mrmarklin

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  1. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to Jersey Boy in Mosiah 15:4   
    The expression “they are one God” in verse 4 is referring specifically to Christ in his simultaneous roles as the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, the Creator (Father) of all things in heaven and earth when an unembodied Spirit, and the Father of salvation through the atonement to all who believe on his name. Hopefully, the following annotated verses will help make things clear…
    3 The Father (Christ is here being referred to as the Father of our of salvation) because he was conceived by the power of God (I.e. Christ was endowed with the divine power needed in order to successfully offer an infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice while in the flesh); and the Son, because of the flesh (the same person whom we call the Father of heaven and earth and the Father of our salvation is also be called the Son of God because he is the literal earthly Son of Elohim); thus becoming the Father and Son (the Father because he is the Father of heaven and earth, as well as the Father of our salvation through the atonement, and he is also the Son because Elohim is the literal Father of his earthly body).
    4 And they (i.e. the Father of heaven and earth, the Father of our salvation, and the Son of God in the flesh) are one God (in this particular instance the prophet is speaking of only one personage, namely Jesus Christ), yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. (Mosiah 15)
    These seemingly inscrutable words of Abinadi become clear when it’s understood that in these verses the prophet is  speaking of Christ in his dual fatherly role as the Father of heaven and earth, and even more especially as the atoning Father of salvation.
     
