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If she's food insecure, then that's a much more immediate concern to her than a drivers license. People who live like that often struggle to plan past their next meal. They live in fight/flight mode 24/7 and it's exhausting. The best thing you could do for her is try to get her linked up with a social worker if she doesn't already have one. Might be difficult without ID, but that's where I'd start. Social workers exist to help people who struggle to help themselves.

It's absolutely overdiagnosed. I think to some degree we are in a time where disorders may be some variation of "cool". I definitely believe in circumstances that are so extreme they cause real issues and need to be treated, but people are also trying to categorize every little thing. My concern is that we're so scattered on how to approach not just ADHD but attention in general that we are at a loss for that elusive best way to learn. A common sadness among teachers is that we can't really do much that is more active because kids have no traditionally-learned limits, so all the time is spent practicing limits and boundaries. "I would love for you to run around. Can you do it without destroying something or hitting someone?" That's a surprising amount of steps and skills to get to that point.

"True to the Faith That Our Parents Have Cherished" - Elder Hans T. Boom, Saturday Afternoon Session With the footnote to President Nelson's April 2022 talk, "Preaching the Gospel of Peace": FWIW

I didn't serve a mission, I will admit I was unworthy at the time, and chose a marriage over a mission. Recent come follow me material has had me pondering. D&6 36 to me reads like, if you are a man, who is ordained to the priesthood, you must "go forth to preach the gospel" (most easily achieved through serving a mission.) Despite shirking a mission once, I still intend to serve 2 missions, a service mission when I've settled into a long term career and I'm not doing extra training/degrees. I will probably be able to do this in my late 30s. And an away from home senior mission when I retire. There is still time for me to fulfil this requirement and I intend to. As for judgement for not serving a mission, nobody would dare say anything directly to me now that I'm creating babies for our dying ward.

This would seem to be the most likely explanation: Other possible explanations, like global conspiracies involving hundreds or thousands of people colluding to hide the truth, would seem to be less likely.

So just to make sure I understand. You claim people have realized the Covid vaccines were "far less safe than we were assured". Your source for this claim is the linked apnews article. Is that correct? Because if it is, you're not really making your case. The article is about a cautionary pausing from some countries based on some things that could be issues, maybe for children. There's a difference between pausing for some people based on caution, and "far less safe". I mean, yes, the administration and Faucci were messaging "100% and 100% effective" like the liar-liar-pants-on-fire they were. The massive push to get children vaccinated flew in the face of the data that kids were the least likely to get it or have complications. So many things were done wrong, some of it had to be intentional. But your claim was "covid vaccines were far less safe than we were assured", and that's simply not true. Not by a long shot. Your AP news article doesn't make the case, and although I've looked for years, no credible source does either.

Well, to be honest, I still haven't realized any of that jargle, even after looking seriously for something to substantiate it for years. I mean, the vaccines were far less effective than we hoped (and the government pushed). And it's now becoming more accepted that 'vaccine' isn't an accurate description of it - it's better thought of as a 'therapeutic'. But far less safe? What's your data for that? The thing has gone into literally billions of arms. Every nation on earth has a health service or ministry or center of some sort - you'd think it would be easy to find. The negative impacts are indeed 'told', but the last I checked, it was a similar rate to any other sort of related therapeutic. I mean, you can't find it in the December '24 House report, full of Republicans more than willing to pin dirt like that to Biden. It claimed "The COVID-19 Vaccine, While Largely Safe and Effective, Had Adverse Events That Must be Throughoughly Investigated" It's chart, when compared with the billions of doses given, is pretty weak sauce: With 5.6 billion doses given worldwide, 10,000 deaths means the vaccine is safer than driving a car. You've got a better chance of being hit by lightning, twice, than having a serious negative covid vax event. Especially considering that any lying agenda driven yayhoo was able to submit an entry to VAERS on the topic.

The "disorder" part of ADD or ADHD may be a disorder, or may just be a way of existing. It seems like there are a bazillion of us with ADD/ADHD who are out just living our best lives the best we can, just like everyone else, but with some different coping mechanisms and learned habits and methods to make life work. The diagnoses themselves are probably waaaay over diagnosed with our youth, especially boys. "Sit still and pay attention" is a nice skill for a boy to develop, but it's often not the best way to learn.

