richlittell

The prophet is on a "need to know" basis. If he needs to know, he will be informed at that time.

As far as I know, you can't get just the LDS KJ Bible (without the Topical Guide and Dictionary) unless you get one that is not from the LDS church, and in that case you would not have the benefit of the LDS footnotes in our version of the KJ Bible--which are a gold mine for understanding the scriptures. I think the Bible along with the dictionary and topical guide is just too big for comfortable reading at home (like I said, quads are good totes for Sunday, along with a pair of $1 reading glasses). I don't think you can get the Topical Guide and the Bible Dictionary as a stand-alone reference book. Mostly, though, I didn't want to buy anything new, so I just used my set of scriptures that I"ve had for about 20 years now and redesigned them.

I took a razor too my old quad and sliced it up according to my preference (no kidding, very carefully right between the pages and down the bind). Then took the pieces to a local print shop and had the separate pieces bound. I have the Bible all by itself. I have the TG and Bible dictionary bound as a completely separate reference book. And the Book of Mormon, D&C, POGP, and Index I kept together. I kinda wish I'd combined the BOM with the New Testament, since those are my favorite reads, and then put the D&C/POGP with the bible index and dictionary, maybe I'll do that later. If you really try this, make sure you remove the outer cover before slicing it up. That sounds sacriligous, but that's the same kind of things they do at the press, so I don't feel bad about it. I think quads are nice for Sunday totes, but prefer something lighter to hold when I'm reading at home.

Hemi, Pam It's 330am over here, so I'll be getting a bit of shut-eye. I'll check my email/PM tomorrow morning.

Hemi and Pam, I just PMed you both.

Hemi or anyone else, My son, a Marine, is in training in camp pendleton. He was playing some sort of stupid game with his buddies and got hit by a train -- no kidding. He is in a medically induced coma. Broken leg, ribs, brain trauma (but the docs think he'll be okay in the long haul). At any rate, I'm over here in Taiwan, and need someone to help me figure out how to get some priesthood assistance. My son is in a Hospital in San Diego. I think without family assistance their isn't much that can be done till he wakes, unless the military allows chaplains to take on that task (I hope)--Hemi, maybe you know something about that. At any rate, responses here on the board are fine, but if you need more information like which hospital, his full name and stuff, please send me an email. (I know how to check my email here, and to reply, but couldn't figure out how to send a new email to you Hemi). thanks

I have an educational doctorate and am a professor who has in the past taught all ages from junior high to high school to college to government and corporate training. I do not take offence to anyone using terms like "herd" or saying anything else critical about public or private schools--because these negatives do exist and are a fact that we as educators have to deal with, and often do research on. One of the greatest concerns of all educators is the student to teacher ratio, and the best ratio of all is not 50 to 1 or even 20 to 1, but one to one--special scenarios might require group/team work, but that is for older students and also easily adjusted for to the serious home-schooler. So long as the parents are truly capable of holding up their end of the deal in home-schooling, I feel it is in fact superior to either a public or pivate education. --the key is the parents ability to commit to and direct the educational process. I have schooled four of my children in the public schools, and so long as the parent stays involved, it is a great education. Two of my children are home-schooling now, I have a three and a half year old who can read at the first grade level and a five and half year old who can read beyond the second grade level.. and we're just getting started (they enjoy it, they come to me and mother to get started and often want to double up on lessons, they sit down and read even when we're not around). We have a commitment to teach them till the fourth grade. However, if we discover later that we really aren't, or can't, hold up our end of the bargain, we'll place them in public/private school. Advantages. --Moslty economy of time. You can teach at home in a few hours what takes all day at school. My 3 and 5 year old got to their reading level with only 20-40 minutes three or four times a week. The more advanced the subject, the more time is involved but it will ALWAYS be a more economical use of educational time when appropriately home-schooled. --Flexible schedule. Taking a break/vacation when either the children or the parents start to get a burnout. --capitalizing off your children's real interests, pushing them in directions of interest they may not get at school (having more free time to venture into all kinds of personal projects or service). --understanding exactly their weakness and attacking them head on, while capitalizing off their strengths. There are plenty more, but these are my top. One of the reasons I didn't do home-schooling with my other children (though I mentally flirted with the issue all the time) was that I had become somewhat conditioned into believing that the only ones who can give an education are professional teachers and schools. That is a false concept, at least up through elementary and possibly middle school (after all, most kids don't even hit algebra till middle school--so exactly what are the schools teaching up to that point that can't be taught at home?). If you can't do high school algebra, I wouldn't be home-schooling my children, unless you have definite way to supplement that weakness. At some point your child, if you have done your job right, should start to be getting smarter than you (book-wise, that is), and you'll need to be prepared for how to go forward at that time. But I could be wrong-- it's been known to happen (frequently, but that's a big secret --shhh).

