mordorbund

For a satirical take on password woes, create a new password using the Password Game! https://neal.fun/password-game/

For a satirical take on password woes, create a new password using the Password Game! https://neal.fun/password-game/

What if we look at the opposite side of the argument?  What if there really is no such thing as choice?  What if it is all pre-programmed and there is an inevitable fate as if it were all one giant, complicated domino rally?
What would that mean?  What would change?  And what would be the necessary fundamental for that to be true?

I submit that God can do whatever he wants to do, including, in theory, cease to be God.  But he doesn't want to.  It's as if you're saying, "unless God chooses to sin, he technically has no agency" or "...he appears to have no agency".  That's absurd.  God is demonstrating mastery of absolutely everything in the greatest demonstration of agency ever presented to us and you say:
You don't understand agency.

First, the tech support people's job is to help you do your job.  It doesn't matter how difficult or tedious their job is, it's their job.  (There's a reason they call it "work" and there's a reason they pay you to do it.)  So don't worry about calling tech support - they're getting paid.
Next, if the tech support person doesn't know how to reset a password without those security questions, something's wrong.  Does this tech support person work for the software manufacturer or your employer (assuming they are different entities)?  If for your employer, they should have some other way of verifying your identity and userID and should be able to then do a password change on the account (and either trigger the software to email you the new password or just tell you what it is and wait on the phone while you log in and then change it yourself).  If for the software manufacturer, the hoops for verifying your identity may be more difficult, but there has to be a way.  I guarantee you're not the first person to forget the answers to those idiotic "security questions".
(Of course, finding the person who knows the above can be a challenge - some tech support people can't do more than read the flip cards, others actually know the software.  And it may take a system admin rather than tech support to resolve the problem.  Finally, some people design really, really lousy software.)
Sorry I can't tell you more.  If you want to PM me to discuss specifics, I'll see if I can help any further - seems unlikely, but I'm willing to read whatever free / public info is available on the software and that might let me give you more pointers.

@prisonchaplain I think as long as we have people on here like @Carborendum and @LDSGatorperhaps you could consider doubling your preaching or using the "extra strength" version.

In reviewing my last post, I realized that I got to preaching. Occupational hazard, I guess. 😉

Well of course. Just because it's remote, doesn't mean the ward members should give up all their sacrament customs.

Perhaps this is a perfect example of the kind of "grudge" that Christians tend to hold, where we could learn a lesson from the Jews.
A very common phrase that is used a whole lot more among Jews than among Christians: "Nobody's perfect."
We see someone like Cosby fall from grace.  Then he is all-of-a-sudden anathema.  No one wants to mention them.  No one wants to be reminded of how hard they laughed at his talk about the drunk and the toilet bowl or "Grandpa is old and trying to get into heaven now."
But Jews still praise what King David did to build Israel into a great nation, while condemning what King David did in his personal life.  What are they going to do?  Deny what he did?  It's written in scriptures for crying out loud.

Without trying to comment on the current conflict, I'll try answering your other questions.
We believe that we are the House of Israel just as much as the Jews (modern terminology) are.  We're not "replacing" them.  We are their cousins.  And as such, we are ALSO (not instead of) the inheritors of the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Thus by building the Church in the latter-days, we are gathering Israel.  The Ancient Covenant People and the Latter-day Covenant People (which is basically what "saints" means) will eventually join together even if it is only a social/political alliance and not necessarily a religious unity.
We believe that many Jews will be converted through missionary work. But most will only be convinced when the prophecy of Zechariah plays out:
The land of Israel is important in its role in the end times.  How much do modern Jews play into that?  I'm not sure.  I'll have to look into that.  I'll get back to you (unless someone else gets there first).
The two prophets of Rev 11 will be LDS Apostles.  And they will defend Israel, die, and be resurrected.
So, it seems that our understanding of end times are fairly close in many aspects.  But our role in it is a bit more special than what evangelicals may believe.

I agree that very rarely does a person participating in a debate changer their mind from the debate, but it does happen. Dave Rubin went full derp-face while interviewing  Larry Elder and subsequently changed his views on black victimhood narratives.
@NeuroTypicalhas more experience with online debates than I do, but I’m sure he’ll agree that the person you’re trying to convince is not the die-hard staring at you but the silent lurker sitting on the fence observing the proceedings. These individuals change their minds all the time because they’re coming to the debate wanting to be persuaded.

