mordorbund

If only there was 3 lines of 5 syllables each to remember when Easter is…..

Someone wrote an article tracing the whole “seal of Melchizedek” thing; and it turns out that it originated from a photo caption in Nibley’s book that was actually written by a research assistant and not Nibley himself.  The RA—when approached much later about it—vaguely recalled thinking they’d seen it in a book somewhere.
It’s an aesthetically cool motif, certainly a very old one, and I like the symbolic meaning that’s being imputed to it.  But I’m not convinced it’s an ancient symbol of Christ, priesthood, or anything else relating to the Gospel.
EDIT:  pretty sure this is the article I was thinking of.  https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-11-no-3-2010/seal-melchizedek

dibs.

How did you react when he was diagnosed with "being in love"?

If the United States is willing to get involved in the Middle East because of our interest in petroleum, I think we should do some "nation building" in India to free up their untapped dairy resources.

dibs.

If the United States is willing to get involved in the Middle East because of our interest in petroleum, I think we should do some "nation building" in India to free up their untapped dairy resources.

How did you react when he was diagnosed with "being in love"?

Nibley's Temple and Cosmos (page 17): "The curious Saturn stones may refer to the unlimited glories awaiting worthy saints." No citations for it though.

Nibley's Temple and Cosmos (page 17): "The curious Saturn stones may refer to the unlimited glories awaiting worthy saints." No citations for it though.

I've been listening to this guy (Bryce Dunford) on Youtube for a few days.  I figured I'd share one episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDmQfVhoA3Q
It's a bit long, so I'll just point out one symbol he pointed out from both the Nauvoo Temple and the SLC Temple.
We know there are stars, moons, and suns on the temples. But the order is messed up from the Telestial, Terrestrial, Celestial sequence.   Stars are on top Suns are in the middle Moons are at the bottom He points out that this incongruity can be clarified by looking at the following verse:
He points out that the woman was a symbol for the Church.  Thus the temple (also a symbol of the Kingdom of God on Earth) is wrapped (clothed) with the sun in the middle, with stars near the top (crown) and the moon near the bottom (under her feet).
Very interesting.

"Basic math" = "Math that I know". "Exotic math" = "Anything above the last math class that I took".

If I were to answer this—and I'm not dibsing this; when you read what I would answer, you'll understand why—I would probably investigate the roots of the word "currency", which is the idea of a current, that money flows between people and is used as a common medium of exchange. That is, money is a token (or emblem or sign) of value*. The value doesn't lie in the money itself, but in what it represents (or tokenizes).
The situation is similar with "paying for our sins". The only "currency" for such "payment" is the blood of Christ. We have nothing of value that can be redemptive for a debt of sin. Despite efforts of some practicioners of priestcraft over the centuries, there are no "sin coupons" that give us a discount on the price. What sort or specie of currency could we possibly use to pay such a debt? We own nothing of any such value, except perhaps our own being or existence. And that is exactly what is enslaved as the "price of sin", unless Christ buys us back (that is, redeems us) with his blood. If money is a common medium of exchange, there is nothing common about Christ's blood, and thus no other such  money is even possible.
I like this question. It highlights why the idea of money, of paying a debt, is used in scripture at all to describe our state before God. And that scriptural imagery is not merely used; it is used widely, constantly, one might say relentlessly. "Ye are bought with a price." This is the most common, indeed some would argue only, way to describe the redeeming nature of Christ's atonement.
*Note that money was originally an effort to carry actual value in a small, compact way. This is why ancient monetary units were usually units of weight (such as the talent or the denarius) rather than of value, which is how we think of money today. The word "money" is the Anglicization of the Old French word monoie, which ultimately derives from the Latin name Moneta, a surname of the goddess Juno, in whose temple precious metal was stored and money coined from that metal. As we probably all learned in school, carrying actual value proved problematic, because people would slice the edges off of silver and gold coins to hold back some of the value. This is why coins were originally ridged, to detect this coin shaving. Lots of interesting history around this topic. Google "The Great Recoinage of 1696" if you're interested.

New hobby: Posting stuff like this on social media in order to draw out the worst and most ignorant folks from many different sides of different fences. 

Figured we needed a positive thread.  
 
