mikbone

Perhaps the sperm that beat out the competition was left in the dark about the revelation?  And remember, as tiny as that little rascal was he was still an intelligence capable of independent action (see Doctrine and Covenants 88). Never lose sight of the fact that he was just trying to fulfill the measure of creation. You could learn much from his valiant, heroic example.

Yup read the study.  
We knew this going into the Pandemic.
Yet I am still wearing a mask in my clinic and the hospital.  By mandate.
 
 

Yup read the study.  
We knew this going into the Pandemic.
Yet I am still wearing a mask in my clinic and the hospital.  By mandate.
 
 

From this study.  Excerpts quoted for convenience.  Follow the link for further context and information.
The stats shown indicate the statistical data and results for each set of tests.
The "low certainty" means that the evidence suggests that the purported benefit was not indicated by the resulting data.
"Moderate certainty" means that while some evidence does appear, it is not at a very conclusive level.  It may not hurt.  But we probably don't want to be depending on this methodology for the desired outcome.
BUT... hand hygiene does apparently help.
DISCLAIMER:
SYNOPSIS OF CONCLUSIONS:
I'll add one comment. I don't think they addressed the benefit of surgeons wearing masks in the operating room. ( @mikbone, correct me if I'm wrong.)
The fact is that surgical masks do almost nothing to prevent germs from going in and out with our breath.  It isn't meant to.  Those germs are still in the air regardless of the mask you wear.  They are not "filtered" by these masks.  The air just goes out the side instead of straight forward.  Since it only takes 1 virus, it can float around and drift quite a distance and for quite a duration.  While some of the humid exhalation is captured by the mask, the great majority just goes out the sides into the air. The reason surgeons wear masks is to prevent spittle and nasal discharge (solids & liquids, not suspended particles) from going into the patient's body (which is directly in front of them for several hours). Because of this function, mask wearing does have that benefit.  And for this level of disease communication, it is effective.   But in everyday practice, that is a very small percentage of contamination of a communicable disease. And, you can look it up, there was virtually no difference in the percentage of cases for areas with mask mandates vs no mandates.  People caught COVID at about the same rates regardless.

My family felt complete @ 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 
Really complete @ 9
# 10 & 11 have been a blast.
Can’t imagine life without the caboose.
I must have been reading Palms 127:5

My family felt complete @ 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 
Really complete @ 9
# 10 & 11 have been a blast.
Can’t imagine life without the caboose.
I must have been reading Palms 127:5

My family felt complete @ 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 
Really complete @ 9
# 10 & 11 have been a blast.
Can’t imagine life without the caboose.
I must have been reading Palms 127:5

Also: 

It’s 100% in the eye of the beholder, and sometimes (not talking about you @mikbone) when someone thinks things are dull, it‘s because they personally can’t find the joy/interest in the subject. 
 
Again, not saying this about @mikbone. 

They are getting traction again.
The male abortion one is so on point.
Boy in the girls bathroom.
Also Megan and Harry…
Just reviewed the Joseph Smith ones.
I played world of warcraft in the heyday and that skit was 😂 
 
Quite irreverent, but well documented.  I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a full episode.  But I’m a fan.
Any I’m missing?

Perhaps of some interest:
 
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/u-2-spy-planes-snooped-on-chinese-surveillance-balloon

“Money can’t buy happiness, but it will certainly get you a better class of memories.”
— Ronald Reagan
 
So many benefits from routine exercise.
 
The above is my thing to look forward to this weekend.
”I aint here to make you lose weight.  Im here to make your life more pleasant.”

Real time image of me almost meditating.

“Money can’t buy happiness, but it will certainly get you a better class of memories.”
— Ronald Reagan
 
So many benefits from routine exercise.
 
The above is my thing to look forward to this weekend.
”I aint here to make you lose weight.  Im here to make your life more pleasant.”

Real time image of me almost meditating.

Cool list!  My random musings:
meditate I've seen this specific form of meditation from several directions, from yoga to cardiac rehab.  Growing science showing benefits from lower blood pressure, to better sleep, to better focus.
Find something positive to look forward to.  Basically how we should be praying.  Something to be thankful for, something to ask for.
Commit conscious acts of kindness.    Our service-oriented church has been preaching the same for a long time.
Infuse positivity into your surroundings.  "Let your light so shine".  Absolutely.
Exercise.   We totally lost the whole six-days-shalt-thou-labor and eat-bread-by-the-sweat-of-thy-brow stuff with the industrialization of the 1800's, and then computers.
Spend money on EXPERIENCES.  Good understanding of what people are ultimately pursuing with money.  Nobody wants the stuff, they want to be admired or adored for the stuff, they want the quality time, they want revenge, it all boils down to experiences. 
Exercise a Signature Strength.  "What-E'er Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part."  If we're gonna be saints and disciples, dang well better walk the walk.

“Money can’t buy happiness, but it will certainly get you a better class of memories.”
— Ronald Reagan
 
So many benefits from routine exercise.
 
