mrmarklin

The end to the war between the Islamic world and Israel occurs when the Savior appears on the Mount of Olives during the Battle of Armageddon.

Quite a few years ago, i vowed never to accept a Church calling in which i could not control the meetings. Its limited the callings I’ve been involved with. 

Quite a few years ago, i vowed never to accept a Church calling in which i could not control the meetings. Its limited the callings I’ve been involved with. 

I’ve always thought that the people who like meetings are always the least productive people in the office. 

No monopoly on happiness, perhaps, but comparing the lifestyle of the average believing LDS, it is very difficult to think that billions are doing just fine without it. 
Most of us are not doing fine. 

I'm taking a much wider view than you seem to  be doing.  A large portion of the world lives in what we in the US would consider abject poverty.  Having served a mission in a third world country, and having visited poorer countries I have seen how a simple thing like church membership and obedience to the gospel can help people live better lives.  This goes for what we think of as first world countries as well.  Many problems could be avoided in our own country by obedience to gospel principles.  Think homelessness, drug addiction, alcoholism, abuse of all types, crime, etc. etc.  These are problems for millions of people right here in the US.  They are not doing "fine".
Even in our own congregations there are a lot of problems among so-called active members.  And since only around 40% of us are active, consider the levels of "not fineness" that must exist in the less active.
Of course, not everyone experiences cataclysmic problems, but the Church gives one a good head start to avoid them.

I'm taking a much wider view than you seem to  be doing.  A large portion of the world lives in what we in the US would consider abject poverty.  Having served a mission in a third world country, and having visited poorer countries I have seen how a simple thing like church membership and obedience to the gospel can help people live better lives.  This goes for what we think of as first world countries as well.  Many problems could be avoided in our own country by obedience to gospel principles.  Think homelessness, drug addiction, alcoholism, abuse of all types, crime, etc. etc.  These are problems for millions of people right here in the US.  They are not doing "fine".
Even in our own congregations there are a lot of problems among so-called active members.  And since only around 40% of us are active, consider the levels of "not fineness" that must exist in the less active.
Of course, not everyone experiences cataclysmic problems, but the Church gives one a good head start to avoid them.

There is an element of truth to what you're saying.  But it is (struggling for the right word) peripetia?... that will satisfy the prophecy in a similar / unexpected way.
Women have become so militant and mixed up in what they want that they are giving up more meaningful happiness, preferring more worldly rewards from men.  To satisfy this unbalanced worldview, they end up overlooking a good part of the male gene pool and end up unhappy anyway.
So, it isn't so much that so many men will be killed.  They will simply be "unselected" by social expectations.  They end up being an unwilling Omega-male simply because the bar is raised so high by modern feminists.  That is basically what is happening in China AND the US right now.
How many single women are looking for the 6-6-6 guy without realizing that 50% of the women are chasing after the 0.001% male?
If you look at what I wrote above, I believe that will explain why the shortage is more perceived than real.  And in the case of China, it is not that they are not there.  It is that job opportunities are getting so slim that they really can't afford a family.  In their case, it is actually true (unlike the US where they simply want more luxuries instead of a family).

Given that Isaiah is so prone to dual prophesies, I think the primary meaning is less about future male/female relationships and more of a simple (and maybe hyperbolic) illustration of the destruction that will have been wrought on (then-) future Israel through wars, to the point that there just aren’t many men left.
But if one reads the verse loosely and tries to apply it to our own culture in the last days, what we might fundamentally see is women offering men the benefits of a traditional marriage (in a word:  sex) while not demanding that men reciprocate with the traditional responsibilities of marriage (material support/commitment).  And I think lots of modern American/ Western women do precisely that, to avoid the “stigma” of virginity/undesirability or in pursuit of some will o’ the wisp emotional connection or out of a “maybe he’ll like me if I just change enough” dynamic or out of a desperate need not to be alone as their culture accuses them of “passing their prime”.  There may not be a stigma against being unmarried; but I get the impression that (outside the Mormon corridor, at least) there’s very much a stigma against being chaste.

I never really understood this concept.  That is to say, I know what the technical definition of closure is:
But the idea that we can find certainty in life (much less the spiritual realm) is just not realistic especially in highly esoteric subjects.
We can find closure in what we know with the five senses.  But "belief"?  If anyone claims that there is no other worldly sense, then how can we know that it is or is not?  It's a circular self-defeating view.  All we can do is -- express doubt.  There is no certainty because you can't prove a negative.  At best, one can be agnostic.  Yet all too many atheists will mock those who believe.  For all they know, the theists could be correct.
Similarly, most other belief systems end up being circular.  The Bible tells us there is a God so, we know He exists.  We know the Bible is true because it says it is the word of God.
The one major difference in epistemology that the Restored Gospel offers is personal experience via the Holy Ghost.  My x-mo friend was completely honest about this.  He left because after being raised in the Church and giving it a good chance, he realized that he had never felt the Spirit.  That's why he left. 
Assuming that is true (I have no reason to doubt his own words about his own experience) I don't blame him.  Really living this religion requires a lot.  And if you have no certainty after many years of giving it a good try... How can you justify the effort to stay?
Atheists are perfectly welcome do disagree with others' belief systems.  But to claim that they have either moral or intellectual authority over theists seemingly displays a lack of self-awareness.