There are mentally ill people, and there are scammers. There are lazy people, and there are low-iq people without the brain power to understand. There are entitled people and folks with PTSD who are struggling with being abused by people they should have been able to trust. Here's the thing - we often can't tell who is who by just looking at them or even working with them. The line from that hymn nailed it: Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly? In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see. Scripture is pretty clear on things too: So we're left with a good reasonable basis for not judging, a scriptural commandment to not judge, and a very reasonable question about what help looks like and what it doesn't look like. - Giving someone help who could do it themselves isn't help, it's enabling their laziness. That's not charity, that's not love, that's not respecting someone's agency, that's being a sucker. - Giving someone help who can't do it themselves is help, is charity, and we're commanded to do it, and if we don't and get all judgey about it we're going to hell. It can be impossible to tell which sort of person we're dealing with. So we take our best guess, do our best, and try to live with the consequences. I'm pretty sure that while @Phoenix_person and his folks' hearts are in the right place, subsidizing single motherhood with taxpayer dollars is the most harmful thing white folk have done to the black community since slavery. Paying people to keep fathers out of the home is evil, and has ruined lives and increased all the bad things these programs seek to prevent. That said, each of us will personally be judged by how we've treated the lost and the least of us, and if we screw it up it'll have eternal consequences. So do your best and make up your mind and pray for guidance to do the right thing.

I hear you. Is this because of lack of knowledge/understanding? Or is it because she is intellectually challenged? If she simply doesn't know how, you go one route. If she's intellectually challenged, take another route. To clarify: When I say "intellectually challenged" she may not fit the clinical definition of "retarded" (IQ below 75). But if she's on the lower end of normal (80-85) she simply may not have learned a lot of what you and I take for granted. So, the first thing is to try to educate her (with a lot of patience). But if she's always been this way, then one problem you'll have is that she's told herself "I just can't..." Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. So, you'll have that to work through. And it will not be easy. A lifetime of programming has told her "I can't." You're not going to deprogram that overnight. Something similar to this has happened to the young lady that my wife and I have been helping. She basically needs to be walked through the process. We think it's easy to just print out a form. But she doesn't have a printer. We think it is easy to just look up a govt. bldg. on Google. But she can't spell. Sometimes she can't remember words like "vital records." And she may not quite understand the directions that Google gives from her GPS. We take all these things for granted. But if she's never been taught... Every person needs to make a judgment call about how much we can help, and when we have reached the limit. At some point, when we've really done what we can to help out, we need to make a call. And each call is situation specific. There is no rule. It's just judgment. And the limit for you will be different than it is for other. Put your own mask on first, then help the next person. Ponder and pray for guidance. Then understand your proper priorities. ALSO: If you think that all social links have been exhausted, it may be time to bring government into it as @Phoenix_person said. While I'd always encourage that as a last resort only, it may be that this situation is appropriate for government safety nets. But beware of one thing, the number of people who are able to ween themselves off of it, while a significant number, is still pretty low. The fact that she may never get off of it is a reason to try to avoid it. But if it is the last resort...

The answer to this question is yes -- yes, this scripture does help us more further understand that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that we will not be able to claim ignorance and still be saved. I often think of agnostics and atheists when reading these verses. An agnostic, after death, will ultimately claim ignorance after death, "If I had 'known' (temporal evidence) I would have believed." And will expect to be saved without pleasing God through faith. Once they realize they outsmarted themselves they then will experience the gnashing of teeth. I also find this verse interesting because it ultimately deals with the after life, and not our mortal life. There have been many of our brothers and sisters who have perished without knowing who Jesus Christ is, thus salvation was never declared unto them. Ultimately, they are ignorant, and upon these the Lord's mercy is extended (Mosiah 15:24). In their mortal life they were ignorant, but the gospel will be preached unto them in the spirit world -- so ultimately -- no man/woman is saved in ignorance.

Traveler, cease this twisting of the words of our prophets and apostles. Your statement is the dictionary definition of the philosophies of men, mingled with scripture. When you take their "every worthy and able young man", and you turn it into "calling from G-d meant for everyone", you put words in their mouths, twist the truth in their message to your own. Then you stand proudly upon this rameumptom of your own creation, looking down on those who you decide to think of as sinners, and pronounce their problem for them. Maybe I can suggest that you clarify, try again? @Ironhold, you taking notes here?

