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  1. Traveler

    The United Order

    My family is the holder of the best known copy of the Rules of the United Order. For your fun and enjoyment I have printed out a copy (on my compurter not a photo copy) of the rules of the United Order. The Traveler
    5 points
  2. I have a fantasy that involves Trump, Biden and CONTROL-ALT-DELETE. Then I wake up to a Dystopian world in which these two are the main candidates for POTUS. I used to call myself a conservative. Now I am moderately so. I really haven't changed, but the world and the Republicans have. For example, I believe that the US should support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. We should counter Chinese ambitions. I used to be considered a bit of a hawk and an anti-communist. Now, Trump and Tucker label me a globalist and say that folks like me (well, Ben Shapiro to be honest) don't love America. Of course, the alternative is Biden and Harris. So, I'm at a loss. Any counsel?
    5 points
  3. MrShorty

    Kirtland Temple!

    If it might interest anyone, this short (3 minute) video features Apostle Lachlan Mackay of Community of Christ sharing his feelings regarding this transaction. I'm not sure why this seems important to me. Maybe just to remind us that, while our branch of the Restoration is celebrating today, another branch of the Restoration is probably experiencing some mixed emotions.
    5 points
  4. I dislike certain tags that oversimplify and distort matters, such as the "Two-Cumorah Theory". Rather than state the matter as "there were two or perhaps more hills called Cumorah", which, though possible, sounds clearly like a stretch (or a tautology—"King Lear was not written by William Shakespeare, but by another playwright of the same name"), a better statement would be, "Perhaps the very name 'Hill Cumorah' simply means the hill chosen to house records." If we assume that records were always hidden somewhere on a hill so that (1) they would be marked by an easily recognizable landmark and (2) they would shed rainfall, it's easy to see that such a hill might become generally known as "Records Hill". Those concerned with record-keeping would quickly learn to look for the Records Hill in an area. If "Cumorah" denotes written records or a storage place for them, then this identification makes perfect sense. Of course, it's still an unsupported assertion, really just speculation. But it certainly has great explanatory value for those who believe the literal truth of the Book of Mormon and the narrative that it provides, and it doesn't immediately raise suspicion and mockery like "Two-Cumorah Theory" does.
    5 points
  5. As I've begun, for the first time, to read the Journal of Discourses, I have come across tidbits that are helping me to erase any assumptions I may have had about eternity and progression. My ultimate answer? I just don't know but God is really, really merciful- I trust Him.
    4 points
  6. laronius

    Seeking Home

    Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. These verses have always struck a cord with me. When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden into the lone and dreary world, they longed to return home again, back into God's presence. In the scriptures we read of this longing for a home (promised land) over and over again. But receiving a land of inheritance is only the beginning. It's not truly home until God resides there as well, in other words, Zion. We see the perfect example of this with Enoch. He helped create a true Home on earth and then were taken up into God's bosom. It makes me wonder what that process was like. Surely they experienced many of the same struggles that modern families and communities deal with. And yet they were able to endure and eventually overcome them.
    4 points
  7. For over a decade, I've felt that pretty much all politicians on the federal level, follow two great commandments above all else: 1. Thou shalt get elected and gain power. 2. Thou shalt remain elected and increase power. That viewpoint has helped me decipher pretty much everything every politician says and does. So, a political party is more a reflection on that party's power brokers (people and entities who can influence votes), than it is of any particular platform or ideology. Trump seems to be a far superior deal maker than the rest of 'em. I truly believe if he had won his 2nd term, Russia wouldn't have invaded Ukraine. Trump would have made a deal with Putin, probably over NATO expansion and energy. Also this:
    4 points
  8. I'll go further. The Republican Party is corrupt, and many or most Republican leaders are also corrupt and care about power and influence much more than freedom and liberty. Of the two major parties that have been thrust upon us, the Republicans are significantly less corrupt and awful than the Democrats, which is why I nominally support the Republicans. But I am under no illusions as to the purity of the Republican cause. My feelings about the Republicans are in line with my feelings about Donald Trump and a potential second Trump administration: It's much better than the alternative, but that does not make it ideal, or even particularly good.
    4 points
  9. Well, BYU is the home of various organizations that preserve and digitize records related to Judaism and Christianity, and we've been partnering with the Community of Christ's historian's office on this and other artifacts and documents for a long time. The original manuscript (including the 1823 Bible Joseph used in the work) is scanned and free online: https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/the-papers/revelations-and-translations/jsppr5 But yes, it's nice to have things, and I'm very excited. I remember in the 1980's, people with passionate opinions about when we'd finally get the temple and the manuscript. I'm surprised the CoC has held on to them for so long, especially when we've been offering real $$$ for them for a long time.
    4 points
  10. mikbone

