Vort

Mordorbund Elucidates The Answer Maybe you can provide some pointers.

Does Charmander evolve into Stringmander or Charmeleon?

Seems like the kewl kids left Twitter a few years ago. Not sure the platform can be saved (or should be saved). If anyone can reform it, though, it would be Musk.

This is not possible in the way the Church is organized today. A bishop is also the presiding high priest of his ward. In order to be a presiding high priest, one must be, well, a high priest. In any case, this appears to pertain to the office of the presiding bishop, as I believe JAG pointed out.

As much as I hate to align myself with the American political Left, I don't see how this law can possibly withstand scrutiny (assuming the Politico writeup is basically factual). The irony is that de Santis appears to be trying to use the Left's sociopolitical playbook against them. Silencing evil by evil means is still, um, evil. Lord, come quickly.

The horrors visited upon my mother-in-law by the Nazis have had far-reaching and profound effects on her daughters, which inevitably affect the next generation. So for me, this is a personal thing. People who lightly compare Nazis to whatever they dislike do violence to the memory of those who sacrificed to defeats the Nazi horror. One very quick way to get Vort to ignore your opinion is to drag Naziism into the discussion as a comparison with what you don't like.

I suppose this is good news, given the alternative. I wish I had reason to feel excited or hopeful about it.

Count me as a stony heart. I find the story discouraging. This young man is an idiot, yet is typical of many of his generation (probably of all generations). Why are people like this? Why must some people be jerks, openly threatening the lives of others (whether or not they actually intend to murder someone, which is somewhat beside the point)? Some seek to destroy society from the inside, by corrupting the laws, the courts, and the hearts of their fellow men. Others seek to destroy society from the outside, like this young man. In truth, he probably does not want to destroy society; it is only the order and structure of civilization that allows him to bully others. In an actual anarchy, such a man would quickly find himself strung up on the nearest elm or with a spear through his eye and cranium. It's easy to be Bad and Hard when society actively encourages everyone else to be non-aggressive and conciliatory. Jerks like this bother me. I understand the satisfaction of seeing him get what he has coming to him, but I find it more discouraging and pathetic than funny.

My wife and my sixteen-year-old each asked me about this. I put a bit of a happy face on things, but fundamentally I believe like you stated. I don't really understand it. I do trust my Savior, and I do trust those he has called to lead his kingdom. If the above Church statement is a misstep, which it may be, I trust that it is not fatal and that it will not prevent justice from eventually prevailing. But like a portion of all Saints throughout history, I want to divide the world into black and white, right and wrong, and then cling to the right. If I don't, then I'm to blame, not God. But when precepts are taught as fundamental truths and then, later, those same supposedly fundamental truths are called into question by the same authorities (at least the same positions, e.g. First Presidency) that originally taught them. that's not a confidence builder. In pre-radio days, which is to say, throughout the entirety of human history until maybe 100 or so years ago, battlefield communication was done using a loud, piercing instrument that provided a signal in the form of an easily recognized tune. Thus in the heat and confusion of battle, the troops could be told to assemble, charge, retreat, mount cavalry, etc. An example of such a battle instrument is the bagpipe, as in the lyric from Danny Boy where troops are being mustered: "Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling / From glen to glen, and down the mountainside...It's you, it's you must go and I must bide." To us, a more familiar example will be a bugle, whose piercing calls are taught even today to Boy Scouts and Army recruits. The ancient Hebrews must have used a brass instrument like a bugle for such battle calls. The apostle Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 14:8, "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" Sometimes it seems the trumpet is giving an uncertain sound or a mixed signal. Do we charge? Do we muster or actively arm? Do we hold the line? Do we retreat? Is it simply too unbelievable childish and naive to ask for plain speech for the signal, rather than trying to feel our way and interpret the lead based on current circumstances and how the mob is feeling this week? I am not spoiling for a fight. At the same time, I do not care to back down or cower from the self-proclaimed enemy. I have been taught since birth that I have certain rights, and as a free man I intend to exercise those rights. If the Lord or his kingdom would have me do otherwise, I will comply, but I must be able to understand the direction. At the present moment, it looks like maybe I don't.

I'm a bit torn. On the one hand, Biden is a stereotypical Democrat politician, shortsighted, venal, small-minded, and so utterly convinced of his own virtue that he literally believes it's okay when he lies, because it's a holy lie--the old "Your poop stinks but my poop smells goooooood" line that Democrats know so well and believe so freely. He is a male, slightly less repulsive Hillary Clinton, only stupider. In that sense, he fully deserves any and all criticism that comes his way due to his stupidity. On the other hand, he's an old man, and mocking an old man for being old is uncivilized and repulsive in and of itself. Those who take pleasure in demeaning Biden for his stupidity curse their own spirits by their spiteful hatred. I do not want to be one of those. If the alternative to being a Democrat is being a partisan Republican, I refuse to make such a Hobson's choice. Enough of shadow puppetry masquerading as sophisticated entertainment. Enough of choice between evil alternatives posing as noble liberty. I long for Zion. Though I am not worthy of it, yet I want it and would go there if I knew how. I fight literally every day against the slow (or maybe not-so-slow) slide into paralyzing cynicism, but what hope can I find in the modern US or worldwide political landscape? Very little. Every day I become more convinced that hope lies in Jesus Christ, and that outside Jesus Christ, there is no hope. This gives me some comfort.

To October, eBot coot! But this means I'll live until I'm 110. That's not a palindrome. (But stat's a palindrome.)

Here's a link to a self-referential post.

In the same sense that Neville Chamberlain can take credit for having postponed hostilities with Germany.

That's actually kind of funny. Probably qualifies as criminal activity, but I still find it entertaining. People are soooooo stoopud. Present company included. We believe whatever we're told. That's one reason I'm not particularly upset about the lack of a "Red wave" in the last election. I would be quite upset if I believed Republicans as a whole were honest and filled with integrity. But when they're just a slightly less offensive type of Democrat, it's just not that great of a loss.