askandanswer

Remember, this is Pam we're talking about. No visits in nine years is completely understandable. Perhaps the HPGL really doesn't want to inflict such a torment on his home teacher companionships.

I kind of thought low home teaching figures were just a problem for our stake, or maybe just an Australian problem. Its interesting to see that its such a widespread problem.

I've always thought the middle meeting time was the worst because that is when the chapel is the most noisy and crowded. Now that we are down to two wards in the chapel, we swap meting times every year. For some reason, there is lingering resentment that when the other ward has the morning meeting time they start at 9;30 whereas our morning meeting time is 9:00. They start half an hour later than us because some of there members have to travel about 100 kilometers or more.

Where is the delete Administrator button? Was it removed because of over-use?

Are you sure they intended to visit? Or did they just get lost on their way to someone else?

I think that's very kind of you to refer to Pam's activities with a hammer and chisel as "writing." But I should also point out that, as demonstrated by Moroni, journals that are engraved with a chisel are likely to last longer than those written with a pen, so Pam's words are likely to last longer than yours - as long as someone can actually read her "writing"

Welcome back Palerider! Good to see you again

No matter how bad things get in the lead up to the second coming, we can be reassured by the fact that in the pre-existence, we have already successfully passed through much harder times than whatever may lie ahead. The war in heaven was so awful that it resulted in one third of the God’s children being eternally cast out from His presence. This is unlikely to be the result of the increasing wickedness of the world in the lead up to the second coming when only a tiny few are likely to become sons of perdition and eternally cast into outer darkness. So as the wickedness get worse, we can perhaps comfort ourselves by saying, in the pre-existence I went through greater difficulties than this and came out well.

It means that they had plenty of time and opportunity to keep the one commandment that they had been given but they did not do so. The possible excuse that they may have had for not keeping this commandment because they were too busy keeping other commandments, eg, family history, scripture study, temple work, and service, does not apply in this case. If we have been given a commandment, and we choose not to do it, even though we have the time and opportunity to do so, and we have absolutely nothing else to do, have we not sinned by omission? There are various examples in the Doctrine and Covenants where commandments were revoked, or Joseph Smith was rebuked, for tardiness in keeping God's instructions.

As far as we know, Adam and Eve had no other commandments at the time that they needed to keep.

Did Eve really sin/transgress by eating the fruit? Both the Pearl of Great Price and Genesis are quite specific in saying that the commandment not to eat of the fruit was given to Adam, not Eve. (Old Testament | Genesis 2:16 - 17) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 3:16 - 17) 6 And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. It’s quite clear that when God was giving joint instruction that applied to both Adam and Eve, He used the plural “them.” 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 2:28) 28 And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Perhaps the fact that in Genesis 2:16 – 17 and Moses 3: 16 - 17 He quite specifically referred only to Adam, rather than to Adam and Eve, suggests that the commandment for Adam not to eat of the fruit was only intended for Adam.

Which commandment was broken first – the commandment to go forth and multiply, or the commandment not to eat of the fruit? Genesis 1:28 suggests that the commandment to multiply was given prior to the commandment not to eat of the fruit, and therefore, for every day in between when the commandment to multiply was given, and when they actually did start to multiply, Adam and Eve were transgressing, or living contrary to, that commandment. If we accept the idea that prior to taking the fruit Adam and Eve were not able to conceive and multiply, then we must accept the idea that on at least one occasion, contrary to what Nephi says in 1 Nephi 3:7, God gave a commandment that could not be fulfilled at the time it was given. If Adam and Eve did violate Gods first commandment by not initially multiplying, as appears to be the case, then the lack of a response, or punishment, or consequence, from God, as opposed to His rapid response to the eating of the fruit, seems to be puzzling. Why did the breach of a the first commandment lead to no response, but the breach of the second commandment resulted in quite a significant response?

The idea that the purpose of prayer is to bring our will into alignment with the Lord’s will seems to be a relatively new idea to me, ie, something that has emerged in the last 15 or so years. To me, this idea does not seem to have much support from the scriptures. The evidence that Christ taught this idea through His own examples of prayer seems to be somewhat ambiguous and examples in the scriptures seem to be readily capable of more than one interpretation. In the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed, He first prayed for something that He knew was directly contrary to His Father’s will – “if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” = before finishing by saying “not as I will but as thou wilt.” One of several possible conclusions that can be drawn from this incident is that His purpose in praying was to find a way to escape what He knew was coming – if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. In the Lord’s prayer, which was specifically given as an example of prayer, there is one line that could be interpreted as an attempt to bring our will into alignment with His will - Thy kingdom come, thy will be done- but most of the prayer is taken up with asking for specific petitions from the Father, eg, give us this day, our daily bread, forgive us our debts, lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil. These are all requests motivated by our own needs and desires. In the other great example of prayer by Jesus, the great intercessory prayer in John 17, there is almost nothing at all about Christ bringing His will into alignment with His Father’s: much of that prayer is petitions for the benefit of His apostles who He is soon about to leave. In His direct teachings about prayer, it clearly and repeatedly indicates that the primary purpose of prayer is to ask God for the righteous things that we need, and there is nothing to indicate that the purpose of prayer is to bring our will into alignment with His. For example (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 27:29) 29 Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened. (New Testament | Matthew 21:22) 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 18:20) And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 4:7) Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen. And in the great Book of Mormon example, recorded in Alma 34, where Amulek teaches the people how to pray, he teaches them to ask for several types of material, personal benefits, along with some spiritual blessings (Book of Mormon | Alma 34:17 - 27) 17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you; 18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save. 19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. 20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. 21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. 22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. 23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. 24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. 25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. 26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. 27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you. Directly opposed to the idea that the purpose of prayer is to bring our will into alignment with the Lord’s will are several examples in the scriptures of where the Lord seems to have changed His mind in response to prayer: 2 Kings 10: 1-6 1 IN those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, 3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. Helaman 11: 1-5 Nephi persuades the Lord to replace their war with a famine—Many people perish—They repent, and Nephi importunes the Lord for rain—Nephi and Lehi receive many revelations—The Gadianton robbers entrench themselves in the land. About 20–6 B.C. 1 AND now it came to pass in the seventy and second year of the reign of the judges that the contentions did increase, insomuch that there were wars throughout all the land among all the people of Nephi. 2 And it was this secret band of robbers who did carry on this work of destruction and wickedness. And this war did last all that year; and in the seventy and third year it did also last. 3 And it came to pass that in this year Nephi did cry unto the Lord, saying: 4 O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword; but O Lord, rather let there be a famine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee. 5 And so it was done, according to the words of Nephi. And there was a great famine upon the land, among all the people of Nephi. And thus in the seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, and the work of destruction did cease by the sword but became sore by famine. Exodus 32: 9:14 9 And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. In Genesis 18: 20 – 33, the Lord appears to be willing to change His mind, in response to a petition from Abraham, if given sufficient reason to do so: Genesis 18: 20-33 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 ¶ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, whicham but dust and ashes: 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. 30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. And in Ether 2: 22 – 25, in response to a prayer from the brother of Jared, the Lord effectively says, I don’t have any particular preference, how about you come up with an answer and I’ll go along with it 22 And he cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness? 23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire. 24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth. 25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea? So how much scriptural support is there for the idea that the purpose of prayer is to bring our will into alignment with His, as compared with how much scriptural support there is for the idea that the purpose of prayer is to ask our Father for what we feel we need?