The above is my thing to look forward to this weekend.
”I aint here to make you lose weight.  Im here to make your life more pleasant.”

Real time image of me almost meditating.

Hello, all.  I just had to share something that I had recently discovered.
  I have recently come across what I had believed (past tense) to be a deficiency.  Scriptures tell us what to do, but often don't really go into "HOW" to do it.   I've been reading a book "The Happiness Advantage" which talks about all the positive things that happen when you're happy.  The mind clears up.  You basically become more intelligent because your brain functions better.  Health increases.  And it is actually contagious.  A whole bunch of good stuff.   So, finally, about 1/3 of the way into the book he finally acknowledges what I had been looking for all my life.  A particular executive interjected to the author during one of his seminars, "That's all fine and good for happy people.  But what about the rest of us?  We'd love to have that advantage as well."   Studies show that happiness does, indeed, come more naturally to some people.  I do math without even thinking about it (Friday the 13th, for example*).  And it takes a lot for me to get frustrated with math.  Some people are simply happy as their default mood.  And it takes a lot for them to become sad or angry or anything else.  So, the author (Shawn Achor) gave this list of "to do items" that tend to infuse people with happiness.  He has found that naturally happy people do these sorts of things by instinct.    So, here is the magic list: Take 5 min each day to meditate.  Concentrate on your breathing and just empty your mind of anything else except your breathing.  Control that breathing.  Manipulate that breathing for maximum comfort.  If your mind wanders, refocus on breathing.  It may take time to master, especially if you're as ADHD as I am. Find something positive to look forward to.  Think about it often.  It can be something daily (like coming home to my wife - or rather your wife - I mean for you... you get what I mean) or something longer term (like vacations, or seeing your children marry in the temple). Commit conscious acts of kindness.  This can be just holding the door open for someone. It could be just offering a sincere compliment.  The compliment requires that you are able to see good in other people.  And that is also a sign of a happy person -- they can see the positive (or the divine) in other people, no matter who they are. Infuse positivity into your surroundings.  People often put decorations and pictures of their loved ones around their office.  I happen to know someone who created a "happy hoodie" :).  I tend to look at Mumford** a couple times a day.  By doing things like this, the environment becomes a subliminal message of positivity and happiness.  You could also take a walk specifically in a beautiful place (like a park) that just lets you reconnect with nature.  Why is nature so positive?  Well, it has to do with biological and geometric markers.  I won't go into that right now. Exercise.  I've heard various durations of exercise and intensity.  Perhaps any of the combinations will work. But the book specifically looked at a study that showed that 45 min / day for three days/wk showed improvements in mood that were similar to taking anti-depressants.  Another combination in health circles is to exercise three times per week such that your heart rate is at your target rate for 20 min each time.  The target heart rate varies with age and health.  But for healthy people under 30, it is double your sleeping rate (which is pretty low). Spend money on EXPERIENCES.   Money can't buy happiness if it is spent on "stuff".  But the experiences you can purchase with money will actually bring happiness.    Sometimes they can be cheap (like the amount of gas we spent to go to an Astros game with the kids using the tickens my client gave me).   Sometimes they can be expensive (like going on a cruise with my favorite person in the world --  who happens to be the most beautiful and kindest and sweetest person on earth -- who happens to be my wife.  Yes, she's MY wife.  Don't you forget it).  And I just spent a week on a cruise with her. Oh, yeah, baby! Think of experiences that can be memorable -- especially because they made positive memories with the ones you love -- memories you can reminisce about. Exercise a Signature Strength.  This is especially effective if you use such a strength/talent to commit an act of kindness. I like to make homemade ice cream. It just so happens that a friend of mine is getting married next month.  Guess what he wants at his reception?  An ice cream bar.  I got so excited.  I HAVE to make ice cream for their ice cream bar.  He's happy to see me make some. You all know I like to grow watermelon.  The interesting part is that I seem to enjoy sharing the melon more than eating it.  That's saying something because I grow the sweetest melons in the world. Interesting how the first two things that came to mind were about food.  So, if you like to cook... Sewing?  Crafts?  Woodwork? Painting? Now, after I thought about it for a while, I realized that the scriptures actually DO say all these things.  You really have to look for it.  And it is amazing how much the scriptures are infused with these 7 steps.  They use different words and terms for different purposes.  But it is all in there.
*Story about Friday the 13th:      One day I was running errands with my mom.  We started by going to work.  This meant that she would spend about 1/2 hr talking with people while I waited in the lobby.  During this brief career as a statue of "Sad Keanu", I noticed the desk calendar showed it was November, Friday the 13th.  I thought that was odd because I noticed several Friday the 13ths in that same year.  So, I began calculating the maximum number of Friday the 13ths there could be in one year.        Several years later, I was at college playing a trivia game with my brother, sister, and several other people.  The question was "What is the maximum number of Friday the 13ths there could be in one year?"   I immediately submitted 3!.  Everyone else just looked at me quizzically.  Then they were surprised to find out that was correct.  One person submitted that it was a wild guess.  I said, no, then related the experience at my mom's office.  Then they all looked at me as if I'd grown another pair of eyes or something.   **Who is Mumford?      My daughter, whom I call my Ladybug Forever (TM) likes crafts and sewing.  She also has an infatuation with the noble creature of the seas known as the Narwhal.  She asked what colors I liked for a stuffed animal.  She made a plush toy about the size of my open hand and gifted it to me.  It is cute as a button.  I look at it and it reminds me of my Ladybug who loves me very much.  

