classylady

There have been times in my life, because of lack of finances, often ate food that was long, long, beyond their expiration date. I wholeheartedly asked Heavenly Father to bless that food that it would nourish and strengthen us. I appreciated all the home canned foods that we had, but many were canned years ago from my mother or other family members and given to us. It was a blessing that we had them, and I do believe that Heavenly Father can help food to be healthy for us. Now, with believing that He can help food be nourishing, I do not ask Him to nourish and strengthen our bodies when praying over a table full of sweets. I’ll simply ask for the refreshments to be blessed.

There have been times in my life, because of lack of finances, often ate food that was long, long, beyond their expiration date. I wholeheartedly asked Heavenly Father to bless that food that it would nourish and strengthen us. I appreciated all the home canned foods that we had, but many were canned years ago from my mother or other family members and given to us. It was a blessing that we had them, and I do believe that Heavenly Father can help food to be healthy for us. Now, with believing that He can help food be nourishing, I do not ask Him to nourish and strengthen our bodies when praying over a table full of sweets. I’ll simply ask for the refreshments to be blessed.

First, we need to understand that it is a figure of speech from a truly ancient culture. It refers to the idea that the person and the position/authority/power, etc. are one.
The closest thing we have in our cultural history is that when referring to the King of a nation, we may not say "the king."  We might say "the crown" or "the throne."  Why not say "the king"?  They could.  But it is just a more formal and respectful way of saying it.  Sometimes, they wouldn't even use these terms.  The King of England was often simply referred to as "England."  The same for France and other European countries.  In Hamlet, you may recall that the King of Denmark was simply referred to as "The Dane." Unlike mortal politicians, when addressing Deity, we consider the being and office to be one.  So, if we call upon the "power of God" we are calling upon God. When we call upon the Name of God, we are calling upon his power and authority. Why?  Because in worship, it behooves us to recognize the power and authority of God any time we address Him.  Today, we don't do that so much.  But the ancients did it much more commonly.  And they did it with all the formalities that our modern culture shuns.
So, it is a cultural thing.  Once you see it in that light, it becomes second nature and you won't even blink at it anymore.
Second, remember that people weren't allowed to speak the name of God (YHWH).  So, they came up with creative ways to clearly imply it, without actually saying it.  We see YHWH when written.  But as people spoke it, they would substitute things so it was only implied.  But to "imply" we need other words around it to make it seem obvious.
In the end, we use figures of speech like this all the time -- and they seem to be interchangeable.  How often would one say "Trump", "President Trump", "The President."  I've often heard people use "The Oval Office" in place of the person who is the President of the day.  "We need to get permission from the Oval Office" just as previous centuries would say "we need permission from the throne/the crown." 
We do this all the time.  We just don't think about it.

In that vein...  I tend to believe that those who are baptized for the dead will find salvation based on the same criteria as those who are baptized in this life. 
It isn't about being sinless -- none of us are.  It is about being humble enough to constantly be open to learning the truth. It is about being humble enough to continue repenting based on the new truths we learn. It is about humbling ourselves enough to allow the Atonement to heal us from sin. ... and being determined enough to continue these things through all eternity.

Get back in here, there is nothing wrong with your post.

You're most welcome!
Amen, but why can't the manuals point out temple references?  Why do we never discuss them in class and share our own recognitions?  "Well, there are unendowed members in the class."  Yeah, well, they're on the internet, too, so get over it!  Intrigue them.  Leave them wanting to understand.  Bring back the Gospel Essentials class for newbies and lift Gospel Doctrine to the next level.  Or make a new Gospel Doctrine 201 class and split the members.  Whatever.

I just watched the video.  Thanks for sharing.  

When I read the scriptures I try to have the spirit with me, and I can often see the temple references. But, I wonder how much I miss? For me, I see the benefit in reading them over and over again, (same as attending the temple over and over), I learn something new each time.

