mrmarklin

Your brother is either creating a straw man out of desperation, or deeply misunderstood the gospel and that is why he left.

From the NET Bible’s translation:
Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith.  
13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever!  
13:9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, which have never benefited those who participated in them.  
13:10 We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from.  
A footnote acknowledges that the Greek word here rendered as “ritual meals” is literally better translated as “food”, but that the context indicates the author is talking about the “food” involved in Mosaic sacrifices.  Contextually, the author is warning against “Judaizers” in the Church who insisted on compelling others to continue the observation of Jewish rituals.  

I believe whole heartedly on the Family Proclamation, and if Elder Holland’s recent talk at BYU told me anything, it’s that the first presidency still backs it 100% and is concerned with the direction many Saints are going in.
As for your question. I do always leave room in my heart for any changes. I can see, doctrinally, how homosexuality may have room in the church doctrine and is perhaps just a current issue of the times that needs to be over come. However, I don’t think this is the case. (AGAIN. I don’t believe this to be so (and just one more time, I believe the family proclamation to be the word of God)).
So what if they changed it? Then cool 👍 if they don’t… also cool 👍
truth is truth and this is a living church with continuing revelation. I would be foolish to think my current understanding of the gospel and the nature of celestial glory is fully understood.

In my opinion, this is not a useful hypothetical question.

Your entire premise is flawed. Other than Jesus Christ, no one "lives a life worthy enough to be admitted to the Celestial Kingdom." No one. There is no such man (or woman).
Entrance into the celestial kingdom of God happens only because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The atonement of Christ is received only on conditions of acceptance. Acceptance of the atoning blood of Christ means repenting and obeying Christ's teachings. Such repentance and obedience includes making and keeping divine covenants.
Only Latter-day Saints are in a position to make and keep such covenants.
 

On a more serious note, I think this is highly likely in the future as the legal reasons to keep it unlawful seem to be on ever more shaky ground.

1 Corinthians 8 
5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

BYU was still on his list until the Seminary teacher shared the talk with the kids yesterday. You can say the musket backfired...
Backfired? On the contrary, having such a young man forego BYU is successfully placing a musket ball right between the eyes. Would that all such young men (and women) would take BYU off their lists and go to a "real university" instead.

He literally just said he was not. If you refuse to take his words at face value, why should you expect to have yours so taken?
I heartily disbelieve this. For the past 25 years, I have raised my family on one unimpressive salary (and sometimes no salary for months at a time) in one of the more expensive markets in the nation. We did not live in a huge house. We had three boys sharing a triple bunk bed. We never ate out. When we took the occasional vacation, it was to someplace within a day's drive. We owned used vehicles.
And despite whatever failures you may assign to my efforts to provide for my family, we were and are happy. On one income. In the Seattle area.
So no, I don't buy the weak excuse of "we HAVE to have two incomes just to make ends meet!" For every family who makes that claim truthfully, I can show you ten who simply live above their income.

I don’t care about the sexual preference of a missionary.
But, I feel strongly that an LDS mission is NOT the time to express your sexuality, no matter what it is. 
 
LGBTQ+ or not, if you can’t control yourself you really should not go on a mission. 

I repeat:  I don’t obey mandates from wannabe dictators. I won’t argue the merits, but it’s in the US constitution. 
Obviously, if one doesn’t live in the US there can be different rules. 

As a US citizen I do not obey mandates from wannabe dictators. YMMV.  Frankly, I’m ashamed that the average American appears to be a sheeple  
I view the recent advice from the GAs as PR. 

Because according to the US constitution, there is a bill of rights. Abridging things such as church attendance, or any peaceful assembly is specifically prohibited. Where, except in a politician’s feeble brain, is the government’s right to mandate me doing anything I don’t want to do in this phony emergency?

Come to California.  It will make you feel much better.

Because according to the US constitution, there is a bill of rights. Abridging things such as church attendance, or any peaceful assembly is specifically prohibited. Where, except in a politician’s feeble brain, is the government’s right to mandate me doing anything I don’t want to do in this phony emergency?

What on earth do you mean?  Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

Frankly, what concerns me the most is the astounding, condescending holier-than-thou comments I'm seeing from so many people that really ought to know better and be better at showing love, compassion, understanding, and empathy to their fellow Saints. And with the latest message from the First Presidency they've now added a distinct air of over-the-top smug "I told you so"-ism to their condescending holier-than-thou-ness. I know, and fully understand, that I've been accused of holier-than-thou attitudes. At times these criticisms are legitimate. Sure. But I don't think I've ever called my fellow Saints murderers because they had reservations about some medicine or another. I don't think I've ever phrased things in terms of "I'm begging you with all the love and patience I have left to let go of your pride" or the like.
I guess my own reservations about the vaccine and my own disdain for masking has helped me find some balance here. We ought to follow the prophet. We also ought to show more love and understanding for those who think differently than us. It seems that, one way or another, we're all failing. Even as I write this I realize that my love, compassion, understanding, and empathy for those calling me a murderer for not having been vaccinated sooner is sorely lacking.
We all have a long way to go to reach Zion.
(Most of the rhetoric I've seen on this forum hasn't been that extreme, but sometimes does tend to touch on some of the problems I believe are occurring. So kudos....and shame on us too. )
 

