estradling75

If you are an idiosyncrasy... you are not the only one. I am also of the thought the accepting Christ is the only way out of Hell... He is the WAY after all. We are given a promise that with repentance God will remember our sin no more. However there is no promise or path given for God to remember the Good/Works that we never did. And Judgement is in two parts... Did we accept Christ and then by our Works. I think the problem many encounter if they (The Hell/Telestial group) are not evil then they must be good... and that is a false binary. If this holds then the dividing points of the three degrees of glory that make up the Kingdom Heaven is our willingness to do Good. The Telestial will not (They will not do evil either) Terrestrial will do good until it gets hard for them and the Celestial will do Good even when it is hard and carries a personal cost.

If I might offer my own thought. Maybe the Lord was telling you and your wife that was all he 'required' of you. That is easy enough to take as 'being done.' But doing more then just what is 'required' is usually a good thing.

We are suppose to be "Doing many things of our own free will" and "Bring to pass much righteousness." So I can see a scriptural foundation for going out and doing good. The downside is that we still need to be spiritually lead, but as such groups grow (assuming a certain about of popularity) it is harder and harder to make sure everyone is following the spirit's direction... it is so easy to follow other influences instead. And the leader(s) also have to contend with the issues described in D&C 121 as they get more influence. So we should not be surprised that many such things end up corrupted from their idealistic starting points. If we want to join such a group we should not be willing to turn a blind eye to what they do, just because we like what they say. This should hold for all kinds of groups we might be members of... not just religious ones

Other have spoken about trying to make the miracle "fit"... But what if it fits just fine with a different understanding of Christ's character, or maybe not different understanding just rearranged a bit. We are important to our Savior and our Father. Because of this that which is important to us, becomes important to them. They delight in blessing us.. The only limits are our faith, and it being 'Right' according to the wisdom of God. So why wouldn't this fall neatly into that category. It was important to Mary. Mary had faith. While we can't judge it being 'Right' according to the wisdom of God, it seems clear that it was. So he delighted to do it. This would mean that in addition in needing Faith for a miracle it also needs to be right. For example I am sure many here have the Faith to have a miracle of great wealth, but they do not get it. Most likely because it would destroy them. But turning water into wine for one event? Doesn't seem like that has too many downsides will lots of faith affirming upsides.

Drop a payload that would not burn up entering the atmosphere.

To quote a scripture... "Have you inquired of the Lord?" I mean I would hope and assume that you had and you didn't get anything you understood. If you asked and got an answer then 'Just do it'... If you have not asked then again I say 'Just do it.' Otherwise it seems like you are in a position to show your agency. I mean that really is the whole point of being on earth. We become what we choose to become, and you have a choice right now to make, that will help define the kind of person you become. It that case you need to choose what kind of person you want to be, and make the choice that helps you get there

One of the biggest and most destructive misinformation (aka lies) that we have been told is when it is called a Covid "vaccine" If they were being honest about it they would be calling it the Covid genetic therapy shot that was rushed through testing. Why do they not give correct information (aka be honest)? Because most people would have understandable concerns about being at the cutting edge of genetic therapy,and not consent to it. But many people do understand how vaccines work (at least in layman's terms). Vaccines have a long and proven history so much that the majority of those that have concerns about vaccines do not have concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccine, but about the possible side effects (Aka those who suspect a link to Autism), or about getting the wrong bug (aka the effectiveness of the yearly flu shot) or they for whatever reason prefer to take their chances of possibly getting sick vs the possibility of a reaction to the vaccine. None of these "Anti Vaxxers" positions deny the effectiveness of vaccines in general So we get lied to. We get told it's a "Vaccine" so they can ride on the trust and familiarity we have toward vaccines to get us to consent to genetic therapy under false pretenses instead. In addition anyone that tries to point this out gets labeled "Anti Vaxxer" "Anti Science" and accused of spreading misinformation. While their massive lies remain unchallenged. It makes no sense to need a "vaccine" after you have already fought off the disease. You do not need a "vaccine" "booster" within weeks of an initial shot. Yet you might need it for genetic therapy treatment, I mean the general public (including me) has no real idea how genetic therapy works... so sure why not. And it is simple Human nature one you know you are being lied to and fed disinformation, to never trust them again. And to look for reasons for the lie. Greed/power grab is almost always the reason

Indeed... We have to remember that Public Schools did not always exist... They came into existence to try and address issues they had with "Home Schooling" aka parental apathy. We haven't solved that 'root' issue, yet (and maybe not ever in a fallen world). With out that fix no matter what we try, we are simply trying to bail out the water faster then it comes in.

