mikbone

I'm not sure, but it seems to me that you are just being contentious. There have been so many latter day talks about how to determine if revelation is from God... LDS.org - Sunday School Chapter Detail - Recognizing Personal Revelation Speeches Holy Ghost/Revelation from God or the devil - FAIRMormon Just to name few that I pulled up with a Internet search.

Really??

"The sleeper has awakened!!"

Yeah, I'm still gonna eat me some Bar-B-Que.

I disagree with you with all my heart. Visions and dreams are most excellent ways to learn about the gospel. Some people receive revelation via the still small voice, others hear words in their minds, some have visions or dreams. You seem to have appointed yourself as the revelation police... Or am I incorrect. D&C 138 is clearly a vision. And the information that Joseph F. Smith received in that vision was much more informative than what one can receive from a feeling of peace. When we ask for answers to prayers we usually study out an idea in our minds and ask if our conclusions are correct or not. The burning in the bosom is a YES answer to a question. But some questions cannot be answered with a yes or no response. Some answers to prayers require much more profound revelation. visions and dreams can be the the answer to complex questions. I have had a waking vision on more than one occasion. I would not have traded those experiences for a burning in the bosom. You may want to review Personal Revelation - Ensign Sept. 1999 - ensign See also Letter from Joseph Smith to Isaac Galland, Mar. 22, 1839, Liberty Jail, Liberty, Missouri, published in Times and Seasons, Feb. 1840, p. 54. “We believe that we have a right to revelations, visions, and dreams from God, our heavenly Father; and light and intelligence, through the gift of the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus Christ, on all subjects pertaining to our spiritual welfare; if it so be that we keep his commandments, so as to render ourselves worthy in his sight.”

I don't presume to know the mind of God. But careful reading of Jacob 2:30 does suggest a reason wherein polygamy would be permissible.

Even since my son received his mission call, I have noticed the great differences in how the mission field has changed. I was only able to call home 4x during my entire mission. Christmas and Mother's Day twice. The missionaries in Leeds England have internet blogs wherein they post current photos and log their daily activities. We have also seen quite a few videos although the video recording devices are strictly prohibited from what I gather... We are going to have much better contact with our children during their missions than what we had with our parents during our missions.

First off, modern science has no idea what causes dreams. There are many learned men whom think that they have figured out how our brains work. But in my opinion they are grasping at straws. If God wants to deliver a message to a man or woman during a waking vision, any of the 5 phases of sleep, within the 4 phases of anesthesia, or even during a near death experience... He can do it.

I believe that Joseph Smith knew much more than many give him credit. For example: Sermon delivered at Nauvoo temple grounds on Sunday June 16, 1844 Source: Thomas Bullock report No End to Gods if J. C. was the Son of God & John discd. that God the Far. of J. C. had a far. you may suppose that he had a Far. also---where was ther ever a Son witht. a Far.---where ever did tree or any thing spring into existence witht. a progenitor-- & every thing comes in this way--Paul says that which is Earthyly is in likeness of that which is Heavenly-- hence if J. had a Far. can we not believe that he had a Fa.r also--I despise the idea of being scared to death--I want you all to pay particr. attent. J. sd. as the Far. wrought precisely in the same way as his Far. had done bef-- as the Far. had done bef--he laid down his life & took it up same as his Far. had done before--he did as he was sent to lay down his life & take it up again & was then committed unto him the keys &c I know it is good reasoning-- * John 5:19, John 10:17-18

While I was teaching the lesson I was inspired with the following interpretation of Hebrews 5:12-14 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Milk and Meat We have been well provided with milk in the Church education system. Everyone is well instructed in the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. But if there are first principles, there must be secondary, tertiary, etc... You show up to church and you are given a tall glass of chilled homogenized 2% milk and it is good. But if you want the meat you have to put forth a bit more effort. You gotta hunt down your prey and then slaughter it. You have to butcher the carcass. Age the meat. And then cook it properly. If you do the steps wrong you will ruin the flesh or worse become sick. And even if you do prepare it correctly, you can still choke on the meat if you don't drink lots of milk while chewing and savoring each bite. Personally, I like the meat. It tastes good. Its worth the extra work. The reason why I liked this lesson so much was the fact that it is the first time since the '97 TIME commentary that the church has placed this doctrine in lesson manual (as I recall). This fact that the lesson was in the manual proves that we teach it. The entire lesson alludes to the couplet, but the actual wording of the couplet is not found in the lesson. You may say that the couplet is not in the lesson because the church is trying to de-emphasis the first portion of the couplet. But I believe that they want us to seek out the information for ourselves.