IMO, you are better off for having figured it out for yourself than for having it told to you.  IMO, learning to receive directly from the Holy Ghost, rather than have someone else tell it to you, is the whole point of the Come, Follow Me program.

My "good news buddies" are my family.  But lately, I've come to realize that they're actually a lot smarter (or at least more well-read) than I am.  When I want to share something I just discovered or something that just occurred to me about a passage, they already knew from some other source.
Me: "Honey!  Look what I just figured out about this!"  
Wife: "Yes, I just heard that on a podcast a couple weeks ago."
Me: "Doh-oh!"  (grumbling about having to put forth effort to figure something out that someone else had already figured out).
 
Me: (to my daughter) "I am thinking that (this passage) must have implied that (x happened)."
Daughter: "Yeah, that's the way they portrayed it in The Chosen just this past episode."
Me: (Wondering if these discoveries are really obvious to everyone else.  And I'm just missing things due to my reading disability.)

Study pattern:
Purpose
Each study session has a purpose. Often it is an extension of the previous study's purpose. Begin with prayer and state the purpose. "Investigate the different creation accounts, see how they differ, and discover what the similarities and differences teach" "Learn my responsibilities and privileges as a deacon" "Select a person from my reading that I most relate to" "Find something of interest in this week's reading assignment" "Memorize 3 verses I learned about yesterday" "Cross reference my patriarchal blessing with the scriptures" Prework
These don't necessarily happen in the study session (unless you make that your purpose of study that day) but these are "helps" or resources you rely on in your more general studies. This might include such things as surveying the Gospel Library App to see what's available for your subject (if studying the D&C it's helpful to have some Church history resources), learning historic timelines and facts (such as where the saints were gathered and when (for D&C), or the rise and fall of ancient empires (for OT), geography (OT, NT, BM), revelation names (D&C)), or even memorizing scripture/official declarations for when phrases come up later. Oh yeah, I did an exercise during my first NT seminary class where we searched through the NT footnotes for references to the JST and marked them with a highlighter. I went back and did that for the OT as well. You should definitely do that. Study
This is where you do what you typically think of as "studying" -- sit on your keister and read until it sinks in. But don't just do that, apply some principles. Be curious - you may come across curiosities as you're reading, feel free to explore them a little bit. If they're taking too long or are distracting then make a note for a future study topic and return to the current topic (assuming the Spirit isn't driving you to the curiosity). "I wonder what it means by 'the cause of Zion'? Huh, it's come up a few times... and the Church hasn't even been organized yet....". Mosiah 19:4 "wait, was there a ceremony that I missed?" Use other resources -- student manuals and other entries (in the Gospel Library app) can provide Catch 22 context -- if you already know about it you probably don't need to look at it again, but if you don't already know then you don't know you need to look it up. This is also where you refer to previous notes, timelines, maps, from prework. Ponder -- Just because you "finished studying" doesn't mean you've finished studying. Throughout the day as you have time to reflect, ponder what you studied. This helps solidify in your memory what you studied, provides opportunities for feedback loops, and provides opportunities for personal revelation. Feedback loops -- sometimes you may come across connections from your other studies or observations (listened to some sort of counselor list out principles for building meaningful relationships and realized those are the same things God asks of us -- almost like prophets know a thing or two). These then return back to your study for additional insights Make notes for yourself -- sometimes it's helpful to diagram to get a better understanding of what's going on. This can turn into a bit of a prework tangent by creating maps, timelines, family trees and such, but mostly it's an exercise of physically organizing your thoughts. Make notes for future you -- that's a great insight you got from your study session. It'd be a real shame if you ever forgot it. Four years from now when your read the same passage again you won't remember that you thought anything of it. You don't necessarily need anything major but it should be enough to jog your memory (it may just be a new footnote referencing one of the study helps discussed earlier, then you can check the reference if you want to learn more) Share
As with ponder and purpose, share helps solidify your memory. You probably remember scriptures you quoted in talks or lessons better than other scriptures because you made sure you understood them well enough that you could present them and (if teaching) could answer questions about them. Have a "good news" buddy you can share with (a "good news" buddy is someone you can share good news with and feel even better about yourself because of how well they rejoice with you). You don't have to share every time but you should be preparing to present every time you study. Case study:
Purpose: Pray to "Find personal meaning from Psalm 24"
Prework: 1) Psalms is the Old Testament Hymnal. It was meant to be sung probably by a choir. 2) When I read through Song of Solomon I recognized 3 character parts in it (man, woman, group). I took the time to label these and it made my reading easier (I was very pleased when I saw the NIV also did the same, labeling the group "chorus"). 
Study: Start reading the Psalm. "... Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath..." curious -- is that a call and response? <continue reading> "... Who is the King of glory? the Lord strong and mighty..." curious What is this? catechism? call and response? prework Let's break this down like Song of Solomon and see if I can make sense of it.
Focusing on the questions, assign Caller, Responder, chorus(?) - something like
Work on some variations: Ch doesn't have to be a chorus, maybe that's like the King's messenger. Then C is asking the important questions. Then R can be Ch informing them how to prepare for the King. Only 2 parts required.
C in the second part could be the gates themselves singing.
notes Some thoughts on the Second Coming
share Pretend like I have a friend who enjoys poetry and defend my partitioning
ponder Later in the day imagine the following vignette:
notes: Some better thoughts