My 5-yr old asked if i wanted to play Uno. I said, jokingly that I didnt' know how to play Uno, she said I know you know Uno and started giggling. I said, I know you know Uno and you know I know uno, In the end we created this: I know you know Uno. You know I know Uno I know you know I know Uno. You know I know you know Uno, you know? thought some tongue twister lover might like this. cheers.

With some further investigation, my wife and I figured out that the officially sponsored Bible for LDS in Taiwan is produced by the Hong Kong Bible Society; so that means that the church can only recommend it or sale it from our distribution centers but that they can not add or detract from it because of copyright issues, so there is no LDS footnotes or cross-references, TG or Bible dictionary. She also said that so far as she knows, there is no source or other publications for cross-referencing and nothing like the Topical Guide (but then, maybe she's not up on that).

Opposition is also a means for deeper understanding. If there were no black, we could never really appreciate the white; hot/cold full/empty hard/soft sharp/dull thick/thin high/low fun/boring etc. Opposition, by nature, also covers everything in between-- red, yellow, blue, mauve, burgandy so we can appreciate and understand degrees in all things--even music: rock, pop, classical, and gospel. In fact, opposition could be considered the very essence of eternal life and as such, gives purpose to free choice; otherwise, there really wouldn't be any free choice for there would be nothing to choose.

The Spanish one is an OFFICIAL Church Translation. Basically, it would be something akin to our LDS-KJV Bible, but in Spanish.I think in other languages, the church has an official recommendation of the Bible for each country to use, but it is not authored or translated by the church itself and doesn't have the cross-references to the other standard works--but I'm not entirely sure. Anyone else who has more details, feel free to chime in.

Spurred from another thread, and as I couldn't find anything on the internet, just how many language versions are there of the official LDS KJV Bible (with cross-reference, Topical Guide, and/or Bible dictionary)? I'm in Taiwan, and my wife says her Bible is an official Traditional Chinese LDS Bible, And as far as I can tell, (her English is not good and I don't speak Chinese), there are cross-references and maybe a topical guide or Bible dictionary, not sure. I know the church has just released a Spanish LDS-Bible (available in September). New Spanish Bible -LDS Newsroom I know we have hundreds of BOM language editions, but what is the status of the LDS-KJV of the Bible, or at least the avialability of the cross-references, Topical Guide, and/or Bible Dictionary in other languages. Does anybody know?

To all members, please be accurate when reporting statistics as facts and always make a reference to your source. I can't find the aforementioned statistic myself, the closest I came was this from the Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 2005 (not official church statistics) First, the statistical data is five years old. Second, it only refers to Utah, not the world. (Sorry Utahns, Utah it not the world :) ) Third, garnering statistics from other unrelated statistics is NOT statistical, it is a very poor means of guestimating, as each statistical source has it's own set of criteria which may or may not overlap/counter the other statistical sources. And fourth, if 62% of members attend regularly, how could only 43% be active? If there is a good source for the above statistic, I apologize ahead of time. But as this is a public forum we should be careful about throwing numbers around as if they are accepted facts and should ALWAYS reference our source as to avoid any misrepresentation or confusion. (for example, if I'm wrong, I wouldn't be posting this if I had a reference).

