beliefs and regardless if I think God is real, I know this is the blueprint for the most happy / successful life on earth. So that is the core of my testimony for now: 1. I am trying to choose to believe that God is real (despite the doubts I have) and that everything the LDS church teaches is true. And 2. That following the gospel way of living will continue to bring the most happiness throughout life. I know this has been a long post and a bit all over the place, so thanks for sticking with me if you have. As I said above, I wish I didn’t have these doubts, but I do, and I’m trying to figure it all out. I would be grateful for any thoughts you have that may help me as I continue to try and work through this.

Strangely enough, as a Latter-day Saint, this diagram makes perfect sense.

We had a good six hour D&D session last night. Players are currently in a massive caver in the Underdark with a strange corrupted forest. They spent most the night fighting strange trolls and strange plants.

I play a bit of DnD it keeps me and my friends close even if we have moved away. Warhammer, gardening, mauy thai and age of empires 4 plus board games.

All you can do is ask. I do know that about 20 years ago I was in the same situation and asked. Instead the Bishop bought me a transit pass for the month.

This is how I code. I said above that JS (or any computer language) does... such-n-such. But if I were coding it I wouldn't write 230 - 220 / 2 I would write 230 - (220 / 2) to be explicit.

Alma 32:27 ...even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe... It sounds like this is where you are at. I underlined "until" because there is no set timetable for how long this phase lasts. Just know it is a recognized step in the process of developing strong faith. So don't fret over not having the faith you wish you had, you are already on the path that will get you there. Just keep desiring. I'm going to be really frank here. This mindset is pointless. It's a rabbit hole to nihilism. What if nothing was real? Then what's the point? Even Satan's warped plan for us had more merit than this line of thinking. At least he'd force us to believe something. Concerning the spiritual experiences you've had: Alma 32:34-35 ...ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible... The joy and peace you've experienced was real because it was light. This is a subject you might want to study because light defines our very existence and purpose on earth. At the end of the day though believing is a choice. You can either choose to believe or choose not to. Perhaps you just need to make that choice and allow God the chance to prove you right.

Alma 32 offers a way to sort through the “what ifs” and conclude for yourself what is real since all experience is ultimately processed “in your head”.

VERITAS. What is truth? Better to live in a dystopian reality than a faux paradise. So, is God real? Is He the one, eternal, all-knowing, everywhere-present God we've been taught about? One journey that might help is to look into the design of the world. In other words, things fit together too neatly to be chance, or unguided evolution. To learn more, see: Discovery Institute | Public policy think tank advancing a culture of purpose, creativity, and innovation.

Welcome! It sure makes it much easier when a person recognizes that living your life in accordance with gospel principles is more rewarding than not. The Plan of Salvation was designed by God to prevent it from being proved with the scientific method on purpose. The tower of babel didn’t allow men to conquer God. And no telescope or scientific discovery will ever be able to peer behind the veil. But just because you can’t prove the existence of Jesus doesn’t mean that He isn’t there. I’m not aware of any device that can quantify joy, despair, lust, love, remorse, shame, repentance, or forgiveness. Yet I (and you) know that they exist. You can cultivate more spirituality in your life by prayer, reading the scriptures, trying to become more like the master, and providing service to others. It works. It always does if sincere. And there is more evidence that Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected then there is of the Big Bang, Dark Matter, and that Man evolved from pond scum. The following are two Jeffrey R. Holland talks that I recommend for your case. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng

Rather than admit @Carborendum's cleverness, Imma dig in and fight back. Admit it! Your math might be good, but your punctuation stinks!

There, fixed that for you.

https://www.ldsliving.com/read-a-never-before-seen-letter-to-a-doubter-by-hugh-b-brown/s/79033 Even some of the apostles struggled with doubt my friend. You are not alone.

I wish you lived closer. My son is a mechanic at a Chrysler dealership.

Where is @mordorbund when you need him? I didn't say the answer was really 5. I said the answer was really 5! I can't believe no one got that.

I had high hopes for this video, but it doesn't really get to the nub of the problem: it only nitpicks (quite validly) at one of the intermediate steps, but proves the answer us numnuts arrived at by dumb luck happens to be correct. The major issue for me is that if i^i is 0.20787958 and also 0.000388203 (and a whole bunch of other numbers) then by the foundational axiom that if A=B and B=C then A=C we must conclude that 0.20787958=0.000388203, which is as wrong as saying that 1=-1, which was Presh Talwalkar's objection to our "numnut" approach. Now that always reminds me of... ...though no one pretends that the Trinity is anything but a mystery. The only solution I can think of is that "equality" in the statement x=i^i does not identify an equivalency, but a kind of "predicate" which applies not only to x but to other numbers as well. We use this sort of language in "big O" notation anyway for example: does not imply that f(x)=g(x). It is merely a statement about how fast the functions grow. (I've always thought big O notation was very sloppy, and I hardly ever use it.) We could define the answer as an infinite set

I'm not a mechanic but it sounds like the only issue that would keep you from driving are the brakes. So unless there are other issues you might want to focus on that first and buy some time for the rest. Some mechanic shops will try to find every little possible thing to fix even though they aren't particularly urgent. Also, your bishop may have connections to a more reasonably priced mechanic or even a second (honest) opinion.

Bishop can use fast offering funds for just about anything. However, keep in mind that church financial assistance is meant to be a short-term thing, often applied in situations where there's a clear path to financial stability.

Welcome to ThirdHour, @MarvelTheatreChick! As @pam said, we can't answer - you'll need to talk to your bishop. In the meanwhile, prayers and best wishes to you!

Album covers. Depeche Mode Mute Records 1990 The album covers on the arcade machine all came out during my sojourn in Jr High and High School. I was in already back from my mission and in Undergrad when Violator came out. Great album though. And the cover art was great. This came out after I graduated from HS September 1987

But the question is, How are they taught to do their products? Apparently they are not taught correctly.