Study pattern:
Purpose
Each study session has a purpose. Often it is an extension of the previous study's purpose. Begin with prayer and state the purpose. "Investigate the different creation accounts, see how they differ, and discover what the similarities and differences teach" "Learn my responsibilities and privileges as a deacon" "Select a person from my reading that I most relate to" "Find something of interest in this week's reading assignment" "Memorize 3 verses I learned about yesterday" "Cross reference my patriarchal blessing with the scriptures" Prework
These don't necessarily happen in the study session (unless you make that your purpose of study that day) but these are "helps" or resources you rely on in your more general studies. This might include such things as surveying the Gospel Library App to see what's available for your subject (if studying the D&C it's helpful to have some Church history resources), learning historic timelines and facts (such as where the saints were gathered and when (for D&C), or the rise and fall of ancient empires (for OT), geography (OT, NT, BM), revelation names (D&C)), or even memorizing scripture/official declarations for when phrases come up later. Oh yeah, I did an exercise during my first NT seminary class where we searched through the NT footnotes for references to the JST and marked them with a highlighter. I went back and did that for the OT as well. You should definitely do that. Study
This is where you do what you typically think of as "studying" -- sit on your keister and read until it sinks in. But don't just do that, apply some principles. Be curious - you may come across curiosities as you're reading, feel free to explore them a little bit. If they're taking too long or are distracting then make a note for a future study topic and return to the current topic (assuming the Spirit isn't driving you to the curiosity). "I wonder what it means by 'the cause of Zion'? Huh, it's come up a few times... and the Church hasn't even been organized yet....". Mosiah 19:4 "wait, was there a ceremony that I missed?" Use other resources -- student manuals and other entries (in the Gospel Library app) can provide Catch 22 context -- if you already know about it you probably don't need to look at it again, but if you don't already know then you don't know you need to look it up. This is also where you refer to previous notes, timelines, maps, from prework. Ponder -- Just because you "finished studying" doesn't mean you've finished studying. Throughout the day as you have time to reflect, ponder what you studied. This helps solidify in your memory what you studied, provides opportunities for feedback loops, and provides opportunities for personal revelation. Feedback loops -- sometimes you may come across connections from your other studies or observations (listened to some sort of counselor list out principles for building meaningful relationships and realized those are the same things God asks of us -- almost like prophets know a thing or two). These then return back to your study for additional insights Make notes for yourself -- sometimes it's helpful to diagram to get a better understanding of what's going on. This can turn into a bit of a prework tangent by creating maps, timelines, family trees and such, but mostly it's an exercise of physically organizing your thoughts. Make notes for future you -- that's a great insight you got from your study session. It'd be a real shame if you ever forgot it. Four years from now when your read the same passage again you won't remember that you thought anything of it. You don't necessarily need anything major but it should be enough to jog your memory (it may just be a new footnote referencing one of the study helps discussed earlier, then you can check the reference if you want to learn more) Share
As with ponder and purpose, share helps solidify your memory. You probably remember scriptures you quoted in talks or lessons better than other scriptures because you made sure you understood them well enough that you could present them and (if teaching) could answer questions about them. Have a "good news" buddy you can share with (a "good news" buddy is someone you can share good news with and feel even better about yourself because of how well they rejoice with you). You don't have to share every time but you should be preparing to present every time you study. Case study:
Purpose: Pray to "Find personal meaning from Psalm 24"
Prework: 1) Psalms is the Old Testament Hymnal. It was meant to be sung probably by a choir. 2) When I read through Song of Solomon I recognized 3 character parts in it (man, woman, group). I took the time to label these and it made my reading easier (I was very pleased when I saw the NIV also did the same, labeling the group "chorus"). 
Study: Start reading the Psalm. "... Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath..." curious -- is that a call and response? <continue reading> "... Who is the King of glory? the Lord strong and mighty..." curious What is this? catechism? call and response? prework Let's break this down like Song of Solomon and see if I can make sense of it.
Focusing on the questions, assign Caller, Responder, chorus(?) - something like
Work on some variations: Ch doesn't have to be a chorus, maybe that's like the King's messenger. Then C is asking the important questions. Then R can be Ch informing them how to prepare for the King. Only 2 parts required.
C in the second part could be the gates themselves singing.
notes Some thoughts on the Second Coming
share Pretend like I have a friend who enjoys poetry and defend my partitioning
ponder Later in the day imagine the following vignette:
notes: Some better thoughts