My son freakin loves his mission.  When he got called to Farmington NM I sighed. 
I hate NM.  Got like 3 speeding tickets going thru a 30 mile stretch (NE corner of the state) back and forth from Texas and BYU during undergrad.  Total speed trap 65 MPH on Texas side and 55 in MN - and no one lives along the road, its totally abandoned other than dirt, weeds, scrub trees and cops dispensing citations!
Anyway, he has been in the Zuni Pueblo for 3-4 months and absolutely loves it.  Lots of service (mostly chopping firewood).  Confiscating alcohol from the members and the occasional dime bad of cocaine.  Had to explain that we don’t take possession of illegal substances.  And teaching the gospel.  
His letters are great.  And his attitude is spot on.  The ward Sunday attendance has gone from < 10 to over 40.
Once again the Lord knows best.

My dad said this was his feelings as we each moved out. He thought the dinner conversations had finally gotten more interesting.

My dad said this was his feelings as we each moved out. He thought the dinner conversations had finally gotten more interesting.

5! vs 5? I figure you've got 50/50 odds of being correct.
For those following along that's a sure thing.

OK, back from Church and kitty is bird-watching. I think you've got some great replies, and I think you'll need to help us out with where you want this discussion to go.  I'm basically going to throw various thoughts in the ring and you'll have to figure out which to pursue, if any...
As has already been noted, we can't convince you or prove anything to you, but that doesn't mean you can't become convinced or have the reality of God proven to you - this is the job of the Holy Ghost.  The more experience you can gain with the Holy Ghost, and you'll have to work at it, the more knowledge you will gain from him.
These verses come to mind:
This makes it clear, to me at least, that people receive varying witnesses of the truth and receive them in varying ways (some interpret v13 as "seeing Christ in person" or some such, but that's not what it says - it says they're given knowledge through the Holy Ghost), and others, for reasons we don't know, don't receive this same witness (per v14).  Whether that lasts a lifetime or whether eventually they receive a witness like that described in v13, I don't know, and I suppose varies by person.  But you shouldn't feel singled out, less, or any other negative thing - it appears to be one of your trials in life (other people will have their own struggles and doubts).
To me, verse 14 is the Lord telling you, "I know your trial, but be faithful and you will also have eternal life."
You have already learned part of this lesson:
...in that you've said:
I think some time spent pondering the above might help.  There are a lot of people out there who will disagree with your observations.  They'll say these things that you say make life better and easier actually make them miserable or are too hard or restrictive or no fun, or whatever.
Consider that the above doesn't happen without the dedication and sacrifice - at least, it won't last long without the dedication and sacrifice.  So you might ponder how much of the Church's teachings you're living - covenant-keeping: studying the word of God, paying tithes and offerings, attending meetings and the temple, ministering, serving in callings, prayer, etc.  If you're doing all those things, do you think you would have the same experience not doing those things and just being a "good husband and father and an honest person"?  Or do you think all those things the LDS are taught to do are required to find the testimony you express above?
I personally do not believe that in the absence of God, any human would organize anything like a faith that requires such sacrifice in time, effort, and personal change.  Rather, they'd devise religions that give them power and pleasure - religions that justify or even glorify what we call sin.  There's no shortage of evidence for this from both history and the modern world.  I think it takes a God to come up with the idea that whosoever would be greatest should be your servant.  Mankind, left to their own devices comes up with fertility cults instead.
(More thoughts will come in more replies.)

Welcome!
It sure makes it much easier when a person recognizes that living your life in accordance with gospel principles is more rewarding than not.
The Plan of Salvation was designed by God to prevent it from being proved with the scientific method on purpose.  The tower of babel didn’t allow men to conquer God.  And no telescope or scientific discovery will ever be able to peer behind the veil.
But just because you can’t prove the existence of Jesus doesn’t mean that He isn’t there.
I’m not aware of any device that can quantify joy, despair, lust, love, remorse, shame, repentance, or forgiveness. Yet I (and you) know that they exist. 
You can cultivate more spirituality in your life by prayer, reading the scriptures, trying to become more like the master, and providing service to others.  It works.  It always does if sincere.
And there is more evidence that Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected then there is of the Big Bang, Dark Matter, and that Man evolved from pond scum.  
 
The following are two Jeffrey R. Holland talks that I recommend for your case.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng

5! vs 5? I figure you've got 50/50 odds of being correct.
For those following along that's a sure thing.

My dad said this was his feelings as we each moved out. He thought the dinner conversations had finally gotten more interesting.

5! vs 5? I figure you've got 50/50 odds of being correct.
For those following along that's a sure thing.