    Kirtland Temple!

    Bet we will be using the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible quite a bit more in our classes. 192.5 M well spent.
    4 points
  11. A big part of why we're spending so much money on our military is because our ostensible allies spend so little on theirs.
    4 points
  12. Deseretdog

    Deseretdog

    Greetings! Investigator here..
    3 points
  13. The fam went and saw One Life last night. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Life_(2023_film) I can highly, highly recommend it. Everyone should know the story. Inspiring and important reminder of how average folks can rise to the occasion. Anthony Hopkins and all the other actors did an amazing job. Easier to watch and less traumatizing/extreme/violent/shocking than Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan. Excellent movie for older teens on up. In my life, as the son of a WWII vet, I've felt the pressing need to preserve and pass along the lessons my dad's generation learned. This movie really really helped me forward that goal with my older daughter.
    3 points
  14. Jersey Boy

    Mosiah 15:4

    The expression “they are one God” in verse 4 is referring specifically to Christ in his simultaneous roles as the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, the Creator (Father) of all things in heaven and earth when an unembodied Spirit, and the Father of salvation through the atonement to all who believe on his name. Hopefully, the following annotated verses will help make things clear… 3 The Father (Christ is here being referred to as the Father of our of salvation) because he was conceived by the power of God (I.e. Christ was endowed with the divine power needed in order to successfully offer an infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice while in the flesh); and the Son, because of the flesh (the same person whom we call the Father of heaven and earth and the Father of our salvation is also be called the Son of God because he is the literal earthly Son of Elohim); thus becoming the Father and Son (the Father because he is the Father of heaven and earth, as well as the Father of our salvation through the atonement, and he is also the Son because Elohim is the literal Father of his earthly body). 4 And they (i.e. the Father of heaven and earth, the Father of our salvation, and the Son of God in the flesh) are one God (in this particular instance the prophet is speaking of only one personage, namely Jesus Christ), yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. (Mosiah 15) These seemingly inscrutable words of Abinadi become clear when it’s understood that in these verses the prophet is speaking of Christ in his dual fatherly role as the Father of heaven and earth, and even more especially as the atoning Father of salvation.
    3 points
  15. 3 points
  16. The big hurdles I'm facing now: 1. Getting people to understand that because I'm wired differently, I sometimes have a few issues. For example, if I get stressed enough, the muscles in my jaw and tongue will actually seize temporarily, leaving me unable to speak for a brief period. Rather than understand that they need to give me a second, a lot of folks who witness this will just presume what I was going to say and go off of that. 2. The combination of my being on the spectrum and what I've lived through has left me high-strung at times and constantly on alert, which leads to anxiety issues and the like. 3. The assemblage of mental and physical health issues I have mean I have no peace or comfort. Even on a good day I'm usually in some degree of constant dull pain, and trying to be "normal" is also mentally taxing. 4. There is no "my bad!" big enough to magically undo the damage that was done to me, but whenever I try to explain to someone how A led to B there's a non-zero chance they'll flip out on me for how I'm still "blaming" them for what happened in the past and I need to let it go. 5. The combination of my being on the spectrum and what I've lived through has rocked my perceptions of what is "normal". It's to the point that I'm actually having trouble writing fiction because I have no frame of reference for what certain emotions feel like or how someone feeling those emotions would act.
    3 points