I questioned whether I should share an experience I had during my mission that I feel exemplifies the ministering of angels. And, I feel like the Spirit is letting me know it’s okay to share. There was a point on my mission where I was grieving deeply over a matter that had occurred while on my mission. I was nearly inconsolable and felt so alone.  One afternoon, while my companion and I were home for lunch, I went into the bedroom and knelt down at the side of my bed and began praying. I poured out my feelings of despair and grief, crying for relief, and letting Heavenly Father know I needed to be comforted. At that moment I literally felt someone’s arms encircle my shoulders, lovingly holding me. I knew it was an angel, but I was not blessed with the knowledge of who it was that was comforting me. I have always wondered if it was my deceased father, who had died in an accident when I was six years old. I have felt him at certain times in my life. Or, it could possibly have been a grandparent, or other deceased member of my family. Whenever I think of this experience, it still brings me comfort.

I questioned whether I should share an experience I had during my mission that I feel exemplifies the ministering of angels. And, I feel like the Spirit is letting me know it’s okay to share. There was a point on my mission where I was grieving deeply over a matter that had occurred while on my mission. I was nearly inconsolable and felt so alone.  One afternoon, while my companion and I were home for lunch, I went into the bedroom and knelt down at the side of my bed and began praying. I poured out my feelings of despair and grief, crying for relief, and letting Heavenly Father know I needed to be comforted. At that moment I literally felt someone’s arms encircle my shoulders, lovingly holding me. I knew it was an angel, but I was not blessed with the knowledge of who it was that was comforting me. I have always wondered if it was my deceased father, who had died in an accident when I was six years old. I have felt him at certain times in my life. Or, it could possibly have been a grandparent, or other deceased member of my family. Whenever I think of this experience, it still brings me comfort.

I questioned whether I should share an experience I had during my mission that I feel exemplifies the ministering of angels. And, I feel like the Spirit is letting me know it’s okay to share. There was a point on my mission where I was grieving deeply over a matter that had occurred while on my mission. I was nearly inconsolable and felt so alone.  One afternoon, while my companion and I were home for lunch, I went into the bedroom and knelt down at the side of my bed and began praying. I poured out my feelings of despair and grief, crying for relief, and letting Heavenly Father know I needed to be comforted. At that moment I literally felt someone’s arms encircle my shoulders, lovingly holding me. I knew it was an angel, but I was not blessed with the knowledge of who it was that was comforting me. I have always wondered if it was my deceased father, who had died in an accident when I was six years old. I have felt him at certain times in my life. Or, it could possibly have been a grandparent, or other deceased member of my family. Whenever I think of this experience, it still brings me comfort.

Resurrecting this thread.
Last year I planted a couple of watermelon plants and I got a few small watermelons off of them.  The plants died after I did some vigorous weeding around them. This year, I only planted one watermelon plant. We will see how it grows. I’m not optimistic.
So far, this May and June, I have purchased 4 watermelons from several grocery stores, and one from a roadside stand. Every single one of them has been almost inedible. I am so disappointed! No taste or sweetness to them.  What’s everybody’s secret for picking out a good watermelon?
 

I was introduced to “Asterix” while on my mission in Germany around 1976\77.  My experience has been reading them in German.  I was just in Germany last month and found two new editions. Now, my German is so rusty I’m having a hard time reading them! But, I’m persevering. I figure it will help me with the language. I’m so tempted to buy the books in English, but I will not give in.