Ah yes. The urging from our leaders is "every worthy and able young man". So people see a young man not going on a mission, and they feel it's their right to gossip, unrighteously judge, and demand "so which is it? You not worthy, or you not able?" Here's the thing about unrighteous judgments and demanding things: @Carborendum's response is a righteous response. Maybe it needs to be phrased a bit more civilly (although 'go phillips yourself' is my new favorite term of the month). But they are doing wrong by butting in to things that aren't their business, and it would be nice if they would stop doing wrong. Here's why they're wrong: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1999/08/judge-not-and-judging?lang=eng "Thus, we must refrain from making final judgments on people because we lack the knowledge and the wisdom to do so." Translation: If you're telling me I'm going to hell for not serving a mission, you are being unrighteously judgmental, and you should go phillips yourself. Third, to be righteous, an intermediate judgment must be within our stewardship. We should not presume to exercise and act upon judgments that are outside our personal responsibilities. Translation: Mind your own business. Fourth, we should, if possible, refrain from judging until we have adequate knowledge of the facts. Translation: You don't know me, go phillips yourself. People acting like gossipy intrusive busybodies are everywhere. In and out of the church. When you encounter one, they are best dealt with from a position of Godly righteousness. They are sinning with their unrighteous judgments, they are sinning with their butting-in to things that aren't their business, they are sinning when they assume from a distance that they know best when they don't. You're just standing there being a disciple of Christ, and they show up peddling their nonsense. They are the first offenders. It's ok to treat them as such. Now, folks with stewardship (parents, teachers, quorum advisers, bishops, stake presidents) get to try to urge and work with as many young men as they can, to help them be worthy and able. They get to care. They get to try. But the second they use some high-pressure sales tactic like "go on a mission or you're going to hell", their behavior should be called out as luciferian, and we can ask them to stop preaching satan's doctrine. From the same article: refrain from judging people and only judge situations. That's the secret. We must not unrighteously judge, but we are COMMANDED to judge righteously. That means we judge situations, within our stewardship, with adequate knowledge of the facts. @Ironhold, you didn't go on a mission. That's between you and the Lord. You have nothing to prove to me, or anyone else. Related story: My wife has many health issues, and has a handicapped placard. When she parks in a handicapped stall and jumps out, it's usually not apparent how she 'qualifies'. Invisible illnesses are certainly things. At least weekly she sees judgmental looks from people. Maybe once every couple months, she runs into someone who feels it's a good idea to bring it to her attention. Like it's their business. Like she owes them an explanation. She's got a thousand responses in her arsenal. She'll have 1001 once I tell her about 'go phillips yourself'.

I've been studying Isaiah for the last 2 months, and alas, most of it is still going over my head. So I would like to share some thoughts and gather some thoughts on Isaiah 49:8 To start off with, the header for this chapter seems to suggest that this chapter is describing the Latter-Day gathering of Israel. Verse 2 has some interesting commentary attached to it in Church textbooks: It is suggested that the "polished shaft" is in fact Joseph Smith. As this is how Joseph Smith described himself in this famous quote: So if we are running with the assumption that this particular chapter is discussing the Latter-Days, I think the prophecy in verse 8 is being fulfilled through covenant making and patriarchal blessings. Making covenants in the Church allows us to partake of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant, which is one way the "earth is being established" and one way we become part of the extended family of Israel. What I find most fascinating though is how covenant making allows us to "inherit the desolate heritages" and I think this is fulfilled when we are declared to be part of a particular lineage in our patriarchal blessing. This may of course be a bogus interpretation, but I find the parallels quite striking.

It can be difficult to raise your arm and sustain error-prone folks, especially when they do something that ticks us off. It helps me to remember that putting actual sustaining into action, can sometimes involve doing what I can to help someone be less error-prone or tickey-offey. Sometimes there's a way I can help with that, sometimes not.

I was introduced to ADHD in 6th grade. Here's the story... When I was a child I had a problem reading. As young as I was, I was unable to verbalize the nature of my problem. And the only advice I was given was "keep reading more and it will become easier for you." That didn't work. It only made things worse. And again, I couldn't describe why. By 6th grade my teacher called for a parent-teacher meeting about me. I got high marks on everything else. I could read any sentence. I could write well. I got highest marks on spelling. But I simply couldn't read through a book. And all I knew was that it took too long. In that same class, a new student moved into the district. He and I had the same first name which caught my attention. But for the purposes of this post, I'll call him "Joe". Because of him, I was first introduced to the term "ADHD". And apparently, it was bad enough that he required medication. For Joe, I'd absolutely agree. Even with medication, he was a wild child who sometimes got words mixed up in common sentences because his brain was so chaotic that it was difficult for him to not jumble words. My first question was "why does ADD have to include hyperactivity?" No one had an answer that satisfied me other than "they are usually related." I really didn't understand that. Later, I realized it was because my ADD was not a clinical condition. It was just the way my brain worked. As I got more acquainted with Joe, I realized that I had ADD, but I was not hyperactive. So, apparently, I had something else going on. I played a lot during recess and lunch hour. And my body got a workout. My brain worked a lot faster than my body. This led to insomnia. My brain was going long after my body was tired. So, it was difficult for me to fall asleep. Looking back, I now understand what was really happening. I've spoken of the cross-referencing brain I have. That was my greatest strength and weakness. Any time I read a word, my brain would immediately connect that same word with many other instances where I'd either read or heard that same word. This made reading an entire paragraph a spider web of cogitation. Scriptures were actually easier to read because the verses forced a break in my thought processes to interrupt the connections in my brain. That's why my parents never knew I had a reading problem. I was perfectly capable of reading scriptures. And that was what we read together. So, for them to hear from my teacher that I was failing in my reading was a surprise. If medication were as common as it is today, I would have had a very different brain development. And I would have had a very different life. I'd probably be on welfare.