People are caught up in the idea that the Court couldn't prove intent. But for me proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is a high bar to clear for very good reasons. But people seem to be ignoring the fact that the Court found disenfranchisement of the vote. If our vote is suppose to matter, if we are suppose to be able to "Trust" the results of an election this should be a huge red flag. This should be triggering warning bells, this should have people of all political parties saying it does not matter if this was intentional, or incompetence, or some kind of system failure, it is simply unacceptable anywhere for any reason. Now people might be inclined to think is is a little podunk place in Arizona that had no impact, on the end result. Ok, but if we wait to fix it until it has an impact then it is to late. Bottom line if you like to dismiss cry's of vote fraud as the work of sore losers and wacky conspiracy theorist this courts findings should scare you spit less. This court finding gives those claims and more importantly future clams legitimacy. Unless steps are taken to secure the vote now the next election will have even more contested elections. And those that contest them will be seen as more and more reasonable. This should be of great concern to everyone no matter their party, who expects votes to matter and to be honored.

And to bring it back to the initial point... Most certainly not economically

Both. Lets clear this up. Good security practice is to only give access to resources to people that have a legitimate need for that resource. No matter how much you might trust them, only give them what they need to do their job. The church has a resource in the form of a membership database. Bishops (and frankly most members) have no legitimate need to randomly access this database on a whim. So they do not have access to do this. However Bishop's do have a legitimate need to "Request Records" to fulfill their calling. People move, people come to the Bishop saying 'I'm here now, can you help me' Without being able to get their records this becomes an issue. So the church has provided a way for the people in a Ward with the proper calling to asks for a record, usually this is a fast and simple process. But ask any Clerk that has struggled to pull a record in because they get some bad info to base the request on, and you will know they can't just browse the database looking. That is good security practice, but from the moment the first security is put in place people have been trying to get around it. The bishop in this example potentially tried to get around the system, by possibly abusing privilege he did have, to get information he should not have. He most likely tried to request the record of someone he should not. The system could give him two responses. It could give him the record, if there was a record he was authorized to see, a record by definition would tell him something. Or the system could give him nothing. Nothing is just that... Nothing. Sadly lots of people jump to conclusions and infer lot of "facts" based on nothing. Someone being excommunicated is a "possible" reason someones records can't be found, but again I refer you to any ward clerk that struggled to pull in someones record, that is it not the only reason they may fail to find any record. And its not like the Bishop who might be overstepping can reach out to the target to correct some bad information.

The subject of the lost 10 tribes is speculative... So take my thoughts below in that line of speculative reasoning. The 10 tribes are not lost to God. They are lost to the world and to themselves. The Jews are not lost because they maintained their Tribal identity, without it they too would have been lost. We know that the Lord is going to gather together in a group, the lost 10 tribes. We know from Jacob 5 the Olive Tree allegory that the gathering is going to take a bit. You don't really have a group without a group identity, but you can't identify as the 10 tribes or you are no longer lost. So it seems reasonable that the 10 tribes are being gathered by the Lord, under a new name/identity. We know that the Lord is going to use Ephraim to do the gathering and that means an organization, and we kind of know what that organization is going to look like. So it shouldn't be that hard to find. It needs to be led by God, so prophets and apostles. We know what that looks like. It needs to be Missionary oriented, sending missionaries out to convert people to the Lord, and this new identity. We know what that looks like as well. The scriptures are full of the Lord hiding things in plain sight, so the Lord could be hiding their tribal identities in plain sight as well. They could have patriarchs declaring lineages... which means they aren't lost any more but if they do not understand it then they still kind of are. And in case pieces aren't quite clicking yet... Maybe their current Prophet has recently gone on record as saying something like "We are gathering Israel on both sides of the veil" Because to me that is what the gathering of the 10 tribes logically looks like. And I see no reason for there to be two such organizations gathering them. We have our records in the Doctrine and Covenants and other modern revelation, we have the record of the Nephites (Book of Mormon) and the Jews (Bible). While more might still come, we have enough to also say the prophecy is complete concerning the coming forth of records when the timing it right. Then we have prophecies of the movements and revealing of the 10 tribes who were lost. Those have not happened yet, but if my thoughts and speculative reasoning is correct then those are prophecies of our movements and unveiling by the Lord. This would mean that the lost 10 tribes that have been gathered are currently hiding in plain sight under their identities as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The term to look for in the inverter is not Square Wave... Its Pure Sine Wave vs Modified Sine Wave... Pure is the one that shouldn't give you any problems (and the most expensive)... a modified one might