When I read the scriptures and read stories of how people are all about how they a following the dead prophets but seems to ignore and belittle the living prophets...  And I often wonder how could they be so foolish.  Then I read threads like this and I am like ah so that how it begins.
Divine Laws are unchanging...  We we Humans in our fallen state are always changing.  Part of the role of God's prophets is to bridge that gap.  Part of their job is to council advise and direct us on how we can best fulfill Divine Law in an ever changing world.  For example the Old Testament has instructions from God's prophets on how to be a good slave owner.  No one in there right mind thinks that was a Divine Law or that we are some how running under a lesser Law because owning slaves is no longer considered a Good moral or ethical option.
When it comes to Families the most recent, most clear, and most authoritative instructions I think we have been given is the Proclamation on the Family.  It says many important things, but it never declares absolutely that Mothers must stay Home.  It declares that Mothers are the primary nurtures and that Fathers are the primary providers..  As a Father who has been listening to the prophets and councils of leaders I know that if I were to because state that because my wife has primary nurturing role that I do not need to do any I would be soundly thoroughly and rightly rebuked.    Because that is not what it says.  It outlines the general roles and responsibilities and then puts the burden of figuring out the right balance on the parents to figure out in prayerful council.
Therefore we should expect our leaders support and encourage any family that is following these instructions.  Now some devote followers might say they those with working wives are not really hearing from the Lord in these choices that they are letting there own desires override.  That might be true but that is an unrighteous judgement for us to be making about other people.  Other devote followers might engage in the sin of comparison.  We compare what we feel the Lord as commanded us to do for our families and then unrighteously expect that everyone else must get the same message no matter how different they might be.  This makes us more like the the 1st hour labors when they saw the payment of the 11th hour laborers
Now the church has clearly counciled in the past the wisdom of mothers being able stay home where possible.  I really do not see that as having changed.  I do see the church more acknowledging, that sometimes people can have a perfectly acceptable to the Lord (as much as any of us fallen people can be acceptable) family arrangement that is not part of the stereotype.  Given how many single parents or families that have to deal with very serious issues within the walls of there own home I am sure for many of them this is great comfort.  For those that don't have these struggles then be grateful and count your many blessing rather then being prideful that you are "doing it right" or jealous that they somehow are getting an easier option. 
For those that are feeling betrayed or that the Church leaders are failing....  REPENT before you stray much farther.  We might not like the direction the world is going but it is the last days and it is only going to get worse.  God will have his leaders adapt and adjust their counsel as needed as the world continues to fall.  If we fixate on past counsels we will miss the vital information the Prophets are giving us now.
 

A miracle is a perception of the hand of God in your life.
President Monson (LDS apostle and Church president 2008-2018) told a story of himself as a twelve-year-old boy during the Great Depression, having earned five dollars but leaving the bill in his pants pocket when it was sent out to be washed. He prayed that the money would not be lost, and miraculously (at least to him), it was not. Predictably, many mocked President Monson's God of the Five-Dollar Bill. But they should not have. God is present in the great things and in the small, as well. Why would God not act in the life of a twelve-year-old in a small but meaningful (to the 12-year-old) way to instill faith in God and confidence in prayer?
It's easy and sometimes seductive to be cynical, so I don't blame you for having that reaction. But cynicism is a cancer that corrodes the soul and blinds us to the very real things that happen, both great and small, that reveal the hand of God to us.

A friend gifted me some of this a month or so ago - serious yums! (I assume she found it here in the states, though I've never seen it here.)

Whenever I go to Germany I always come home with lots of chocolate. I give the chocolate bars away as gifts.  Just got back from Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Liechtenstein on April 23rd, and have given away most of my chocolate bars. My favorite is milk chocolate with strawberry yogurt. When you buy chocolate bars with nuts, it’s hazelnuts that are used, not peanuts. One of my favorite brands is Ritter Sport, but I usually buy the less expensive store brands to bring back as gifts, such as the Aldi or Lidl stores.
We went into a Lindt (Lindor) Chocolate shop while there and bought some interesting truffle chocolate flavors that I’ve never seen here in the States.  Some of the flavors that I remember are chocolate mint, raspberries & cream, strawberry cream, blood orange, Sakura, caramel, white chocolate, pistachio, sea salt, and a lot of other flavors that I don’t remember. It was fun to pick out the ones that sounded good. The blood orange milk chocolate was one of my favorites.

In your grandson's case, it literally *could* be that the part of his brain governing the signals from his stomach isn't working properly and so he *could* legit not have an understanding of when his body is full. And apparently, some people on the spectrum do have issues with delayed gratification; I myself had issues at one point to where when I was stressed or not focused I'd spend money. 
That's the thing with autism, as it's almost always comorbid with *something* physical, mental, or emotional, if not some combination thereof. 