I want to note here that I am not raising concerns over the JSF in an attempt to undermine their historical arguments.  The evidence is what it is.  I tend to be an institutionalist in many respects, and I am probably prejudiced somewhat in favor of Bushman et al; but I also (hope I) am open to the possibility that they may be getting the history completely wrong.  
For purposes of this thread, my concern is simply that people may begin interpreting evidence in a certain way because the JSF encourages them to do so.  I am unable to publicly discuss the source of my information or to document my concerns about them; but to the extent that I can raise alarm about them within the constraints that prevent me from going into detail about it—I feel I need to at least try.  But again, I’m just a random guy in the internet; and those who don’t know me are probably right to take my statements with a *huge* grain of salt.
I will just say this:  live righteously, keep the Spirit, and hold to the living prophet and apostles—and don’t let anyone come between you and them; and don’t be too surprised if you see people connected with the JSF start trying to drive wedges between you and the modern church leadership at some point in the future.
 

And of course
 

My last post had no personal commentary.  I only cited scripture and a quotation.  After a challenge had been issued.
I am not interested in an argument.
 

I asked ChatGPT if it follows Asimov's 3 laws. No. No it does not.

3 Ne 28
24 And now I, Mormon, make an end of speaking concerning these things for a time.
25 Behold, I was about to write the names of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for they are hid from the world.
26 But behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me
 
Ether 13
12 And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who shall be first.
13 And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people.

D&C 63:10
Ether 12:6
D&C 130: 14-15
D&C 88: 63-65
 
The wife also shared the following:
Daddy?” young Corrie asked, “...What is rape?”

After a moment’s pause, the man held out his suitcase. “Would you hold this for me please Corrie?”

“Sure, daddy” she took it from his hands and it fell to the ground with a THUD. She tugged and pulled but could not lift it. He smiled and bent down to take it up from her hands.

“Let me carry that,” he said. “You know, just like this suitcase, your question is one that is too big for you to hold. I would not be a good father if I allowed you to carry it. Let your father carry it.”

I swallowed hard again. Loud and clear, I was hearing my heavenly Father say this very thing to me.
Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

D&C 63:10
Ether 12:6
D&C 130: 14-15
D&C 88: 63-65
 
The wife also shared the following:
Daddy?” young Corrie asked, “...What is rape?”

After a moment’s pause, the man held out his suitcase. “Would you hold this for me please Corrie?”

“Sure, daddy” she took it from his hands and it fell to the ground with a THUD. She tugged and pulled but could not lift it. He smiled and bent down to take it up from her hands.

“Let me carry that,” he said. “You know, just like this suitcase, your question is one that is too big for you to hold. I would not be a good father if I allowed you to carry it. Let your father carry it.”

I swallowed hard again. Loud and clear, I was hearing my heavenly Father say this very thing to me.
Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

How much harm might have been avoided had the doctrine of the deification of man remained publicly unrevealed? Not only is that a club commonly used to bash Latter-day Saints over the head, but how many young (and not-so-young) Church members have taken that doctrine to absurd lengths? How many weak-at-the-moment Latter-day Saints have felt shame in hearing someone or other say something like, "When I'm a God and have my own planet..."? It's a gift to anti-Mormons, all wrapped up and with a nice bow.
How much harm has been avoided by our not knowing the nature of the Holy Ghost? How much suffering, unbelief, and apostasy have we been spared because the doctrine of a Mother in heaven has not been propounded or added upon? Church members make fools of themselves on these and other topics as it is, with no other internal help. How blessed we are to know what has been given us, and how blessed we are that a great many things of God have been withheld from our carnal, immature spirits and the filthy eyes of the world.
Ponder on the patriarchal order, the very system of God. We used to talk about that often in the Church, a great deal in some cases. But our grasp never matched our reach. As a child, I would hear (at Church, not at home) some men refer to the patriarchal order as if it were a scepter of ruling power that conferred The Last Word on them. You don't hear much about the patriarchal order at Church these days; I believe that certain important temple references have been removed on this account. Part of the reason is undoubtedly the cancerous feminism in our society that uses "patriarchy" as an ugly epithet. But I suspect an equal or perhaps larger reason is our collective insistence on misunderstanding the sacred and vitally important principle of the patriarchal order.
Moses broke the tablets containing the original law of God to Israel and returned instead with what we call the lesser law of Moses. I think that even today, God continues to dumb down our teachings until they reach a point that we are willing to grasp. Perhaps at some point we can return to growing in our collective understanding through revelation instead of retreating from sacred truths that we are too impure to receive.