Pahoran99

Here in New Zealand, you don't tip anybody, except in really upmarket restaurants. The idea is that people get paid by their employers to do their work, so they don't need to be paid twice. Taxi drivers love to tell stories about visiting Yanks who give them tips, when the whole cost of the journey is right there on the meter. (US visitors please note: yes, taxi rides are expensive here, but forget the tip and you probably come out ahead.) When booking overseas travel, I always make a point of asking the travel agent about tipping customs in the places I'm visiting. I was flabbergasted when I went to the US in the 1980's and found out that just about everyone expected to be tipped for just about everything. (Or so it seemed to me.) Regards, Pahoran

Actually I would have guessed that you teach parts singing to men with deep voices.Regards, Pahoran

But you're making a little leap there, Ben. It does not follow from the passages you've mentioned that morally reprehensible acts become "blameless" merely because they serve a greater good. And if you are referring to Ephesians 2:9 in that last one, I don't see a connection at all; sorry. You mean Israel. Actually the false doctrines of collective and/or inherited guilt do that.The crucifixion was the greatest crime ever committed. Jesus pled with His Father to forgive his crucifiers precisely because they were committing a wicked act. If the act was "blameless" in itself, no guilt would attach, and there would consequently be nothing to forgive them for. Regards, Pahoran

In case you were referring to my post: Pinoys (and Pinays) can't say the "F" sound; so when they say "fork" it comes out "pork." No profanity that I can see.Hope this helps! Regards, Pahoran

Hi Deb,Thank you for sharing your remarkable story with us. You gave the title "Searching for my miracle." Are you trying to track down the men who participated in giving you the blessing? Are you a member of the LDS Church? Regards, Pahoran

What happens when she's in a restaurant and asks the waiter for another fork?Regards, Pahoran

Hi John. Is that the same St. Helena where Napoleon lived out his last years?Regards, Pahoran

In the which, you were wrong. Those who make morally wrong, or wicked, choices are accountable for those choices even if they have, all unknowingly, furthered our Heavenly Father's plan, or fulfilled a prophecy. And divine foreknowledge allows God to factor the freely chosen wicked acts of unrighteous men into His plans. This does not render those acts morally blameless. "Outmaneuvered by Christ?" As if they were an enemy that needed to be outmaneuvered in the first place? I'm sorry, but I don't see it.Even if we accept your dictum that "there can only be one Israel," there is nothing at all to force Israel to exist as a single coherent body. The Latter-day Saints participate in the Abrahamic covenant by baptism; the Jews are the heirs of that covenant by birth. We anticipate the ultimate gathering of all the branches of Israel into a single community only as an eschatological event; until that time, Israel remains scattered throughout the world, and the work of gathering continues. It comes as news to me that those we are gathering are not actually Israel until they are gathered; all of the Latter-day prophets, from Joseph Smith down, seem to have taken it for granted that they are of Israel all along. Anti-Semitism has little to recommend it, and LDS doctrine provides no aid or comfort to those who would embrace or advocate for anti-Semitic ideas. Regards, Pahoran

All of which are legitimate military operations in time of war.War doesn't require pitched battles. Regards, Pahoran

I've never been on ldsfriends, but I was very active on ZLMB before it collapsed, and I'm active on MA&DB now.And yes, that was my handle. Edited to add: I know that this is not a debate forum, and that quite a different style of posting is expected. Nevertheless, feel free to pass the word to any anti's who might be circling: Be afraid. Be very afraid. Regards, Pahoran

No doubt; that's usually the way. Bitterness just eats us out from the inside.However, there's another side to that. I have no reason to feel bitter towards Mr Davis, but from my perspective on the other side of the world, I notice that he caused a good deal more harm than he received in return; I am aware of no effort on his part to make any amends; and there is as yet no healing for those he has harmed. Unless I am wrong on the second point, I would say that mercy has manifestly robbed justice in his case. And that's not how it's supposed to be. At the risk of sounding flippant, it seems like, way cool that he would have all these neat-o experiences to set him up for his present career. I'm just not convinced that it was worth the level of collateral damage inflicted along the way. I would really, really, really like to believe that he has been through his own personal Gethsemane; but I would be the more readily convinced of the sincerity of Mr Davis's repentance if I knew he was working every waking moment to find a way to make amends to the family he savaged, instead of dining out on his dramatic "from the gutter to the pulpit" backstory. Regards, Pahoran

Hi there, and welcome to the site (from one new member to another.)If you want to do some learning on the Internet, let me recommend Mormon.org. This will give you a good introduction. You can also look at some profiles set up by some members. But if you want to discuss things with live people, face to face, the Church sends missionaries out into many parts of the world, including Colombia. The Mormon.org website has a "meet with Mormon missionaries" option. God bless you, Pahoran

Question: did the "born again" juror have no duty of disclosure regarding his conflict of interest? His approaching the defense lawyer and promising to help all he could seems highly improper to me, although different jurisdictions may have different rules.In my view, you cannot require a person -- including, but not exclusively, a bereaved person -- to forgive someone. Anyone who wants to criticise the son for not forgiving the man who murdered his mother is unlikely to be extending such criticism from an informed position. Nor does anyone other than the bereaved have any right to forgive a murderer. Mr Davis took a life. Gawrsh he feels sorry; but evidently not sorry enough to avoid using every legal trick in the book to avoid paying his debt. It's not for me to say how sincere his repentance is; but until the one incorruptible judge delivers His verdict, I reserve the right to have my doubts on that score. Regards, Pahoran

Hello Ben,having read through the thread, there appear to be a couple of principles you have trouble understanding. Firstly, to the OP: people are responsible for the choices they make. Their children do not inherit that responsibility; thus, no living Jew can be blamed for the crucifixion of the Saviour. Second, and also to the OP: the fact that God uses the evil acts of free beings to accomplish His righteous purposes does not make those acts any less evil, or those who committed them any less free. In simple terms, God forsees what men will do in a given set of circumstances, sets up the circumstances He requires, puts the men in those circumstances, and lets them freely choose as He knows they will. Thirdly, the notion that words are mathematically simple constructs that each deliver one meaning and only one, is naive at best, and gives rise to painfully muddled thinking. The Saints can modernly be called Israel because they inherit the promises made to ancient Israel. However, so do the Jews. Ultimately, of course, we anticipate that all branches of Jacob's descendants will be reunited in one fold; but the fact that this has not yet been accomplished does not remove the claims that the Jews have upon their inheritance, including but not limited to their land inheritance. Regards, Pahoran

Greetings to all, I am new to LDSSN, but not to Internet posting. I have used the handle "Pahoran" for some considerable time on a number of fora, so I was surprised to find that someone hostile to the Church has posted as "Pahoran" here. I hope, while I am here, to remove the stigma that that poster has attached to the name. Regards, Pahoran