  17. Contrary to what a lot of "progressive" individuals wish to believe, a lot of people who identify as "conservative" do so because they believe that old and new need to be tested against each other in order to determine the best way forward, and that rejecting one or the other wholesale will only lead to misery. To put it bluntly, a lot of the problems we're seeing in society these days are a result of people rejecting the old norms, traditions, and standards wholesale, only to discover the hard way why things were done a certain way for so long. This includes the realization that rejecting older institutions without providing something that can replace what these institutions offered in the way of structure and guidance was a bad idea. It's tragic that your own family is seeing this for itself.
    3 points
  18. Sadly, the rebellion continues. Apparently, these women (or some women) called for sisters to "boycott" yesterday's Sunday meetings and the RS broadcast last night over this issue. Satan is laughing. In what way does refraining from worship and instruction aid anyone? Anywho, before knowing anything about the boycott, my extremely introverted self opted not to go to the stake center last night, knowing I could watch it online today (at 2x, with pauses for pondering or notes, as I wished). So this morning, as I was scrolling through IG, President Nelson's account had a portion of his talk from last night, and many of the comments were sadly negative, including complaints related to this sitting on the stand issue. I read those negative comments and then went and watched the broadcast. Funny thing: all but one concern those commenters had was addressed in some way by one of the speakers. If they had only listened to the broadcast, with humble hearts, seeking answers through the Spirit, their minds could have been enlightened. Satan is deceiving "the very elect" with things like this, and it's heartbreaking. Refraining from worship and instruction (surely the equivalent of telling the Spirit to take a hike) isn't the answer, sisters - faith, humility, covenants, Jesus Christ is the answer. And if you think you don't have power or access or whatever, go re-read President Nelson's October 2019 GC talk, "Spiritual Treasures": This is nothing new. Stop listening to the world and listen to Christ.
    3 points
  19. They successfully launched the Super Heavy vehicle to orbital speeds this morning. This is the largest object ever launched by humanity. History was made on SpaceX's 22 birthday, and it is pie day. Well done Elon. https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-third-test-flight-launch
    3 points
  20. In my estimate, I have paid around $51,000 into Social Security over my life of working and I will probably never collect it. Give the Federal Government control of part of your retirement funds. What could possibly go wrong? Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme ever created in my opinion.
    3 points
  21. Amazing. Whenever I need to feel a little hope for the human race, I go look at what SpaceX's latest milestone.
    3 points
  22. mirkwood

    Mosiah 15:4

    Think of "they" in context of an organization. Example: Officer Mirkwood works in Utah. He is part of the police. They work together to solve crimes.
    3 points
  23. zil2

    Mosiah 15:4

    It's an interesting question. In our day, we emphasize that each member of the Godhead is a distinct individual, but all united in purpose. In no small part, this is to counter the false teaching of the Trinity. The Book of Mormon people had never heard of the Trinity, but being from among the Jews, the idea of only one God would have been hyper-important to them. This is reflected in the Book of Mormon text where, despite knowing of each member of the Godhead, they seem to go out of their way to emphasize that there is only one God. There's no telling whether, in their heads, they thought of three distinct persons, each being God, or whether they thought of three distinct persons acting together as a "God-unit", or something else entirely. The fact is that They are one, so each individual is God, and any subset of Them is God, and all of Them together are God. (And trying to figure out / remember the capitalization rules is making me wish I was born in Germany...)
    3 points
  24. mikbone

    Kirtland Temple!

    https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/sacred-sites-and-historic-documents-transfer-to-church-of-jesus-christ
    3 points
  25. The Folk Prophet

    Kirtland Temple!

    3. It's always a bit odd to me to have a lay member state they're not sure how comfortable they are with something the church did as if the church is not led by God.
    3 points
  26. Vort

    Kirtland Temple!