Men and Women are different. God designed us that way. The natural man seeks to take these differences and declare that one is 'better' than the other. This is a falsehood and used by Satan to alienate us from each other. God doesn't see it that way and he does not want us to see it that way either. Sadly we keep ignoring that. We keep pointing to things like church attendance or self reported "Spirituality" as if they matter. We take those 'signs' of righteousness/worthiness when at best they are a glimpse through a glass darkly for us that which God sees clearly. Now some might think that since we are all different then it is possible that these difference might affect some subgroups ability to be 'righteous/worthy/saved etc. And sure if that was the only thing in play here it might, but it is not. We are dealing with God here and his Atonement. The Atonement of Christ takes care of everything we have no control over... including those difference. So anyone that wants think that one gender is better off, is denying or misunderstanding a big aspect of the Atonement of Christ. ( I do give our leaders a bit of a pass on this, because this can be a hard thing to convey when you have to call some group to repentance, which is also their job) If men (or women or any other subgroup) is truly behind due to things beyond their control (like biology)... then the Atonement of Christ brings them right up to the same starting line as everyone else.

The scriptures tell us Satan wanted to take God's glory and honor.... When he failed that his next desire per scriptures is to make us miserable like he is.. This 'second curse' denies him that. He can not make anyone miserable like he is. He can temp sure... But Christ is going to redeem all but the Son's of Perdition. (aka those that with full light and knowledge choose to reject Christ). He is not going to be able to 'drag' any one of us down with him.. The best he can hope for delay and distract us. Those that he does 'get' aren't going to be because of him.... but rather because of their own choosing. I have no problem with him being quiet upset by that little revelation

I have never read a compelling case for the Telestial Kingdom not being part of the Kingdom of God. The scriptures teach that the Kingdom of God has no sin or filthiness, the scripture also teaches us that we are all sinners, filthy and unworthy of the Kingdom of God. It then teaches us that only through Christ can we be forgiven, made clean, and found worthy, because he is all of those things. It is only through him and by no other means can this happen. Not even intense personal suffering because of our own sins can do this, otherwise Sons of Perdition would have an end. Now we are told that Hell will be emptied out and those inside it enter the Telestial Kingdom, but we don't need to suppose or imagine some new mechanism for this to happen. We have already been told that there is only one way. Christ, by the power of his atonement. No other idea, theory or proposal has any scriptural authority. For those still unclear of the implications of this I would like to point to the conversion of Alma the Younger. He was a wicked and evil man. When he was out doing evil with friends and Angel of God appeared before them and smote them with the words of his mouth. This smiting was so powerful that it effectively sent Alma the Younger straight to hell while still alive. Alma the Younger had only one way out and it discovered it/found it/remembered it three days later. He called upon Christ and was converted. We need not and even very much should not pretend that there is any other way out. Those following the path of Hell-Telestial Kingdom will get out when they convert to/accept Christ when they arrive at the Telestial Kingdom will no longer be like Alma the Younger pre angel, but like Alma the Younger (and friends) after he wakes up and is converted. That is a pretty glorious state even if it is not as much as it could have been. It is also in no way a restoration from Sin to Happiness unless we exclude the power of Christ in the changing of what they are... and if we go there none of us make it.