     
  2. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to Vort in Are the Gold Plates in a cave somewhere?   
    The hill near the finger lakes region in eastern (upstate) New York that we call "Cumorah", where Joseph Smith first unearthed the plates of Mormon, is a drumlin—an enlongated, roundish hill composed of debris piled up by and left over from the actions of glaciers that retreated at the end of the last ice age, 13,000 or so years ago. Its structure is not like e.g. the mountains in Utah. You will not likely find limestone caverns in a drumlin. While I suppose it's possible there is some sort of large cave in the modern hill Cumorah, I doubt it, and don't see any convincing reason to suppose there is.
  3. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to mikbone in Kirtland Temple!   
    Bet we will be using the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible quite a bit more in our classes.
    192.5 M well spent.
  4. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to Just_A_Guy in First Presidency Announces Uniform, Worldwide Standards for Ward and Stake Boundaries   
    If I didn’t have kids, I might.  But I think it’s going to be increasingly difficult for LDS parents who don’t want their schoolchildren turned into a captive audience for sexual proselytizing by the political allies of the party in power there, to retain legal custody of their kids.
  5. Like
    mrmarklin got a reaction from NeuroTypical in First Presidency Announces Uniform, Worldwide Standards for Ward and Stake Boundaries   
    Change is constant.  Here in the Bay Area region of Northern California we went from four Wards in my city to one in less than 40 years.  A lot of Stake and Ward boundaries were changed, and the biggest chapel in my city is for sale.
    A couple of cities south of me a mega chapel was completed in the late 80s.  It was designed to have 4 wards and also be a major Stake HQ.  Only one ward there now.
    All you rich Utah Valley and Silicon Slope Mormons should migrate here.  Much better weather.  We need your talent.
  6. Surprised
    mrmarklin got a reaction from askandanswer in First Presidency Announces Uniform, Worldwide Standards for Ward and Stake Boundaries   
    Change is constant.  Here in the Bay Area region of Northern California we went from four Wards in my city to one in less than 40 years.  A lot of Stake and Ward boundaries were changed, and the biggest chapel in my city is for sale.
    A couple of cities south of me a mega chapel was completed in the late 80s.  It was designed to have 4 wards and also be a major Stake HQ.  Only one ward there now.
    All you rich Utah Valley and Silicon Slope Mormons should migrate here.  Much better weather.  We need your talent.
  7. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to Vort in Did something I am now learning I shouldn't have done - Looked into Free Will.   
    Why should "free will" mean "unpredictable"? This is not obvious to me.
  8. Like
    mrmarklin got a reaction from SilentOne in Trying to overcome doubts about God / religion   
    The only real way to know about the things of God are spiritually, by prayer.  Only the faith of the 1847 Pioneers got them across the Plains to Utah.  That faith was hard earned through Prayer.
    The invitation of Moroni:
    4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
    5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all things.
  9. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to Still_Small_Voice in Trying to overcome doubts about God / religion   
    One small part of my faith is the law of Entropy.
    The law of Entropy is the natural tendency of things to lose order. Left to its own devices, life will always become less structured. Sand castles get washed away. Weeds overtake gardens. Ancient ruins crumble. Cars begin to rust. People gradually age. With enough time, even mountains erode and their precise edges become rounded. The inevitable trend is that things become less organized.
    The Universe has so much order in it as do many things on this Earth.  How did this get organized amid the chaos?  My answer is the God of the Universe.
    The main reason I believe is the continual witness of the Holy Ghost in my life and my work with the LORD God.  He is always there for me to help and lift me up.  Daily prayer and scripture study keep me in touch with Him.
  10. Like
    mrmarklin got a reaction from Anddenex in Trying to overcome doubts about God / religion   
    The only real way to know about the things of God are spiritually, by prayer.  Only the faith of the 1847 Pioneers got them across the Plains to Utah.  That faith was hard earned through Prayer.
    The invitation of Moroni:
    4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
    5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all things.
  11. Like
    mrmarklin got a reaction from Still_Small_Voice in Trying to overcome doubts about God / religion   
    The only real way to know about the things of God are spiritually, by prayer.  Only the faith of the 1847 Pioneers got them across the Plains to Utah.  That faith was hard earned through Prayer.
    The invitation of Moroni:
    4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
    5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all things.
  12. Like
    mrmarklin got a reaction from laronius in Trying to overcome doubts about God / religion   
    The only real way to know about the things of God are spiritually, by prayer.  Only the faith of the 1847 Pioneers got them across the Plains to Utah.  That faith was hard earned through Prayer.
    The invitation of Moroni:
    4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would aask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not btrue; and if ye shall ask with a csincere heart, with dreal intent, having efaith in Christ, he will fmanifest the gtruth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
    5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may aknow the btruth of all things.
  13. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to mikbone in Problems in the church?   
    My first Bishop swindled like 20K from my parents.
    First Stake President left the Church
    First Mission President was innactive.  I saw him on my first day in Osorno Chile.  Then @ a zone meeting 4 months later.  In his talk he basically berated us for 30 min about how bad our numbers were and then asked us each to give a testimony about what we can do to do better.  Everyone before me, mostly the Chileans, gave excuses and discussed plans to double their efforts.  I gave a forceful talk in broken Spanish about how our leadership was horrible or non-existent essentially.  The conference was cut a bit short after my words.  I was then banished to the remotest sector in the mission Porvinir! on the Island Tierra del Fuego.  Which I dearly loved.  My second mission president was much better.
    When I read the scriptures I know and feel that they are inspired.  I get the same from listening to many talks during General Conference.  My Patriarchial Blessing reads like the Patriarch watched a movie of my entire life.  I just have do to lots of work in the Temple after my retirement. 
    I love Joseph Smith dearly.  And I am well aware of the Kirtland Safety Society incident wherein he recommended that the membership buy into the bank and assured them that the bank would do well.  It failed - many members left the church over it.  I tried to buy one of the notes recently from e-bay but I couldn't because they are worth way more then their weight in gold today...
    President Nelson's recommendation about vaccines reminded me of the Kirtland Safety Society.  I bet He gave the recommendation because many LDS were using the Church as a reason for requesting religious exemption.  
    Living by the recommendations of the LDS Church (Jesus Christ) has brought me too many blessings to count.
    My testimony is not fragile.  Its like Gorilla Glass or Sapphire.
    My response to guys like Aaron Sherinian,

  14. Surprised
    mrmarklin got a reaction from Anddenex in Newest Apostle   
    "As a senior leader of the Church, Elder Kearon will serve under the direction of the First Presidency and lead a growing, global Latter-day Saint membership of more than 17 million people who speak more than 180 languages."
     
    I'm sure Elder Kearon is a good man.  But reflecting on the above sentence in the Church News, I think a nod to the vast membership of the church in other countries, for a leadership post such as this, would have been a better choice.  Elder Kearon is just another upper middle class White guy, that only can ever partially understand the problems of the majority of Saints who live outside the US.
     