    I think this is rather more similar to buying a gallon of milk from a store that also sells cigarettes and booze. Engaging in a financial transaction could certainly be considered "supporting" someone or something, but that's a problematic stance to take for an organization that does not want to be isolationist.
    3 points
  27. Daniel Peterson has a few personal anecdotes to share about the CoC. It's a pretty interesting read. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeterson/2024/03/a-few-more-thoughts-on-the-kirtland-temple-deal.html
    3 points
  28. JohnsonJones

    Kirtland Temple!

    The CoC SHOULD BE A WARNING about the dangers of trying to go with mainstream Christianity. The Churches that are staying with their more traditional teachings and values are (in general) staying stronger with their membership (though most are also still declining if it is a larger church) than those that have tried to "modernize" and "mainstream" their various religions. I think the Temple in Missouri (theirs) will be one of the last things they would let go, and 190 million will keep them going for a good while at least. Interestingly enough, this is similar to one of the original divisions within the Islamic religion. The question of whether the successor to Mohammad should be his son Ali or a council of others. This caused a division in the religion that has animosity between the both sides from back then during the division to the present day. At least we are not angry and violent towards each other like the divisions of Islam caused.
    3 points
  29. I consider them dear distant Cousins who left the family long ago, and have fallen upon hard times, and we figured out how to help them financially. Reading through their FAQ is sort of disheartening.
    3 points
  30. When Sotomayor and Jackson both join the majority in a unanimous decision, you know you're an idiot for your illegal actions. What an unmitigated failure for Colorado. What a rebuke to the orchestrating Democrats and other leftists. What a deep embarrassment to any sentient American who supported such a farcical move.
    3 points
  31. J6 just made life weird. I'm used to being online interacting with lefties and atheists and church critics, and sometimes it seems like the sky in their world just isn't the same color as the sky in my world. And here in a post-J6 world, I encounter a constant slew of folks on the right, my people, folks who think and vote like me, just saying such weird stuff about J6, that I wonder if the color of their sky is the same color as my sky. @Jedi_Nephite, of course many of the horrible things that happened on J6 were "done by right-wing extremists". I'm amazed that anyone could possibly argue against such an obvious set of facts. Q-anon, Proud Boys, and Oathkeepers are 100% the dictionary definition of "right-wing", and a crapton of them fit the "extremist" definition like a glove. 1200 folks arrested, ~730 guilty pleas, ~165 convicted at trial. Each one of 'em more red-blooded right wing American than the last one. An awful lot of convictions for seditious conspiracy from those folks. I mean yes, there were also neo-nazis and white supremacists and neo-confederates and kkk folks and that Mormon cosplayer guy who showed up dressed like Captain Moroni with his Title of Liberty. Those people can't be called "right wing", although the media sure pushes that narrative on occasion. But holy crap - how can anyone who has given even a cursory scan of the facts, claim that "what happened was not done by right wing extremists"? There I was - sitting in my basement office during Covid remote-work lockdown. On one screen, I was doing my work. On the other screen, I was watching Trump's "stop the steal" rally. Holy, holy, holy, HOLY CRAP was Trump, and Guliani, and especially Trump's son yelling crap into their microphones. Stoking outrage. Claiming foul. Demanding action. Whipping up the crowd into marching on the capitol with inflammatory phrases like "go march and demand justice", and "take back our government". Not so much Trump, but yes Guliani, and especially Trump's son. About an hour before we started seeing the news of people breaking in and doing damage, I came upstairs and expressed serious concern to my wife. "I don't understand what the crap Trump is doing. Doesn't he realize that the most mentally-ill and the fringe-est of the fringe are