It seems pretty clear that we mortals do not have the same understanding of Time and Causality that God does. We see this with people claiming the benefits of the atonement before Christ did the physical part... (given how we understand time). Clearly God can accept it before it happens. We know with work for the dead, the physical part of the ordinances, can be done by proxy. While we do acknowledge some limit aka spirit prison vs paradise we don't fully understand how that breaks down. So the idea that we might have made convents in the preexistence and gained the blessing of them, with the ordinances to be done later, does not strike me as out of line with limited stuff we already know and accept.

Freedom of speech is a right that needs to be protected just like the other rights we have... Also like our other rights it is not absolute, it has limits. Those limits are when it comes against the rights of others. You can't harm others. The common example given is Yelling Fire in a crowded theater. Other cases are statements that are harmful to reputation and whatnot. Freedom of speech is one of the few rights that have an exception to this limit. That exception is TRUTH. If the Theater is crowded... and it is on fire... then we want you to be yelling fire even if by doing so you cause some harm... Truth can be harmful to people's reputation. We can and should tell the truth even if it hurts... If we do not want to be hurt by truth then we should live in such a way that it can not hurt us. Now I have not followed this case beyond what has been presented here. But if you accuse someone of being a 'Crisis Actor' that is something you better be ready to prove because that is an attack on that person's reputation. In the case where causing others to take action that hurts (aka the Theater example) that can get murky fast, but it is not unreasonable to think that with greater power/influence comes greater accountability. But that greater accountability needs to be equality applied. You don't get to go after commentators/talking heads/politicians that say things you do not like for causing harm while ignoring the commentators/talking heads/politicians that say things you do like that cause harm. It is unwise to protect one group because you "like/agree" with them and strip the protection from those you "do not like/agree" with. Because the day will come that you find yourself in disagreement with the group you protected. What are you going to do when they turn on you and you helped them become too powerful to stop? That is just short sighted and foolish

I think it is the same idea that is behind forgiveness. Bad things happen, struggle is real and we need to deal with it. But there comes a time when we have done all we can, and we have to wait for some kind of resolution or at least the next actionable step... So what do we do while we wait? Most of the time we run in mental and emotional circles. This keeps us stuck, we don't let it go but there is nothing useful or productive to do about it. So we waste a lot of mental and emotional energy going no where. But if we have the faith to say, 'I've done what I can, now it is in the Lords hands' then we can turn our focus other things. That is what we need to do, and that is what takes time and practice, because it is hard. I find it exhausting to spend a lot of metal and emotional energy going nowhere... but that same energy spent moving forward is still tiring... but it seems to make its own positive feedback loop with progress being made.

The question should not be about when it become life (because it already is alive)... but rather when it becomes Human with all the Human Rights that come with it. If it is not human... then it is simply another clump of living cells in the mothers body and her bodily autonomy prevails. But if it is human with all the Human Rights that come with it.. then we have a conflict of two individuals rights. This is a conflict that we have repeatably dealt with in our legal system. Generally speaking our legal system does not allow killing or harming another through the right of bodily autonomy, but it does allow it for defense. Some of the greatest historical tragedy we have come from finding a reason to view someone else as less then human. We have had it done based on superficial physical or cultural differences. Slavery, holocaust and treatment of women are just the really big ones that come to mind. In all those case the differences were largely unchangeable. Yet we realized we were wrong and we fought to change it. (And we continue to fight) In the case of the unborn their differences will go away... all they need is time... Yet I am suppose to consider them not human or sub human for the lack of at most nine months? Sorry that does not work for me. I see that as putting me with historical company that I do not want to keep (Slavers, Nazis etc.) For the church side of it... if we knew through revelation when a spirit takes on the body we would have a clear line in which to draw. But we do not have that... and we could not prove it to others even if we did.... So we need others reasons... and I just outlined mine. The current legality is not a good reason... all the other tragedy's were legal at the time until we said no more. Choice can be a good reason if it is not in reality an attempt to undo poor or regrettable prior choices (that is a consequence and murdering someone to avoid a bad choice is not acceptable) ... But rather a response to other imposing their will... In that case a choice could fall under defensive action depending on ongoing trauma from the event.