Actually, based upon the teachings of both of our churches, this is proof that God is. 😉

Most likely, until now, she was thinking that she was G-d.
 
The Traveler

Yup.  I bought a lottery ticket and I didn't win.  What a waste of money.  Proof that there is no God.

I first start with reading a passage.  But one problem I have is ADD.  So, reading along simply isn't enough.  I have to read every single word.  One method that has become very useful on many fronts is looking up word meanings.  This takes several forms.
Look it up in the dictionary. Look up the etymology. Look up the word in the original language (Hebrew/Aramaic in OT, Greek in NT). Consider grammar in both English and in original.  Look up various English translations of the Bible for other meanings. Sometimes, I look it up in Spanish and French to see what alternate translations we have. Then I wonder about "weird things."  Sometimes I read something, and I notice something strange in the way a verse is written.  I wonder, "Why was that written that way?"  See "EXAMPLE" below.
Is there a series/list of words that seems to break a pattern? Is there an odd word that doesn't seem to flow? Where are the commas? What are the pronouns and antecedents? MEMORIZE:
I realize that many have a problem with memorization.  And I'm not being critical.  It is what it is.  It's perfectly fine to paraphrase a passage. 
But I find that memorization really helps me because I cross-reference in my mind a lot more than looking up the topical guide, footnotes, or concordance.  It all blends together in a human brain a lot more easily than looking up a bunch of individual verses and trying to make sense of it.
Then I try putting all the above mentioned methods together in my mind and see what the Spirit is trying to tell me.
Then the pondering comes from putting all this together and lining it up with:
Known gospel principles. Known history. Traditions among those who originally wrote it. Personal experience What is happening in my life and in the world today  
EXAMPLE:
Daniel 2:2.  List of words.  A pattern is broken.  Why is that?  I went on a search and found out that this was badly translated.  But at the same time, the correct translation would not have drawn my attention to the true intent of the verse.  When I realized what the real words were, I had to ask, why is this important?  Interesting realization.
D&C 84:22 "This".  What is the antecedent?  It isn't what our detractors seem to think it is.  The most common assumption requires incorrect pronoun-antecedent agreement.  Once I figured that out, I realized the real meaning of the entire verse (and passage) not just a single word.
I'm not sure if this is something that others can do.  I've just been doing it all my life without realizing it.  But I find that when I do this intensive study, I can actually read a page without getting distracted.  The more in-depth study that others would consider boring is what keeps my ADD from kicking in.