listening to him and getting ready to start hurting people and get themselves arrested?" Trump was charged for "incitement of insurrection" by the house, (who impeached him over it and the senate acquitted him of it after he had left office). So yeah, nobody got convicted of insurrection. Just seditious conspiracy. And not Trump. "Donald Trump never said anything even remotely close to inciting an insurrection." Ugh. What an impossible opinion to defend. He did indeed begin instructing people to be peaceful, but not until after all the horrible had happened. The march hit the capitol a little after 2PM. Pence and the Senators, engaged in certifying the election, had to stop certifying the election, and started getting evacuated around 2:13. The peaceful transition of power, a founding cornerstone of our great republic, was interrupted by the people who hit the capitol. These people had been whipped up into action by Trump, Guliani, and Trump Jr. This didn't happen until 2:38 PM. Look at the time stamp on the tweet, and do the math to convert to Eastern Standard Time: Trump's later appeal for calm happened at 3:13 PM. His video for calm happened even later. I'm a fan of fiery protests. I'm a fan of people swarming the streets and demanding change. I'm a fan of "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances". I'm not a fan of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bodycam_video_taken_at_US_Capitol,_January_6,_2021.webm I'm not a fan of this (34:20 is when Ashley Babbit begins getting herself shot): https://archive.org/details/nYiFQbNc65jwFYCWY?start=1993 Look, my fellow conservatives. Our side screwed up royally on J6. If we're gonna have problems with Antifa and BLM riots, and defend what happened on J6, then we're just as hypocritical as the folks who defend Antifa and BLM riots, but have problems with J6. Don't be like that.
    3 points
  32. National Review is good for conservative commentary and insights. What I like about the WSJ is that it's news section is rated as moderate, while its editorial section is moderately conservative. It hasn't joined the Trump Train, but still leans into a pro-America, pro-free enterprise perspective. It's faith friendly, though not specifically religious. I just searched and found out that The Weekly Standard still exists (editor = Bill Krystol). It's conservative, but I'm sure Trump would label it Globalist. I always remember one colleague saying that I cheated when it came to news because I read (rather than listen/watch). 😉
    3 points
  33. I generally go to the Wall Street Journal, but sometimes read the Federalist, New York Post, and Real Clear Politics. What better source(s) do you have in mind?
    3 points
  34. If we were looking at a repeat of Trump's first four years, this would be easy. A super majority SCOTUS. Excellent. The problem is that we have our judges and Trump presents as an isolationist. Further, he's driven away some of his most redeeming supporters (Pence and Barr--remember that BOP was under the DOJ during Barr's tenure--he was a solid leader). I support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan--I'm not sure Trump will. Biden's weak--but at least he's on board. Harris? All bets are off with her. BUT Trump is an isolationist and a protectionist. He also seems to feed the worst elements--both his supporters and his enemies. Those 80% of us in between just watch in horror.
    3 points
  35. I hated voting for Trump in 2016 and 2020. For reasons outlined by @JohnsonJonesI might not be able to do it this time. If I vote for Biden it'll be my first Democrat vote for President since I began voting (previous millenium). God is good. This election is tough.
    3 points
  36. How can an eclipse be a sign of the end of times when eclipses have always occurred throughout history? Hear ye, hear ye, in the end of days something will happen that......has happened since the earth, sun and moon were created and put in their orbits. But....you know...THIS time it's a sign....
    3 points
  37. Brothers and sisters, today on this Palm Sunday, let us as disciples of Jesus Christ also praise our holy God and rejoice in His goodness to us. “What do we hear in the gospel which we have received?” Truly “a voice of gladness!” - Kevin R. Duncan And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. - Luke 19:37-40
    2 points
  38. 2 points
  39. Traveler