    Is there no one else ready????.
  15. Like
    mrmarklin got a reaction from JohnsonJones in Newest Apostle   
    Mr Jones, the education system segregates people in Germany and is difficult to overcome.  But it's more than that.  I belong to an international oriented organization here in the US.  We welcome all comers.  But a German born member remarked to me that our club would be impossible in Germany.  There would be two clubs--one for people of a certain social status and another for a lesser social status.
    And BTW, if you come from a high social status, you WILL pass the test that can allow a university education.😉
  16. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to JohnsonJones in Newest Apostle   
    I am somewhat familiar with the German way of life.
    I'm not absolutely certain at which angle he is coming from, but there are MULTIPLE ways that his statement is actually accurate.
    One of the easiest to point out is how the education system works in Germany (and much of Europe).  Education and higher education does NOT work like it does in the United States.  You are sorted into (at least) three different groups.  This differentiation will determine what you will be able to do in the future, how much education you will get, how much pay you might be able to expect, and much more.
    In order to be a Pilot and a VP at an airline, Uchtdorf would have HAD to be placed in the highest tier.  This allows one to go to a University and get a University education.  Education is FREE, but only to those that Germany grants that education to.
    The lower tier would be those who would be deemed in the US to be worthy of Blue Collar work.  This is where your tradesmen (but many times, not their white collar office workers who tell them where to go) come from. 
    Finally, at the lowest tier, you will find those who are deemed unable to really be educated.  They will be taught the basics of life and be reliant upon the state for all their needs for the rest of their life generally, unless they somehow miraculously break out of that role.
    This placement sort of determines where you are going to be considered in life and what jobs will consider you.  You can get into the highest tier if you have really good test scores, your relatives have really good connections, or you have a really good reputation to overrule everything else.  Uchtdorf would probably have had to come from this class of individuals or he came outside the system (Such as from the US, his biography doesn't indicate that he came from outside the system).
    I have relatives that moved from Germany to avoid this classification of their children as they wanted them all to have the freedom to choose to go to college if they wanted to. 
  17. Haha
    mrmarklin got a reaction from JohnsonJones in Newest Apostle   
    Everyone knows that US Asians are "white adjacent".  For all practical purposes Gong is a White Guy.😎
  18. Haha
    mrmarklin got a reaction from LDSGator in Newest Apostle   
    Everyone knows that US Asians are "white adjacent".  For all practical purposes Gong is a White Guy.😎
  19. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to laronius in Newest Apostle   
    Here are the relevant facts as I see it:
    1. God, who is omniscient, loves his children and does those things He knows will best further His work in saving them.
    The end.
  20. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to pam in Newest Apostle   
    And one is from Brazil. 
  21. Like
    mrmarklin got a reaction from LDSGator in Newest Apostle   
    Elder Uchtdorf was an airline pilot, Gong grew up on the SF Peninsula, a bastion of white upper middle class values, and its obvious that Kearon grew up upper middle class from a first world country.  All these people never really lived or even saw a third world lifestyle.
     
    I'm not advocating for affirmative action at all.  If people are not ready for the responsibility of the Apostleship so be it.  But if we want to be truly a World Wide Church, maybe a training program would be in order to get people ready.
  22. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to LDSGator in What to Make of LDS/Evangelical YouTube Videos   
    Correct again, and I understand why people don’t bother learning about other religions. After all, if you think your religion is true why bother?   
  23. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to zil2 in Universal Basic Income Has Never and Will Never Work OR Where Does Wealth Come From?   
    The welfare state in the US has gone on for so many generations now that I fear it's no longer this simple; that people born and raised in this world literally have no idea how to get out of it, let alone any understanding of why they would want to.  The devolution of government welfare in this country is the very definition of a tragedy.
  24. Like
    mrmarklin reacted to mikbone in Favoring Israel   
    Could be…
    1260 days is 3.45 years.
    2 years of Southern Chile was all I could handle.
    Could be a mission president…
     
  25. Love
    mrmarklin got a reaction from CommanderSouth in Did something I am now learning I shouldn't have done - Looked into Free Will.   
    You have total free will. 
    God cannot see the future, but we are told that He has all things before Him.  He sees us in His real time,  That's not the same as determining our path.