Kinda. This is why I made the original post. You are quoting the statement that the prophet provided to the dogs and swine. See Matthew 7:6-7 The statement that I think more likely applies to this topic is Hinkley's statement during general conference that I listed above. I will print it again, emphasis added. Drawing Nearer to the Lord President Gordon B. Hinckley Nov 1997 Ensign conference issue “The media have been kind and generous to us. This past year of pioneer celebrations has resulted in very extensive, favorable press coverage. There have been a few things we wish might have been different. I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that’s to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church.”

Did Joseph Smith Teach the Doctrine?? Sermon delivered by Joseph Smith at the funeral of King Follett held at the General Conference of the Church at Nauvoo, Ill. on Sunday Afternoon April 7, 1844 As reprinted and edited in the April 1971 issue of the Ensign God an Exalted Man I will go back to the beginning before the world was, to show what kind of a being God is. What sort of a being was God in the beginning? Open your ears and hear, all ye ends of the earth, for I am going to prove it to you by the Bible, and to tell you the designs of God in relation to the human race, and why He interferes with the affairs of man. God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another. In order to understand the subject of the dead, for consolation of those who mourn for the loss of their friends, it is necessary we should understand the character and being of God and how He came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see. These ideas are incomprehensible to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another, and that He was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible. Eternal Life to Know God and Jesus Christ I wish I was in a suitable place to tell it, and that I had the trump of an archangel, so that I could tell the story in such a manner that persecution would cease forever. What did Jesus say? (Mark it, Elder Rigdon!) The scriptures inform us that Jesus said, as the Father hath power in himself, even so hath the Son power—to do what? Why, what the Father did. The answer is obvious—in a manner to lay down his body and take it up again. Jesus, what are you going to do? To lay down my life as my Father did, and take it up again. Do you believe it? If you do not believe it you do not believe the Bible. The scriptures say it**, and I defy all the learning and wisdom and all the combined powers of earth and hell together to refute it. Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming His name, is not trifling with you or me. ** See John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

How bout? Richard Ostling in his TIME Magazine, PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer interview, asked President Hinckley Question: God the Father was once a man as we were. This is something that Christian writers are always addressing. Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are? Answer: I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it. Drawing Nearer to the Lord President Gordon B. Hinckley Nov 1997 Ensign conference issue “The media have been kind and generous to us. This past year of pioneer celebrations has resulted in very extensive, favorable press coverage. There have been a few things we wish might have been different. I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that’s to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church.”

Well that got no traction. Gonna bump it with the following quote Devotion to Divine Inspiration By Dr Leroi C. Snow son of Lorenzo Snow Only a short time before his death, President Snow visited the Brigham Young University, at Provo. President Brimhall escorted the party through one of the buildings; he wanted to reach the assembly room as soon as possible, as the students had already gathered. They were going through one of the kindergarten rooms; President Brimhall had reached the door and was about to open it and go on when President Snow said: "Wait a moment, President Brimhall, I want to see these children at work; what are they doing?" Brother Brimhall replied that they were making clay spheres. "That is very interesting," the President said. "I want to watch them." He quietly watched the children for several minutes and then lifted a little girl, perhaps six years of age, and stood her on a table. He then took the clay sphere from her hand, and, turning to Brother Brimhall, said: “President Brimhall, these children are now at play, making mud worlds, the time will come when some of these boys, through their faithfulness to the gospel, will progress and develop in knowledge, intelligence and power, in future eternities, until they shall be able to go out into space where there is unorganized matter and call together the necessary elements, and through their knowledge of and control over the laws and powers of nature, to organize matter into worlds on which their posterity may dwell, and over which they shall rule as gods.”

We had the chapter 5 lesson in priesthood and Relief Society last sunday. Grand Destiny of the Faithful. Did anyone have any interesting discussions?

Perhaps... Elohim and Jehovah are gods. There exist in the celestial kingdom. And they both interact with Satan. Although you may gain entrance into the celestial kingdom, if you continue to progress and wish to follow in the path of our forefathers. You will have to leave the Celestial Kingdom from time to time and deal with issues...

Not indefinite. Eternal. The great cycle will continue. I wouldn't doubt that Lucifer has a higher authority that he refers to in times of need.