    Enos 1:3-8

    I relate to Enos and his struggle. Growing up in a righteous home well rooted in the gospel of Christ – I believed my parents, attended church, sought understanding and received conformations. As I grew towards adulthood and became aware of this universe of uncertainty and my own inability to reconcile seeming contradictions, I began to wonder what it was I seemed to be missing. Not so much doubts that what I believed was wrong – just that like the rich young man that came to Jesus – I wondered what it was that I was missing. I had spent time in the army during the Vietnam conflict and lost friends in that war. I had also served a mission but felt that I had been sent home at the end of my allotted time leaving critical things undone. There was a young lady that had waited faithfully for me to complete my mission, writing to me almost every week. I went out with her once on a date and could not connect taking her home early. I had a major conflict with a professor (that within a year was fired) and decided to drop out of college. I felt that the girls I met and attempted to date were seriously spiritually flawed. I had a companion from my mission that was a native American. I discussed with him my spiritual disconnect. He knew me from our experiences together and knew I was raised hunting for part of the food I ate and convinced me to take time off and go on a spiritual quest similar to Enos, Moses and Christ. I took a blanket, rope, knife, a coat, Book of Mormon and the clothes on my back and walked away from civilization into the desert of central Utah – living on the land as a 40 day fast. Just over 20 days into my experience I came across a fellow on a prison release program that had become lost and was in serious trouble. He had not eaten for a few days and has blisters, bleeding and was unable to walk without assistance and was more than twice my size. It took over two days to get him out and to safety and there was a time I did not think we would make it but were saved by a miracle. I thought that my spiritual efforts had been ruined. My personal Enos wilderness experience failed – or so I thought. After a few more weeks I left my wilderness without the spiritual manifestation I expected. I had a spiritual experience in my youth, somewhat similar to young Joseph Smith and believed that I could reconnect. But it did not happen as I expected. I came to realize that spiritual experience come through personalizing one’s covenants. The meaning and purpose of spiritual experiences is to galvanize one’s covenants. As we keep our covenants through faith and dedication the spirit strengthens that faith and opens greater spiritual possibilities. My time in the wilderness has become one of my greatest strengths leading me through life – reminding me of many things I was given during my quest and reminding me to remain faithful to covenants. It is my understanding that Enos’s life was not fixed through his wilderness experience but rather he came to a understanding of how his purpose in life is fixed through divine covenant that he had already made but not completed. The Traveler
    2 points
  40. JohnsonJones

    Mosiah 15:4

    To echo what @Traveler stated above, up until recently (and possibly still today in some locations) the Ruler of a Nation and certain individuals under them would be counted as the same individual in some instances. In some Middle Eastern Cultures slavery was common. There were slaves that were your right hand of power and control (probably somewhat like what Joseph was in Egypt). These slaves were seen as basically part of you. They were extensions of your voice and will. Whatever they said was what YOU were saying. To defy them was to defy YOU. When they came, they would be seen as YOU in the flesh and treated as such. For all intents and purposes, unless you were together, they would be seen as you in many instances (obviously NOT YOU, but also because of their position to act in your place, basically as you). In this dynamic we see some classes of slaves as a HIGHER class in society than freemen. This is because the slaves reported directly to the ruler and as such, were held in higher esteem than those who were not part of this slave class. This was most often seen with slaves (as they were owned totally by their master and as such, when loyal, were seen as an extension of that master. A slave could be killed at whim if they disobeyed or did what their master did not desire...whereas a free servant was not so easily done away with), however, on occasion it could also be seen as done with a servant as well. On occasion this is also done with Dynastic rulership where the Son is considered an extension of the ruler. Not entirely the same, but a similar vein could be seen with Young King Henry who was crowned King under his father King Henry II. He was King, but his father had the reins of power. Now, he didn't have as close or as good a relationship as those I spoke of above, but when he was acting in line with his father's wishes, the easiest way for people to talk about them and who they were differently was relating in a way such as one was the king and the other was the young king. (Interestingly enough, as Young King Henry died before his father, he is not counted among the Kingly line of Kings of England).
    2 points
  41. Seems to me it's been dying for a long time. If everyone here could con all their introvert friends into joining, and we were to welcome them rather than scaring them off at the first sign of differing opinion, we might could grow it back. It would help if the mobile template supported all the features (e. g. there's no way to see site notifications in the browser on a mobile - no access to that bell at the top right, and no user menu - I know the software supports it as one of my fountain pen forums uses this same software).
    2 points
  42. Grunt