I got called, selected, saw the whole case (It was a robbery) and then told to not come in for deliberations. I was some kind of alternate in case someone couldn't finish the deliberations or something like that.

The scriptures tell us that "without 'faith' it is impossible to please God". Note it does not say "without 'the results we expected to get' it is impossible to please God. Sadly too many use there own judgment on the results to figure out what they should do... Just image if Abinadi had that mindset... "I'm going to get burned to death by King Noah without a single convert. (He likely did not know of Alma) So clearly this in not the path God wants me to take." Yes missions are hard and can be discouraging.. but missions do not have a monopoly on hardship and discouragement. It is in these moments that we prove our faith, and we gain the strength to face the other trials and discouragement we will face. Toughing it out is OK but the better mindset is... "The Lord has put me here for a wise purpose which I know not, but I will trust that he does."

I am a big fan of personal responsibility... If you acquire a debt you should discharge it. Simple personal responsibility. Religiously speaking there are tons and tons of examples of everyone failing to be personally responsible and needing help digging out of the pit we put ourselves in. (AKA Sin and Forgiveness) There are also lots of stories where others see the help given to others and do not like it. They think it is unfair to those who did not screw up in that manner. (Aka the Older son in the Prodigal Son, the day laborers). They are wrong to do so. So from a theoretical and principle perspective, I can not call it Anti Religious. But it is not in government we should be placing our Faith... that would be Anti Religious. This whole problem exists because the government isolated student loans from corrective market forces which has allowed it to spiral out of control and take several educational aspects with it. I would much prefer that we hold the government accountable for causing the problem and have it revisit that choice, and find another answer to the problem it was trying to solve. I am very much against slapping yet another not clearly thought out patch that goes on top of a different poorly thought out patch.

The older I get the more I realize that having a issue with a church leader, can be a total trial of faith for many members. I think this is in many ways because of the duality of our leaders. We have as an Article of Faith that our leaders are called of God. We also know from Scriptures that they are imperfect sinners who make mistakes. And that is a hard duality to balance. We want to go to one extreme or the other but the extremes are wrong... On one hand we want to say will they are called of God so everything must be right and perfect... Then we see very clearly that they are not, and we want to flip to the other well they are imperfect sinners so why listen to them at all. God has called and will call very imperfect people to his work. God knows the mistakes, errors and the harm/hurt that will happen and he calls them anyways. And that can be a hard thing to accept. In many ways we can have a 'prosperity gospel' mindset when it comes to our leaders. We expect that following our leaders leads to immediate prosperity in an earthly sense. And that has never been the promise. Reading the scriptures and our own history shows that some times that happens, but just as often it does not. Yet many believe it anyways and so when a Leadership induced hardship appears we call into question their 'Calling.' Lets take a well know scripture story and liken it to this context. God tells the Prophet Lehi... "Get the Brass Plates" The prophet tells the Local Leaders the command of the Lord. The Local Leader (Nephi) leads his congregations (His brothers) to perform the work. But as is often the case local leadership and members have to figure out how to complete the commandment given. Their first attempt they draw lots and Laban goes and nearly gets killed. So everyone knows how dangerous it is... So the local leader (Nephi) knowing how dangerous it is comes up with a plan. Get the wealth they left behind and trade it for the plates. They do Nephi's plan and he nearly gets everyone killed. We know how this story ends, and with that knowledge we can better understand what is happening. But I want to stop the story here, because we do not know how our story is going to end yet. How would we respond when a Church Leader nearly gets us killed, or threatens our ability to provide for our family by their requests? Or otherwise cause us pain and suffering? Sadly when I ask myself this question I find myself with answers that more closely resemble the response of Laban and Lemuel and that is not a good place to be, not for me, and not for anyone else. Yet we do need to respond and that response needs to balance having both faith and our responsiblities to be good steward of what we are called to be steward over (Including our own health and happiness)

Yes it was... Kinda of an unintentional birthday present to myself