Vaccination doesn't mean one is completely immune with MRNA vaccines, or at least the Covid Vaccines. It lowers the chances of serious illness. Basically, if we look at it like gambling. Hypothetical numbers. Without taking the vaccine, you have a 1 in 10 chance (depending on age, the older you get, the more 1 in 10 it will be, for younger individuals it may be 1 in 10,000. At least for the initial strain, young children were highly resistant to the devastating effects) of dying. 1 in 5 of developing severe symptoms that could lead to hospitalization. If you take the vaccine, that gamble falls to 1 in 100 for death, 1 in 25 for serious complications or hospitalization. That means, in a department which has approximately 700 people, if everyone was vaccinated, and if they were all elderly like me, they could have up to 7 deaths and almost 30 people that are hospitalized due to Covid in this scenario. Better than 70 deaths and 140 hospitalizations. Most vaccines don't ensure total immunity. The amount given varies from vaccine to vaccine. The hope is that if enough gain that immunity then we get herd immunity, which lessens the chance for the disease to infect everyone. As less take the vaccines, herd immunity decreases and the number of cases increases. This is why measles is starting to make a comeback in the states (along with a few other diseases that were eradicated during my lifetime, only to come back because of stupid anti-vaccine ideas these days). People are not vaccinating their kids and enough are not vaccinated that the herd immunity is fading...so those that are not vaccinated have a chance to actually contract the disease now.

I'm glad we can still get the printed version. So much of the world forgets that, we, elderly people exist. I feel I have a better grasp on a lot of the technology out there than other peers my age, but I still feel lost in this world of technology. It's grown so fast that I just can't catch up!

There may be a little bit of compassion fatigue here mixed with an attempt to say, see, there's a problem. But I had an experience today that makes me wonderful just how to help this person. I know there are far worse examples. A couple of my buy nothing/local needs/free stuff groups have the same individual in them. Let's call her Betty. For several years now, Betty pops up a few times a month to beg for this and that. She seems to be in and out of housing and jobs, and apparently loses her SNAP and WIC every time she gets a job. Early on, people accused Betty of being some sort of scammer, but the reality of reports seems to be that she is just entirely helpless, not even clever enough to turn these into scams. For the past year in particular, she has been unable to access many a local bit of help due to having her driver's license stolen. She can't replace it because her family apparently won't help her. So a couple of weeks ago, I challenged her to talk to the vital records office about getting a free copy of her birth certificate (which she can get because she is currently homeless. She says it's too hard and the family member who is living at a hotel with her doesn't know how to help. So... I actually offer to meet her at the vital records office or, if she can't figure out how to get there, lead her in a conference call with someone there to walk her through the steps. She agrees. Today is to be the day. She says she doesn't feel well enough to make a call. She then posts this evening in two groups how she is desperate for food. Like, I don't know how to help this woman. She can't be bothered to help herself. I now feel quite un-Christlike after typing this, but it makes me wonder what we as mortals can do to help people like this. Is this just a fate of a fallen world?