I'm afraid it is both worse than and better than you believe.  The actual perception-reaction time is 350 milliseconds (0.35 sec).  Sounds bad.  So how could it be better than you thought?
Scientists have argued over whether such a short interval allows for free will or not.  This author obviously is on the side of "no free will."  But there are plenty of others who disagree.
There are two things to consider here which your author friend has not considered, or at least he disagrees with it.
The power of "No". Quiet time. POWER OF "NO"
When you are subjected to a stimulus, the brain takes a tiny moment to process it to where it/you are conscious of the stimulus.  Then the brain/body will react in 0.35 seconds.  But the ability of your conscious brain to stop that reaction is less than 0.1 sec.  This is the power of "No."  We basically say, "No, I will not do this."  Then you can pause and regroup.
We're quite aware of those commandments that tell us "thou shalt not..."  Why do yo think that is?  It's because if we hardwire some things into our brains, we can exercise the power of "No" when there are some things we simply shouldn't do.  This is called learning.  We pre-program some things into our brains so we know not to do them when there are particular stimuli.  We have just strengthened our power of "No".
QUIET TIME
So, what is important about quiet time?  This is the power of "Yes".  It is the programming time.  It is during times of peace, where we have little to no stimuli, that we can choose without stimuli the paths we are going to take.  For many, this leisure time is spent on entertainment or debauchery.  So, you can guess what kind of programming is happening.
What if you spent that time studying the scriptures and the words of the prophets?  What if you spent that time pondering celestial ideas?  What if you spent that time thinking, "If I find myself in this situation, I'm going to..."  If you don't make good use of your programming time, you are choosing to get bad programming by default.
You think you don't have free will because of a 0.35 sec gap?  You may be right.  It is pre-determined by how you have been programming your brain all your life.  But every person on this planet has programming time.  It is how you choose to use it that pre-determines what you will do when you're actively engaged with stimuli.
So, the question is not how you will react when placed in a situation.  The question is: What are you doing during your programming time?
Jesus spent his time as a youth pondering the lilies of the field and the fowls of the air.  He spent time pondering the meaning and fulfillment of the Law of Moses.  He pondered the things of Eternity.  He spent his programming time serving others.
Enos was an average guy who was simply hunting.  But in that quiet time, he pondered the prophecies about Jesus Christ.  He pondered his sins and repentance during his programming time.
Joseph Smith spent a lot of his programming time pondering all the different faiths wondering which one was true.
How do you spend your programming time?

Whenever we speak of scientific facts we are really just speaking about observations that SO FAR appear consistent. This doesn't mean science is just guess work. Scientists probably get a great many things right. If that were not so God would not have told us to gain a knowledge of these things. But what it does mean is that every scientific fact, unless revealed by God, is restricted to man's experience and comprehension. Jesus did not seem to be bound by certain scientific laws during his mortal ministry. So whenever you encounter science that seems convincing, respect the science but leave room for God.
Having said that, concerning the argument that is being made concerning determinism, the author points out that our prefrontal cortex is shaped, while we are young, by an environment that we generally don't have much control over and as such our decision making is controlled by factors outside of our own choosing. While it's true that our physical bodies and our upbringing can have great influence upon us, the fact remains that we are surrounded by evidence/people who turn out completely different from what their environment would seem to dictate. People with good backgrounds going bad and vice versa. Siblings growing up in the same environment but turning out totally different from one another. The author's argument, while sounding logical, does not in any way reflect reality. That's why it is so hard to believe because everything in life, whether we can explain it or not, says it simply is not true. 

The principle of "try again" is where most people fall short.
For our current discussion, it is that people tend to stay at the "saying a prayer" phase without ever getting to the "pour your heart out to the Lord" phase.
I recently had an interesting interchange with my son.  He is a pretty competent piano player.  I wouldn't quite call him "gifted" (as far as music goes). But he has simply put in the work and study and time to become pretty good at it.
I happened to be in the living room studying something when he came in to practice.  Normally, we have the headphones plugged in, so others in the house aren't required to keep hearing the same song over and over again during practice.  But that day he had the headphones unplugged.
I was actually intrigued at how many times he messed up, and how slowly he figured out the fingerings to get fluent with the piece.  I was shocked.  He's very competent.  He learns new pieces each week.  
But as I heard him make mistake after mistake, and stop to figure out each step, I thought it was painfully slow.  That is when I usually stop trying because I figure it's above my level and don't try further until I've practiced a slightly simpler piece to eventually get to the next level.
That is why he's better than I am.  I can actually figure things out faster than he can.  I can get fluent with some refrains faster than he can.  But I lack the patience with myself.  He has infinite patience with himself.  And all the "failures" are simply stepping stones to success.  That is why he can play pieces that I can't.  Not because he's better or more trained in the piano than I am, but because he's not bothered by failure like I am.

Indeed.  To quote G.K. Chesterton:  “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”  Better to do it, and do the best you can manage at the time, even if it's done poorly, than to not do it at all.
 

Come on.  We all know what a big hit IV was.  You didn't like that?

I agree that very rarely does a person participating in a debate changer their mind from the debate, but it does happen. Dave Rubin went full derp-face while interviewing  Larry Elder and subsequently changed his views on black victimhood narratives.
@NeuroTypicalhas more experience with online debates than I do, but I’m sure he’ll agree that the person you’re trying to convince is not the die-hard staring at you but the silent lurker sitting on the fence observing the proceedings. These individuals change their minds all the time because they’re coming to the debate wanting to be persuaded.