I find it curious that we are treating COVID-19 like it is one of the ten plagues.  
This will pass.  
There are horrible atrocities occurring in the world on an ongoing basis that don’t even get any play time on prime time news.
“there it is”

Depends, if you are saying they both perform excellent quality work.
I would ask for references, call and speak with the prior customers.  See if there were unexpected delays or expenses.  
I would then compare the quotes.  If they are similar I would go with the guy with the initials.
Doubt your scenario ever happened.  The scenarios that I described happen all day every day…

Well unfortunately it is just not that easy.  
The point that you emphasized with underline and bold is a judgment call.  How do you determine the point where no additional benefit is achieved?
I'll give you an example.
If you break a tibia the acceptable alignment (according to what will be considered malpractice) allows 5 degrees of angulation in the frontal plant, 10 degrees of anterior or posterior angulation in the lateral plane, 50% cortical apposition, < 1 cm of shortening, and < 10 deg of rotational malalignment.  
If you are within those boundaries you will not get sued, and the patient will likely have a good result (especially if they are childern [who have awesome remodeling capabilities] or the elderly and people who are low demand - less active)  But if you are a healthy active adult any malalignment can be problematic.  Most people would prefer to have anatomic alignment of their bones.  And they do notice. 
My goal is to put every fracture back into anatomic alignment.  Even if they are low demand.  If you train and practice meticulous skills on all your cases you will have better results with those cases when you need to be more accurate.
And there are many ways to fix a tibia.  You can use a cast, plate and screws, an external fixator, or an intramedullary nail.  There are benefits and disadvantages to each technique.  
If I broke my tibia I'd want it fixed with a nail by a surgeon with meticulous skills and expectations.  
If it is done with poor skill, the surgeon will probably tell you to stay off of the extremity for 2 months to allow it to heal.  If it is done correctly the surgeon can allow you to start full weight-bearing as soon as the patient is comfortable.  
 
It would be nice if everyone did their best.  Unfortunately in our society, people cut corners all the time.  And some people are just sloppy. 
 

That is one way to look at it.
The other perspective distinguishes the average worker from true craftsmanship.
Take embroidery for example. The easy way to tell if someone is an expert is to actually turn the piece of work over and look at the backside.  There are some artisans that can even perform double sided embroidery.
I cant tell you how many times I have looked at x-rays from work of other surgeons and thought to myself.  
 
What the (heck) were you thinking?

Sufficient and acceptable are pretty hazy terms.
As an orthopedic surgeon I do work all the time that nobody but myself can appreciate.  For example I routinely replace the proximal femur in patient that break their hip with a metal prosthesis.  
There is a huge difference between what is acceptable vs. my best.  The hardware vendors and scrub techs try to convince me all the time to put in hardware that makes the case easier and quicker.  
I know that spending an extra 10 minutes to properly cement the prosthesis and perform a water tight layered closure will give the patient a better implant.  And even if the patient has dementia or is minimally active I always do my best.
My x-rays look good.  And I appreciate that they look good, even if the patient and family cant even understand what I did.
I could go on and on.
And, for sure its not just you.  The majority of people are satisfied with sufficient or even sub-standard work.  I see it all day long…

At some point the church stopped receiving tithing in kind. If that wasn't for efficiency's sake I don't know what it was. 

John Birchers??? Those communists!!!

Indeed; redlining has been illegal since the late 1960s.  I can *sort of* see the argument that white middle class folks from better neighborhoods were able to leave their kids with a bigger inheritance which percolates down to the present day.  On the other hand, speaking anecdotally:  my parents inherited very little on their own parents’ deaths, and what they did inherit was after they were well-established in life.  The “inheritance” that really matters is cultural—a stable trauma-free childhood, two parents in the home who are both engaged in their children’s care and upbringing, and inculcation of values like respect for authority and delayed gratification and resilience and planning for the future.  
I would acknowledge that there are still stereotypes and influences out there that mean that all other things being equal, a black person probably has to work somewhat harder to get ahead in life than a whole person does.  But don’t think that skin tone alone permanently hamstrings a black person’s ambitions in the way the critical race theorists want me to think that it does.  Rejection of traditional American cultural values that critical race theorists pooh-pooh as “whiteness”—the stuff in that infamous Smithsonian infographic, for example; like nuclear families and property rights and rational, linear thinking and independence and self-reliance and scientific method and politeness and ability to keep to a schedule and clarity in speaking and writing and judging people by their intent as well as the results of their actions (https://www.newsweek.com/smithsonian-race-guidelines-rational-thinking-hard-work-are-white-values-1518333)—rejection of those ideals will set you back; in any society, no matter what color your skin is.