I have attempted to help the homeless (and other poor) on a number of occasions. Each is an individual though there seems to be common threads. If recreational (sometimes prescription) drugs (including alcohol) are involved there is not much that can be done to help. There is a strong connection among the poor between drugs and mental instability. In my youth such mental instability was solved by committing those individuals to mental institutions. Individuals that resisted were medicated according to their level of resistance. There was a joke when someone acted stupid that the men in the white coats would soon be coming to get them. I wonder if that threat solved a lot of social problems that seem to have reared up in this era. There was a group we used to call the intellectual bleeding-heart liberals that determined that institutionalizing the mentally instable against their wishes was cruel punishment. Most mentally instable also suffer from degrees of paranoia and resist any intrusion ("helpful" relationship) into their life. I guess that such liberal intellectuals with bleeding hearts think that leaving the mentally instable and addicted to fend for themselves in society is somehow kinder and more charitable. I am not an expert, but I do believe that anyone that cannot manage themselves needs to be institutionalized. The amount of self-medication (like a DUI) ought to be an indication that institutionalization or at least some level of oversite is necessary. Most certainly they should not be registered to vote. The Traveler

There were some of us at work who did not get the covid shot. Pretty much everyone in the agency caught covid and many had it more than once. 100% of the hospitalizations from covid in my agency had taken the shot. Let me repeat that: 100% of the hospitalizations in my agency took the shot. I also took ivermectin while being treated. Seemed pretty dang effective to take an anti-viral for a virus.

Then there's me who really does think there is a Big Natural Health conspiracy that is intentionally trying to reintroduce diseases.

That's pretty messed up. I just figured that the advice was a mortal advice from a mortal doctor. And I treated it as such. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes they're wrong. Most of the time their advice is more educated than a layperson. But it doesn't make it gospel. I believed that Pres Nelson made the announcement because (as far as I heard) there were far too many Saints who were claiming a religious exemption, when it had nothing to do with our religion. The big concern I had was about the myocarditis and pericarditis. People raised the question, and no one seemed to be answering. They just blew it off without explanation. Just denial, denial, denial. That's what got me worried. I never claimed that I was sure the jab was causing it. But I was concerned that no one was addressing it. Now, after all the panic and hoopla is over... after Pfizer made their billions already and don't push it anymore... we find two interesting pieces of information. Normally, we see incidence of myocarditis in about 10 per 100,000. And it normally affects young men (regardless of health). But during the height of the jab, we saw this jump to 20 per 100,000. And it still predominantly affected young men. So, what are we to determine from this? The rate jumped by about 100%. But it is still an extremely small percentage of the population. Based on that data, I don't really know either way. Since a standard (that I've seen, anyway) is that if a drug/medication/etc. causes a mortality rate of 1/1,000 it is of concern. Sometimes 1/10,000 is enough to actually investigate further. If it is at a rate of 1/100, then they don't recommend the medication. And over 2% is automatically pulled off the market. Well, by that standard, it looks like the jab was on the borderline of being safe or not. And it is largely a matter of opinion. AFAIK, this information was available during the pandemic. Why didn't they just share this with us? I'd bet it would shut up a lot of conspiracy theorists. I just wanted to know the facts. But All I heard was that "you're too ignorant to understand that we're doing what is good for you." Yeah, that bugged me.

Nutrition is a fascinating thing. I am a little wary of those who claim it is everything. I've made no secret of my distaste for anti-vaxxers and Big Natural Health, who I find to be for the most part grifters.

I don't believe any aspect of Backroads is curmudgeonly. That's for old men like me. It seems you've taken sincere measures to help someone who is operating at below optimal conditions. And she is swatting away your hand of charity.

You're not wrong. I bet there's more confusion and misdiagnosis than people care to realize. I have friends in the ADHD/autism crowd, and they say if it's "cured" by changing foods, getting ears checked, etc, it probably wasn't ADHD or autism. A mild example, but hopefully the picture is coming across. Random story: I have a student this year in online school who was quite exasperating. Without diagnosing, I'd bet five bucks she has ADHD or autism or something. She spent half the year interrupting and lately seems to color and play with markers instead of listening to me. Despite the exasperation, I soon found her quite endearing. The other day she attempts to lead a lesson, one that is fairly routine, and I had spent the year assuming she had completely tuned or spaced out this entire thing. She did an awesome job.

Amen to that. AuH2o, Reagan and Buckley (all great men) would be appalled by Trump.

Yay! Arguing economics! I bet if we try hard, the two of us can come up with at least 3 opinions! I'm new to opining about such things, and trying hard to cast a wide net across folks who seem to be bright about such things. It seems to me that the US has great leverage with China, but China may endure all sorts of hardships in order to save face. Trump is supposedly the dealmaker, the next few months we might see deals being made. I don't know. True, but even as we speak, all the companies importing things into the US are looking at what they import from China, and finding ways to import from other places, or even move manufacturing into the US. Probably my biggest worry about Trump, is how he has acted against the court in that one case. I've always been big on presidents acting presidential - it's been a gripe I've had about a lot of presidents. And POTUS is supposed to be big on checks and balances and our constitutional institutions. The fewer the steamrolling over court decisions the better. Oh, and Trump is a Republican in the same way that a biological man is a woman. Pretending it's true does little besides weaken what words mean, and tick off conservatives. The dollar is doing extremely well, as usual, thank you. That 6 month panicky chart sort of disappears into the noise when you look at a higher elevation.