Roland, Is German your native language? If so, your written English is excellent! (I'm an English Professor in Taiwan, so I notice these things). I've just always assumed where there was a translated Book of Mormon, there would also be available some equivalent of the LDS-KJV authorized by our church in each language. Do you mean there is no German LDS-KJV Bible? And that would mean no Topical Guide or Bible Dictionary in German? Is the church working on that? I'm not sure how difficult it is for you to get, and I'm not sure how comfortable you are with English, but I'd be more than happy to send you, as a gift, an English quad or any other thing you desire.

Does the LDS-KJV of the Bible in German have the Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary? I sure hope so. BTW, I don't want anyone missing my point. I LOVE the Bible Dictionary and Topical Guide and in fact, use them almost every time I open the scriptures. I was only wondering if others ever felt like there should be other "packaging" options in how they are combined and delivered--more choices, that's all. When I first joined the church so many years ago, I was astonished at the thoroughness and ease of use of the Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary. So much suddenly came into perspective after all my previous years of Bible study (b4 I converted). You can get such a deeper and broader perspective when you have, and look through, all those footnotes and cross-references. Truthfully, I probably came to a greater understanding of the gospel and it's principles, the relation of Old Test. scriptures to New Test./BOM, and vice-versa, and an understanding of our core doctrines, through my study of the scriptures with the aid of the Bible Dictionary and Topical Guide than I ever got from our Sunday School lessons or even General Conference talks. Like I said, the topic is NOT that important, however, since we should be using our scriptures on a daily basis, I was thinking it should be a comfortable experience. I was thinking about how some are comfortable with the quad, some with the Bible and Triple, and was thinking some might be even more comfortable, as I am , with mine separated out so I don't have to lug the whole quad around or a super fat LDS KJV every time I want to take my scripture somewhere. (and I do appreciate electronic gadgets, but unfortunately, that's just not an option for the other half of the LDS world.) Love My Scriptures and Reference materials! Hold to the rod! cheers.

Yeah, sure, that is exactly what I said, almost a quote even. I said, in my post, that was by YOUR definition--not mine, and I never said one single thing about color. I have no idea what color the woman was, I only know she was not a Jew. I didn't say anything about color when I talked about the priesthood-- I talked about Abraham and God's choice to choose only him and a certain lineage to hold the priesthood. You can call it discrimination if you like. I call it God being in charge of his own affairs and blessing whom he blesses. I don't think Christ discriminates, not by the modern definition. But he does choose and elect all different kinds of people to accomplish his various designs, and the Bible is full of such particulars-- you can call it discrimination if YOU like, not me.

Not at all, we are defending Christ's right to run the administration of his church how he sees fit, and the priesthood is the office of administration, not salvation. Salvation has always been opened to ALL.Jesus discriminated (by your definition, not mine, as I think he has a design and purpose for all things that are indeed centered around love). Take a look at the bible, Matthew Ch. 15: It is obvious that Christ, for HIS reasons, discriminated against this Gentile woman. He practically called her a dog. But the point remains that the woman's faith still gained her everything --access to the gospel and it's healing powers-- through faith. The crumbs might be considered "salvation" or "the gospel," which is open to all. And every aspect of the gospel, prayer as well as faith, and blessings of many kinds based on faith, are and have always been available to ALL people every where, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, or gender. The priesthood is an administrative order that keeps Christ's church from descending into chaos. God has ALWAYS been particular about who holds the priesthood. It was at one time limited only to Abraham himself and then only certain, not all, of his lineage. Nobody ever said that. Throughout the history of the church, their have been men who held the priesthood who later turned out to be rather wicked people--so certainly, the priesthood in and of itself is not a measure of who is "better." Judas being the prime example. I do understand how you would view this as an outsider; but it's not so egregious as you may think if it is weighed against all the other wonderful parts of the gospel (I'm a convert and I've already weighed these things out--20+ years ago). It's an administrative thing more than anything. And now, it is open to ALL worthy adult male members. That's a good thing, not a bad thing.

I'm with you, I'd certainly go with Joseph's translation over a scholar's any day. Though I suppose one could still make the assumption that "Hold me not" could still mean "let go" if it was spoken after one had already engaged in a brace; but my take on that is that if she had already embraced him, what would be the point of saying to let go if it was already done? I think Christ is pretty up on things and would have known Mary's heart and would have kept the appropriate distance until he was sure she understood she shouldn't touch him. But think of honor in the fact that Mary was chosen to be the FIRST to see the risen Lord. I'm sure that was no accident, and a message to us all in how we should honor and respect womanhood.