Thanks SG. If I watch it ten times in slow motion I might begin to pick up the first couples of moves. But if I'm ever on the dance floor, I;'ll need to bring my laptop with me so I can watch this again while I try to dance

I was not aware that slugs were a form of cough medicine. I guess things must be different in Taranna. No doubt this was also a scary experience for the slug.

makes me wish I knew what to do with my feet on a dance floor

What’s the theological difference between cough medicine, with its high alcohol content, and medical marijuana? There seems to be a willingness to use cough medicine and a reluctance to use marijuana, even though some of the medical profession now seem to be willing to prescribe marijuana.

As a free service to the members of my ward, I teach effective sleep skills by examples during most sacrament meetings. Feel free to come, watch and learn.

This is a question that I hope will result in an increased understanding of how prayer works, and its power and impact, by asking three questions. The answers to the questions are not essential, in that whatever the answers may, I will not be changing my current actions in relation to praying for President Monson. However, it may well be that whatever further understanding I may gain from this discussion could increase, and make more effective, my faith. I believe that every day, in temples and homes and church meetings around the world, there are thousands of people praying for President Monson. How many more people would it take to pray for increased health and strength for President Monson before we could expect to see an increase in his health and strength? How many fewer people would it take to pray for an increase in President Monson’s health and strength before we could expect to see a decrease in his health and strength? Will President Monson’s current levels of health and strength be unaffected no matter how many or how few people pray for him as long as that level of health and strength is what the Lord wants it to be?

I thought that the views Anatess was trying to advance or pass off were her on views and not those of the Catholic or LDS church. The fact that a person's own views may be similar to or even mirror those of another person or organisation does not change the fact that they are those person's own views. I also think there is much to commend in extreme loyalty and keeping the commitments one has made before God in His temple. However, I would say that when God has made clear, through personal revelation or inspiration in answer to prayer that it is time for a marriage to end, then it would be wrong for that marriage to continue. Ending a marriage as a result of anything less than this would also be wrong. Only He before whom the covenant was made can give approval to the termination of that covenant.

Among life's many mysteries Iv'e often wondered why A sense that's known as common Is in such short supply (Grooks 1 by Pier Hein)

In England and other countries, centuries ago, when the laws of the country did not allow freedom of worship, the laws stayed the same, but those who objected moved to America. In Missouri, when the decree of the governor inhibited freedom of worship, the decree remained the same but the church moved to a place where they could practice freedom of worship. When it comes to continuing or discontinuing polygamy, I think the Lord may have had more than one option up His sleeve rather than just allowing politicians in Washington to put an end to His plans. Washington is a powerful place but its not that powerful. On the other hand I'm reminded of the incident with Martin Harris when he repeatedly asked Joseph Smith if he could be given the transcript of the translation to show his wife and others. The Lord said no twice, but eventually said yes. It seems as if it was not the Lords intent or desire to allow Martin to be given the transcript, but perhaps because He was repeatedly asked, He said yes, with conditions. Those conditions were not adhered to. As a result, something important was lost. This was something that the Lord had prepared for thousands of years earlier, so His works were not halted, but we, His children, no longer have access to the fulness of the blessings that may been contained in the 116 pages. My point is that sometimes the Lord might agree to a course of action not consistent with His original intent, if sufficiently pressed to do so, as long as His overall works and plans are not thwarted. This might be what happened with the discontinuation of polygamy. Perhaps it was not the Lord's intent to end it, but because He was repeatedly importuned by His prophet and others, He did so. We miss out on whatever blessings might have been attached to the practice of plural marriage, but His works carry on and those legislators who created the difficulties are answerable for their actions.

Zil, I know your not the type who gets jealous, but it seems like you better keep a close eye on the gator. Are these two women part of the tribe, or are they hidden extras?

Zil, I know your not the type who gets jealous, but it seems like you better keep a close eye on the gator. Are these two women part of the tribe, or are they hidden extras?

That sounds like the kind of thing that an LD Stalker would do.