It's the easiest thing in the world to just say "Just about everyone should serve a mission", and be back on the right side of things, aligned with our prophets. But people don't know enough about their fellow saints to be able to love them as God commanded.

Trump is absolutely playing unfair hardball, unashamedly, out in the open. The math is simple - we don't buy necessities from China, just stuff we can do without. China's economy is based on exporting to us, and they need us to fuel their economy and stay employed. China has upwards of ten million jobs they could lose very quickly. The US has maybe a little cold breeze through our economy as everyone retools and finds other suppliers. Everything else is just noise. Interesting question: If China refuses to blink, and just goes on a murderous deadly communist rampage to suppress the dissent of its own citizens as they lose their jobs and get mad, is it Trump's fault? The US administration is changing from the world's pushover parent that hands over the credit card to all it's kids to shut them up, to hard-nosed my-way-or-the-highway domineering parent that forces it's children to work 4 hours of backbreaking chores on Saturday before they can go play. Punishment is swift and severe for children who disobey or talk back. I have mixed emotions. I liked the post-WWII US-led peace and prosperity that has caused the greatest lifting of human rights, health, and wealth ever seen. I'm not sure what things will look like after the transformation. On the other hand, it has been obvious to me and others for over a decade, that the US can't continue to survive with it's ever-increasing deficits, waste/fraud/abuse on a global scale, and a million corrupt ways to funnel money to our enemies. So, yeah. Bumpy ride. China doesn't appear happy.

No higher calling.

It is not unusual for these types of prophecy to have dual fulfillments, temporal and spiritual. I really like that phrase "desolate heritages." It so perfectly describes the scattering of Israel in relation to apostatizing from the ways of their righteous fathers and then temporal scattering that followed. In the latter days, both the temporal and spiritual gatherings will and are taking place. Much of what you are describing relates to the spiritual gathering, of which covenants play a significant role.

This made me think of this: Alma 7:12 ...he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things... There's a difference between knowledge we are taught and knowledge we acquire by experience. I don't know what exactly the Savior experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane but it was sufficient for Him to relate to everything we experience in life and that was important to Him.

It is not by faith alone but rather by faith in Jesus Christ that we hold to the iron rod to obtain the Tree of Life. In essence, it is by faith that we obtain knowledge. Jesus explained it this way – John 8:31-32 The Traveler

You cannot be saved without knowing you're being saved. You cannot be saved until you have learned all that you need to know as a participant in that process. The mysteries of God are nothing more or less than knowledge. Those who inherit the celestial kingdom will eventually gain all the knowledge which God now has. Man cannot be saved in ignorance. That said, I believe, in large part because of Lectures on Faith, that there are two kinds of faith, only one of which is made "dormant" by knowledge.

Yes I know Pope Francis is dead (and peace be upon him) but something else happened this past weekend which is causing much more of a splash: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/19/europe/uk-supreme-court-biological-woman-intl/index.html The Supreme Court has ruled that as far as the Equality Act 2010 goes, gender is defined by what a person was born as, not how they choose to identify. Right now Starmer-schmarmer is keeping a very low profile, but from here on he can't use the Equality Act to justify allowing trans-women into female-only spaces, or allowing trans-women to beat the socks off actual women in women's sports. I'm seeing my "child" this coming Thursday and I'm taking her (them) back up to college Friday. I may be worrying unnecessarily (she knows I'm a disgraceful reactionary Neanderthal) but I'm a bit uneasy about what to say if she brings it up. And to be honest, I think this may be a false dawn for "real gender" anyway. If I understand correctly, all the government needs to do is to get a new law passed to replace the 2010 act, making it explicit that "woman" includes trans-women, and the Law Lords' ruling becomes completely moot.

D&C 131:5 teaches us a lot about D&C 131:6.

I think the two scriptures are compatible in that knowledge opposes ignorance. We are saved in Christ, not ignorance.