    Jesus being mean

    It's my observation that people who don't keep their covenants often think it's "mean and drives people from the church" when you talk about keeping your covenants.
    2 points
  43. Vort

    Jesus being mean

    No, he was not, not in any sense in which that word is used in American political discourse today. That is not a feature of today's American liberalism, unless you're saying that Jesus would call for the freedom to destroy your unborn baby if you feel it might inconvenience you. Pretty sure you're not saying that. Certainly not any sort of feature in modern American "liberalism". This is simply false. We as Latter-day Saints are familiar with this general idea. It's an application of the law of consecration; early latter-day efforts were generally called "united orders", were entered into only by covenant, were always voluntary, could be left at any time, and were administered in all cases by leaders called of God and not by agents of profane governments. To compare such small, private, religiously motivated efforts to "a type of socialism" is way beyond the mark. I think it's worth noting that even with divine guidance, the early covenant Saints failed to get those societies to work as they were intended, until the effort was ultimately abandoned. As he has always done. Note that he did not call for Rome to care for the sick or for the nominal Jewish king Herod "to feed the poor and care for the sick so that none would be hungry and all would have basic necessities." Jesus' call to action was an individual charge, to be fulfilled individually and not to be abrogated to a government (profane or otherwise) to enforce such feeding and caring. I think you overstate, or simply misstate. Please outline which of "the more conservative ideals of the time...were alarmingly closely aligned with many of the [conservative] ideas of today." This is not even slightly true unless you intend the word "liberal" in almost the opposite sense to which it is normally used in America today.
    2 points
  44. Jamie123

    Wombats

    I just discovered that the only wombats in the UK are in Hammerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire. London Zoo is massive, and you'd think they'd have any animal you can think of, but no, they have no wombats. No wombats today. Or any other day. I've half a mind to go to Hammerton just to see the wombats. I like wombats. Though an adult wombat can do you quite an injury if you annoy it (which apparently is not all that difficult). They are big and heavy and can run fast, and getting hit by one would not be pleasant at all. And the oddest thing about them is that they poo cubes. I remember reading that in Physics World a few years back This is a good video about wombats:
    2 points
  45. The left wing indoctrination in college turned me towards the right. I’m sure I’m not the only one that happened to. Essentially I became conservative by being around liberals, and I became libertarian by being around conservatives.
    2 points
  46. Correct. It's the financial term. An "endowment" is a big pile of money that sits in income generating investments. You spend the income generated, not the endowment. And there's usually respect and praise for whoever donated the big pile of money. You can endow a college, and get a chair (or even a building) named after you.
    2 points
  47. omigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh!
    2 points
  48. It's been a while since I've read much in the Old Testament but the story of ancient Israel being lead out of captivity, rejecting God, traveling in the wilderness for many years before entering into the promised land is a theme we find all throughout the history of God working His children. It's found all through the scriptures, in the temple, our own church history, and in our individual lives to one degree or another. We have stake conference this weekend and one of the speakers in the adult session yesterday referenced Moses ascending up into Mount Sinai to commune with God. It got me thinking about how even though they eventually got into the promised land, the real destination was always in their midst, the temple or tabernacle. And while the temple became the center of their worship they always seem to struggle with moving beyond the physical manifestations of their beliefs into the things of the Spirit. So much so that when God/Jesus in a sense came down out of the mountain to them they still wanted nothing to do with Him unless He was willing to feed them like Moses did. There are a lot of, I don't want to call them fringe benefits of the gospel because they are important, things like community and a shelter from the world and purpose, but at the end of the day we are individually being asked to ascend up into the mountain of the Lord and commune with Him. But we are sometimes content to just enjoy the manna that membership in the Church brings and ignore or procrastinate the most central point of it all, content in the idea that the promised land is some future destination, meanwhile it's in our very midst.
    2 points
  49. We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown.
    2 points