I haven't read anyone's post that I'd disagree with. The letter of the law are the things easily spelled out as requirements for salvation. The spirit of the law is the ability to apply righteous principles in unfamiliar or personally difficult situations. Most Importantly, the spirit of the law is true charity, the pure love of Christ.

great advice. I can tell some of you U.S./wealthy people are bit spoiled with your electronic things, the other half of the LDS world can't always afford such gadgets ( I have an old pda but it's so slow loading and if I have to leave my current reading to cross-reference something or what have you, it's a nightmare). I thought about the KJV non-lds, but then I wouldn't have the LDS footnotes and cross-references. Military/pocket versions are out, I have a hard enough time at my age reading normal size. And I do use the Dictionary/TG a LOT, but just want the option of not toting it around all the time as part of the quad or attached to the KJV. I also think it's swell to have my Dict./TG sitting on the table while I read the LDS-KJV or the BOM. I can keep each book open without flipping back and forth through a single quad. I also think it's more comfortable to be able to read without holding a brick in my hands. But maybe it's just me, I'm kinda' weird anyway.

Good discussions, but I think it rather simple. Though there may be more to it, I don't think we need to look beyond the symbolic. Christ needed to approach Heavenly Father unblemished, even if only in symbolism (I don't think Mary's touch would have polluted him). But more than this, it surely was out of respect to the Father whose right it was to touch or hold Christ first above all others, no mortal excepted.

This isn't exactly a gospel topic (but is gospel related) nor a general discussion so wasn't sure where to post. Is there anyone else, or is it just me, who gets tired of lugging around the quad (or the triple along with the super thick Bible)? Is there a suggestion box for the church for new ideas? Has anyone thought about all the paper wasted on the BOM index, which is duplicated in the TG index? Who uses their topical guide on Sunday at church; by church time, I've done all that, I just need the standard works for reference in class. If the Bible dictionary and Topical Guide was a single book separate from the Bible and BOM, I wouldn't have to flip back and forth through my quad. For me, I"d rather have the Bible Dictionary and Topical Guide for what they are--reference books. I'd still use them a lot (as I do now), but could handle my books easier if they were all separate. I tried to find different combinations of our works for sale but couldn't. Why can't we have as separate books: LDS King James Bible (as one book), --WITHOUT the Bible dictionary and Topical Guide The Bible Dictionary and Topical Guide (as one book) The triple combination (with or without the index, as one book) and finally, maybe a single book with KJ Bible and Triple WITHOUT any Dictionary, Topical Guide, or Index, for carrying to church on Sunday, or for people who travel or like to carry their scriptures around. I actually took my quad and sliced it with a razor to separate out the Bible Dictionary/Topical Guide, then took them to a book shop and paperback bound them. I use them exactly the same, only, I have more freedom about what and when I want to carry something. It's also more comfortable way of reading. Any thoughts on this? (this is not really important, but just something that has bugged me for a while and wonder if anyone else has felt the same way)

I think rameumptom said it best (somehwhere around the second page), that anyone, LDS or non can understand it.

some excerpts from the recommended pdf Sounds like a man-made religion trying to replace all others-- sounds like bad mojo, Jojo. We know from the book of Mormon that it is not just poverty that brings crime into the world, when even a whole society of the righteous have become wealthy, they forget God and turn to all sorts of wickedness. A perfect scientific-based monetary system or a perfect world economy or even exact equality and distribution of wealth , even if achievable, would not alleviate the world of all it's troubles. Of course, we should look for ways to to better things in this world, but Utopia is not achievable without the Savior and a world full of pure hearts. Besides, I like work, all sorts, even the mundane.

I'm a really good cat burglar. I never get caught, and I only steal tidbits from rich people who never even miss their items (that's why I never get caught). It adds up to millions, but I give most to charity and give my family a great lifestyle.