Ok, that was a rivetingly enjoyable slice of life. Where I live, the [flash flash flash] is usually from oncoming traffic, and it's always a warning that we're approaching either deer/antelope in the road, or a speed trap. Colorado doesn't flash lights out of annoyance, we just move straight to road rage. As for my kids, we approached rainbow topics the same way we approached everything else, by trying to have an open complete discussion about everything. We try to explain why people do the things they do, in a way that if our Savior was watching the conversation, He'd smile at the treatment we're giving some of His children. We explain why we think and believe what we think and believe, and why. Risks and dangers, blessings and advantages, difficulties and hardships, right and wrong. Then they go about making up their minds and forming opinions and arguing and whatnot, in an open dialogue of shared trust and respect. At least that is what we have tried to do. We maybe accomplish the bare minimum half the time. Wife is much better at it than I am, and 95% of the successes are hers. I've had some good moments.

Indeed... I am a big fan of truth, but there is so much we do not have right now. As far as I am concerned Plural Marriage in the Celestial Kingdom is "Tomorrow's" problem which in truth I am not seeing as problem either way for me personally. However right here, now, "Today's" problem is in truth is I that need the reassurance that I have just as good a chance as anyone else. This does not have to be true... But right now I need to believe it to be true. If once everything is done, if then, I find out it wasn't true it will no longer matter

Another issue is that there's considerable overlap in the behaviors demonstrated by both "kid with ADD/ADHD" and "kid who is legitimately bored because they either already know the material or the teaching style is not one they respond best to". Individuals who are high-functioning autistic might also have tics or issues getting along socially that can be mistaken for ADD / ADHD (et al) even when they don't have it. It takes time, effort, observation, and a skilled professional to diagnose which is which. The problem is that modern society tends more towards "any kid who doesn't sit neatly and quietly is inherently defective" and so the first instinct is to punish and medicate rather than evaluate.

I have thought about this for a while. I will not pretend to know or understand any more than anyone else, but plural marriage in the eternities may not be defined exactly as we may be defining or thinking. There is a possibility that not all wives in a plural marriage are equal. Both to each other as well as their husband. Since we are speculating and do not know anything for sure, the parameters may not be defined in the manner we are thinking that we are applying them. The Traveler

Does D&C 131:6 It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance. Teach us anything about Alma 32:21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

Sounds most unpleasant to me. Sorry you didn't have a better day. Assuming I'm not in the "fast lane", if someone does this to me, I put on my emergency flashers (where the "turn signal" on both sides blink at once) and let off the gas a bit. That usually works for tailgaters and folks who think I'm going too slow - no one wants to be behind someone whose car is about to break down. (Don't tell @mirkwood, but anyone who thinks I'm going too slow is likely being reckless.)

Yesterday I drove my daughter back to university, and (paranoid as usual) I was dreading being dragged into an argument on this subject. I was even rehearsing my "defence" ("Am I the Supreme Court? Am I? Yes or no? No. I'm not, am I? I'm just your Dad. So it's no use your complaining to me, is there?"). All nonsense. She didn't say a single word about it, though I'm wondering now if she's even heard the news. It wouldn't surprise me if she hasn't, since she's been living with my wife who is not very interested in following the news. (Though she did seem to know about Pope Francis.) Now she's (they're) back at university I'm sure her (their) LGBTQ+(?) friends will have plenty to say on the subject. Actually it was quite a good day - though not without complications. When I arrived at my wife's apartment I found out I'd brought the wrong suitcases, so my wife went to Primark to buy another one which annoyed me momentarily ('coz I'm an old skinflint who doesn't like spending money). Then it turned out the Easter egg I got for my wife was white chocolate (which over the past two years of separation I'd forgotten she didn't like) so I went to Poundland to get her another. Of course, Easter eggs were all sold out, but I did find a whole stack of those new non-orange Terry's chocolate oranges on the top shelf. When I tried to get them down they toppled over and rained down on me like hailstones. About twenty of them hit me square in the face and broke my glasses. Luckily it was only the frames that were broken, not the lenses. When I went to the opticians, the only frames they had that fit the lenses looked like the ones David Tennant wore when he was Doctor Who... ...so I thought at least I'll look like David Tennant, which is kinda cool. But when my wife and daughter saw me they said I didn't look at all like David Tennant and I just looked dorky. Well, there you go. Anyway, we had driven for well over an hour before my daughter realized she had forgotten to pack her medicine. There was no way I was going to turn back at that stage (the sun was already well over the yard arm) so we had the whole rigmarole of trying to get an emergency prescription before the shops closed. Luckily we managed it, though it wasn't cheap. Then when I was taking my wife home, I had another guilt-inducing experience where this guy behind me wasn't happy about how fast I was driving kept flashing me. I nearly always enter into an imaginary dialogue with these people. Driver behind: [Flash flash flash] Me: "Yeah whatever. Flash flash flash." Driver behind: [Flash flash flash] Me: "Yes I heard you first time." Driver behind: [Flash flash flash] Me: "Listen maty, if you don't like how fast I'm going you can quite easily overtake me. I'm not going any faster just to please you, so keep your flashy flash-flash to yourself." My wife really hates it when I do that. I pointed out that I didn't do anything to retaliate, but it still triggers her. I ought to know better, but when you've got a flashy-flashy-flashman on your tail it's not easy to keep your mouth shut. Finally got back to my house about midnight. But on the whole, it could have been a worse day.