He reports to the Preston England MTC in July, and will be in the Leeds England Mission! My #2 son will turn in his papers in 3 weeks. I received my call back in '89 and the packet my son got was much more informative than the one that I got. I remember that after I opened mine, all I can recall is wondering where in the world Orsorno, Chile was located. Then we had to make a trip to the local library and get out an atlas and Encyclopedia. His call was an entire 30 page handout with pictures (country & mission president), maps, addresses, e-mail addresses, well organized instructions, etc. We then jumped onto the internet and were able to pull up hundreds of images of the country. An excellent 20 minute video of the Preston England MTC. And view various blogs with pictures and stories of Leeds missionaries currently in the field. He submitted his papers 2 weeks ago so the turn around was quick, and our bishop knew that the call went out last week. He will be getting papers for the visa soon, and the Church will set up the flight plans and send the plane ticket a couple weeks before his departure. The cost of the mission is $400 monthly. This will be a great experience for my son. Anyone here been to an England mission and have some advice?

I like what you did here Vort. I have seen what you are talking about all over the place. Couples at church, in the workplace... It is interesting when you see a person in a relationship and then let themselves go. It can be either the man or the woman. It is even more interesting when a couple breaks up or has a divorce. Then the guy will try harder to be more successful or the woman will lose that extra 40 pounds that she gained... We should do our best to set high standards and goals for ourselves and should be able to expect the same from our spouses. No one is going to ever get to become as God is by making excuses for themselves and putting their life on cruise control. Life can get tough though. I wish that my wife would be able to have a delicious dinner ready when I get home, and a wardrobe full of clean freshly ironed clothes every day... But then I realize that she had to get up 4x with the newborn last night and she is also getting over a nasty viral illness... What is important, I think, is that as a couple we do our best to uplift instead of tear down our spouses. We should all probably go watch Johnny Lingo again. It is also very important to realize that Lucifer hates to see successful couples. He works hard to destroy families. It probably brings him great satisfaction. Sometimes we just have to realize who the bad guy is.

May I recommend Rhett and Link are hilarious and totally kid safe.

Brother Marriott purchases quite a lot of alcohol. Heck, I buy alcohol for cooking.

Get a dog. Viszla puppy would be my choice. You would probably do great as a mission president. What are your callings in the church. Scouting or young mens might be good for you. If polygamy wasn't outlawed and all... You will figure it out and get out of the funk. We love ya.

Yeah. I remember after my residency, I sent my family to our new residence - states away - and finished up business on my own for a week or so. For a day I was excited about the freedom, no diapers, no arguments, ... The rest of the week I was lost. Bored & lonely. My oldest 2 are both getting ready for missions. The oldest just had a rough semester at BYU Idaho and is now home and will submit papers this month. The younger is having a better experience at BYU Provo but turns 18 in June. My wife had a bit more foresight then me and although I only wanted 4 kids she persisted and we just had number 10 six months ago. I now fear I will never have the opportunity to be bored and lonely again... Anyway, I am looking forward to writing inspiring letters to my missionaries and hearing about their experiences. I also can't wait to stop buying pampers... But I can't wait for the daughters and sons-in-law as well as grandchildren that will inevitably will come. Moses 1:39 rings true. We glorify in our families. My job also gives me the opportunity to see many people in various time frames of life. The indestructible teenagers. Adults trying to find their way in life. And the elderly with their failing bodies. In the end, it all comes down to family. The elderly that were good parents have their children around them and are successful patriarchs. I have also seen many people die bitter and alone. Just this morning I took care of an 83 year old woman who broke her shoulder elbow and wrist. I fixed her fractures yesterday and she was recovering from the anesthesia. Before the surgery she was telling me about how successful her life was with her career as an actor, dancer, and model. New house, blah, blah, blah. This morning her real personality showed itself. She was abusive to the staff, spitting, and throwing her breakfast tray. No family was there to comfort her, and she had instructions that no information was to be released to any of her family members if they should inquire... She had undergone perhaps 10-20 plastic surgery procedures, but they failed to make her any more happy. I plan to die with some dignity and grace. And absolutely not in a hospital.

I've know many intelligent people. And many individuals who thought it was very important that I realize that they were intelligent. There is a huge difference. I think anyone that is prideful of their blessings either good looks or intelligence can be rather irritating to be around. If we were able to test Jesus Christ's IQ, I'm sure that He would be off the chart. Does that mean that He is irritating? Doubt it.

Well then I guess that makes it ok...