The cult accusations always get under my skin. Forgive me Americans, but I'm wondering if Church culture in the land of the free 🦅🇺🇸🦅 can at times be problematic. Because all of these "I escaped a CULT" videos tend to be from America, and the online discourse on whether or not the church is a cult, appears to be discussed between Americans. 
 
In my experience the Church is anything but a cult. My brother in law is homosexual, and inactive. He is loved and respected by his family and not excluded by any measure. On the odd occasion he comes to church to support family by listening to a talk or to witness a calling members of the ward greet him and ask how he is. He was the best man at my wedding. Some cult if you ask me. 
 
I think at worst, the church is a very conservative community with some very unorthodox beliefs when compared to the mainstream, but cult? Sounds like click bait. 

Plural marriage was introduced somewhere around 1831 to 1834.  The Edmunds Act was passed in 1882. The Church went through the court system for many years contesting the act with various arguments. In 1890 The Manifesto was published. So, initially, it wasn't illegal.  When it became illegal, we tried to fight it through the legal system and the political process.  When we realized all our options were exhausted, we agreed to comply.
Ironically the LGBTQ movement has brought about conditions that one would be hard-pressed to make an argument that this law would pass Constitutional muster if brought before the Supreme Court -- especially with the vehemence that federal agents persecuted the Saints in the 1880s.
While bigamy laws are on the books in all 50 states, most of the time they get a slap on the wrist and dissolve one or both marriages legally.  But, of course, it is perfectly legal to have "an open marriage."  And they don't prosecute adulterous relationships anymore.  Yeah, that makes sense.
To be perfectly willing to pledge support and fealty to many wives with a legally binding contract: That's illegal.
To only have a legally binding contract with one woman but have free non-binding relationships with as many others as I want.  That's legal.

Remember it’s all volunteer. It’s not a job. People work 65 hours a week-we in the church should be grateful we can find people willing to work their callings at all. 

Before I was certified I used to volunteer to referee TKD sparring matches. I did so for free. I was absolutely willing to accept criticism, but if anyone tried to give me a “royal butt whipping” I’d take my tie off, leave and go find a beach. 

This can be done in a great many ways outside of what we refer to as serving a mission.  I have helped reactivate several people over the years since returning from my mission.  I feel like they are bigger "successes" then what happened on my mission.
 
 

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.

My user name is reflective of my main hobby. Model trains. It is the brand name of the trains I run and collect. 

My user name is reflective of my main hobby. Model trains. It is the brand name of the trains I run and collect. 

My user name is reflective of my main hobby. Model trains. It is the brand name of the trains I run and collect. 

We call it the 80/20 rule: 80% of the work is done by the same 20% of the people. Sometimes we call it the 90/10 rule.

In other words, in California, you do not have a right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness.  It is a demonic state and any sane person would flee yesterday.

1. This is Elder McConkie’s opinion. Not an official declaration of the church’s official position.
2. Elder McConkie continued to maintain that blacks were descendants of Cain and that the ban was the result of a curse put upon them by God. He believed that God had finally lifted the curse.
3. His statement about forgetting past teachings refers to the timing of the ban being lifted. He believed it had been lifted in 1978 by revelation from God, while Brigham Young and other early leaders had taught that it wouldn’t be lifted until the end of the millennium. He may have also been referring to the teaching that blacks had brought the curse upon themselves due to actions before they were born. 

3 Nephi 13:
I converted from an Anglican background where this was always the go to prayer of choice for any situation, and I find I have not said it once since converting.
My wife and I listened to a sister give the world's longest closing prayer on Sunday (which we jokingly named the closing talk) which caused me to do some reflection in regards to the above passage.
The guidance here seems quite clear, got knows what we need, and what we want, so keep your prayers short, and simple, giving glory to God, to avoid being vain and mistakingly believing that your long and repetitive speakings will make you more heard. It helped resolve some personal questions, encouraging a focus on sincere simplicity. 
So why, if this passage found in the book of Mormon states "After this manner therefore pray ye:" is the reciting of this prayer not only rarely taught, but actively discouraged? (It may not be universally but it was for me when I was taught by the missionaries as it was "impersonal"). 

Both Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris eventually came west.  And came back to full faith and fellowship.

If anyone deserves social security, it’s dodecagenarians.