In my younger years as a parent, I remember thinking “why can’t those parents keep their children quiet, or keep them in their seats during Sacrament meeting? My children are able to sit still and be quiet.” I was definitely being judgmental. Then, when my daughter died in a car accident, her two-month old son survived but with a brain injury, (I wonder if it contributed to him being on the autism spectrum?), we pretty much raised him. We would be sitting in Sacrament meeting, and he would suddenly get up and dart up onto the stand. He was a handful. I simply wasn’t prepared as a parent, even though I had raised 7 other children before him, to know how to deal with his behavior, or how to discipline or incentivize him to behave. He’s 20 now, and I still flounder with knowing how to help him flourish. He’s very high functioning, brilliant in areas of language skills, but has an eating disorder and other quirks. I feel like I have failed him as a parent. Anyhow, I’m a little more understanding of children who misbehave. Though, I do admit I find it hard to condone parents who blatantly just sit there and let their children be disruptive. 

In my younger years as a parent, I remember thinking “why can’t those parents keep their children quiet, or keep them in their seats during Sacrament meeting? My children are able to sit still and be quiet.” I was definitely being judgmental. Then, when my daughter died in a car accident, her two-month old son survived but with a brain injury, (I wonder if it contributed to him being on the autism spectrum?), we pretty much raised him. We would be sitting in Sacrament meeting, and he would suddenly get up and dart up onto the stand. He was a handful. I simply wasn’t prepared as a parent, even though I had raised 7 other children before him, to know how to deal with his behavior, or how to discipline or incentivize him to behave. He’s 20 now, and I still flounder with knowing how to help him flourish. He’s very high functioning, brilliant in areas of language skills, but has an eating disorder and other quirks. I feel like I have failed him as a parent. Anyhow, I’m a little more understanding of children who misbehave. Though, I do admit I find it hard to condone parents who blatantly just sit there and let their children be disruptive. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

Some of my hobbies:
Puzzles of all kinds—Crosswords, Cryptograms, Sudoku, Jigsaw, etc. I go through a lot of variety puzzle books.
Music. Love to listen to most genres. Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to oldies, Nancy Sinatra, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Mamas & Papas, Doobies, Led Zepplin, ZZ Top. 

Piano.  My arthritis is limiting my amount of play time.
Crocheting. Again arthritis is limiting how much I can do.
Travel. I’m a retired airline employee so have flight benefits the rest of my life.  I’m planning a trip to Germany/Austria/Liechtenstein for April. My younger sister asked me to be her tour guide for this trip.
Reading. I belong to a neighborhood book club which gets me reading genres I typically don’t read.
Other interests include sewing, baking, my grandchildren, camping, and digitizing family photos. I’m also writing a history of my dad for the family. I collect pens and pencils and other office supplies, nativities, snow globes, angels, nutcrackers (the German soldier kind), and souvenir spoons from everywhere I travel, 
Edit: I have my Ham Radio license and monitor and listen daily to certain local repeaters. 

Some of my hobbies:
Puzzles of all kinds—Crosswords, Cryptograms, Sudoku, Jigsaw, etc. I go through a lot of variety puzzle books.
Music. Love to listen to most genres. Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to oldies, Nancy Sinatra, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Mamas & Papas, Doobies, Led Zepplin, ZZ Top. 

Piano.  My arthritis is limiting my amount of play time.
Crocheting. Again arthritis is limiting how much I can do.
Travel. I’m a retired airline employee so have flight benefits the rest of my life.  I’m planning a trip to Germany/Austria/Liechtenstein for April. My younger sister asked me to be her tour guide for this trip.
Reading. I belong to a neighborhood book club which gets me reading genres I typically don’t read.
Other interests include sewing, baking, my grandchildren, camping, and digitizing family photos. I’m also writing a history of my dad for the family. I collect pens and pencils and other office supplies, nativities, snow globes, angels, nutcrackers (the German soldier kind), and souvenir spoons from everywhere I travel, 
Edit: I have my Ham Radio license and monitor and listen daily to certain local repeaters.