I don't believe this is possible. An introvert is not someone who dislikes people, or prefers to be alone, or is shy, or is socially awkward, or is anti-social. (Although such things are often a part of introverts, they're not inherent. Rather, they're present because the introvert grew up without knowing what they were or how to manage their introversion - or worse because no one around them knew the cause of their reactions to over-stimulation and treated them as if they were purposely misbehaving.) Introversion and extroversion aren't preferences or choices, they are inbuilt personality types that can be controlled and pushed beyond their limits to a degree, but we're stuck with them for life. That said, introverts sometimes "act like extroverts" either to function in a world more designed for extroverts, or because they are doing something they love / are excited about. But this "state" has a "limited duration" (and a price). ("Act like extroverts" is in quotes because that's not really what's happening, it's just what it looks like, mostly because society at large still seems to think these are choices / behaviors, not inbuilt energy charging/expending methods and default mental stimulation levels. If someone wishes, I can expound.) So if "predilections toward extrovertedness" just means that you enjoy being around / interacting with people, that's not "predilections toward extrovertedness" - that's just enjoying being around / interacting with people. This is introversion. Interacting with humans is draining, while at the same time sending an introvert's brain into overdrive. It takes hours for the brain to "come down" to normal function (which is an extrovert's overdrive), and more hours to "recharge" before being ready for more human interaction. Extroverts find interacting with others energizing, and time alone draining. They need others in order to reach optimal mental stimulation, and quickly get bored or depressed when in isolation. FWIW.

I am an extrovert with pronounced introvert tendencies. No, that is backward. I am an introvert with sincere predilections toward extrovertedness. I like many people and enjoy my sociality with them, because it enriches my life. This discussion list is a minor example of exactly that. But interacting with people comes with a cost, and I admit that when I'm not required to pay the cost of personal interaction, a part of me is often relieved not to have to stomach up to the encounter. Rationally, I realize that such interactions usually make my life better in a long view, and often even in the immediate view, but it's taxing to have such interactions. It's not so much that I have to put on a front, but almost the opposite: I cannot just go about my routine or follow my desired pursuits, but instead I have to concentrate on being honest and authentic while simultaneously not offending people or coming across as a fool. Many people thrive on such social exposure; my youngest son is so much an extrovert that, if I were married to someone else instead of my actual wife, I might wonder if there was a milkman wandering around my neighborhood. Those of us who tend toward introvertedness, even mildly, are not necessarily excited at that prospect, even when we desire it. tl;dr—I agree with zil.

I didn't mean to say that I'm "anti-medication." I just tend to believe that we too easily have a knee-jerk reaction to "anything" that is "a tad" outside of the ordinary. This has led to a net over-medication society. Of course I believe there are cases where medicating is absolutely warranted. But on the balance, I believe we do it WAYYY too much today.

Yeah... The question becomes "Why are there more exalted women then men?" The Lord promises no blessing will be denied the faithful. The idea that the number of exalted men and women exactly match seems a bit of a stretch. So it would seem that Plural Marriage is the answer to that with women having greater number in exaltation. But if it is widespread then it more likely means that men are less likely to make it to exaltation. Which is not something I accept. That being said a small reasonably insignificant percentage difference (aka women having a so slight advantage) can add up over large numbers and I am ok with that

I didn't mean to suggest you were. That's because you're not an introvert. I am partly joking here, but also very serious about how an introvert would respond to the events you described. An introvert might like you and even look forward to the time you planned to get together, but then something comes up on your end and you call the introvert and say, "Sorry, I have to postpone." The introvert will make sympathetic noises, express concern for whatever came up, say they're disappointed, but as soon as you hang up the phone, they'll sigh in relief. Their feelings and words will be sincere, but they'll still be relieved at not having to get together (most of the time, and assuming they're more than just mildly introverted).