Chapter 10 should be included in the pondering of this question: Part of me thinks that in the first 11 verses (of chapter 11), the Spirit finishes his job (of testifying of Christ) and thereafter hands things off to an angel. I have wondered about this, too. The Spirit (whichever Spirit it was), leaves as soon as Nephi starts seeing the mortal life of Jesus Christ, so it does seem like it could be for related reasons, if not the same reason. The part of me that's willing to believe that anything is possible for God wonders if this was Christ (in spirit) and Nephi was time traveling, so someone else had to step in because Christ was elsewhere during the time Nephi traveled to. Or, same scenario, but it was the Holy Ghost and he had to go because, for reasons that we haven't been given, he doesn't seem to fully operate when Christ is physically present. (For the record, a bigger part of me says time travel is nonsense.) The slightly rebellious and silly side of me thinks the angel was late for work that day and the Spirit had to fill in until the angel arrived.... Whatever else is true, I don't believe Nephi said or did anything that offended the Spirit or drove him away, or that the angel's arrival constitutes a downgraded experience. If Nephi had done something wrong, I think the vision would have ended.

A lot of math scholars will joke about the difference between mathematical theorist and mathematical application. The jokes usually go around the theoretical mathematicians being sorely disappointed whenever some low-level mathematician (engineer) finds an application (or a new application) for their pure unadulterated theory. Personally, I have always been an advocate of the “Keep it simple – stupid” or KISS theory of approach to anything. Parentheses are an integral part of mathematical theory (across all variations of mathematical theory). I believe children ought to be taught to properly avoid ambiguity and always use parenthesis to properly express mathematical thinking and process. I believe the proper use of mathematics will always produce a singularity of answer and that this proper use best defines true science (such as the various engineering disciplines) – unlike the pseudo sciences that produce a variety of answers to please the various students (such as psychology and various therapies). Clear thinkers produce clear thinking and results and leave uncertainty to those that love uncertainty and uncertain results. The Traveler

No, the only thing that would have been fine is if they'd taught 8 year olds right from the start instead of saying: "Do it left to right." followed by "Remember when we told you to do it left to right? Well, we lied." :SMH:

Was it Snagglepuss who used to say "ridicalicalicalous"? I cannot find a single YouTube video of him saying it. (Plenty of him saying "Heavens to Murgatroyd".) I would love to be able to do a Snagglepuss voice, but it never comes out right.

There used to be a TV game show called "Are You Smarter than an Eight Year Old?" where adult contestants tried to answer questions that would typically be given to eight year old kids. In one episode the contestant was given something like 20-10×0. The answer he gave was wrong anyway, but the show host told him the true answer was zero because "anything multiplied by zero gives zero". The show producers were bombarded with complaints from mathematicians, who said the answer was 20 because the multiplication should be performed first. The producers consulted the question setter - a teacher of eight- year-olds, who defended her answer by saying "eight-year-olds are taught to do their sums left to right" and the TV producers stuck to that. Which would have been fine if the show had been named "Do You Do Your Sums the Same Way as an Eight Year Old?"

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally I am not exactly sure what I am excusing her for though.

My first Bishop swindled like 20K from my parents. First Stake President left the Church First Mission President was innactive. I saw him on my first day in Osorno Chile. Then @ a zone meeting 4 months later. In his talk he basically berated us for 30 min about how bad our numbers were and then asked us each to give a testimony about what we can do to do better. Everyone before me, mostly the Chileans, gave excuses and discussed plans to double their efforts. I gave a forceful talk in broken Spanish about how our leadership was horrible or non-existent essentially. The conference was cut a bit short after my words. I was then banished to the remotest sector in the mission Porvinir! on the Island Tierra del Fuego. Which I dearly loved. My second mission president was much better. When I read the scriptures I know and feel that they are inspired. I get the same from listening to many talks during General Conference. My Patriarchial Blessing reads like the Patriarch watched a movie of my entire life. I just have do to lots of work in the Temple after my retirement. I love Joseph Smith dearly. And I am well aware of the Kirtland Safety Society incident wherein he recommended that the membership buy into the bank and assured them that the bank would do well. It failed - many members left the church over it. I tried to buy one of the notes recently from e-bay but I couldn't because they are worth way more then their weight in gold today... President Nelson's recommendation about vaccines reminded me of the Kirtland Safety Society. I bet He gave the recommendation because many LDS were using the Church as a reason for requesting religious exemption. Living by the recommendations of the LDS Church (Jesus Christ) has brought me too many blessings to count. My testimony is not fragile. Its like Gorilla Glass or Sapphire. My response to guys like Aaron Sherinian,

The answer is 5! Not 5!!

This is clearly a sin. Jesus commanded that our i be single.

It comes around every 2nπ. Period. (I realize it's "full stop" for you Brits, but that would ruin the pun.)

It's a complex calculation.

It's all in your imagination.

I am very interested in philosophy, though I'm not as involved with it anything like enough to call it a "hobby". When my daughter was little I used to talk about it with her. Sometimes I would read to her from Plato's Republic to see what she made of it. As she got older though, she started studying philosophy as a subject at school, and our conversations became something like this: Me: So you've been learning about Kant? Didn't he believe in dualism? Daughter: No, that was Descartes. Me: Kant believed in dualism too. The noumenal world and the phenomenal world? Wife: If you're going to disagree with her, why ask her in the first place? Me: I'm sorry, I may not know much about Kant, but I do know for a fact that Kantian dualism is a thing. I have read about it. Wife: Why do you have to argue all the time? Me: We're not arguing, we're having a conversation.

You're missing the Depeche Mode sticker.