askandanswer

This is just a reminder that the current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants no longer contains the Lectures on Faith, which were included, and probably considered to be scripture, up until the 1921 edition. De-canonized might not be the right term given that the Lectures on Faith (Doctrine and Covenants | Preface Testimony of 12:6) "were not given or presented as revelations to the whole Church." but its certainly the case that what was once accepted as LDS scripture by the LDS church is no longer accepted by the LDS church as scripture. I'm too lazy and tired right now to think through what the implications might be for this discussion but I just thought it was worth pointing out.

Five sets of reasons that might explain everything that God does: PC. I think the above 5 possibilities might embrace all the possible reasons why God does what He does although I admit its not a straightforward task to link a specific event to one of these reasons. If you think more reasons are needed, or if you think any of the above reasons are not needed, I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts.

I think the some of the stories in the Old Testament are allegory. Others are just all gory

Mountains are not funny - they're hill areas

Sounds like a free ticket to the celestial kingdom to me - a very loving thing to do.

From a source that you might feel has a bit more credibility than the Old Testament (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 63:33) 33 I have sworn in my wrath, and decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man;

I think we view killing and death differently from how God views it. From our point of view, death appears to be the end of life, and that is considered to be a tragedy and therefore wrong and bad. From God’s point of view, perhaps death is considered simply a transition point, from one phase of existence to another, nothing more than a necessary stepping stone on the path of eternal progression, moving from a inglorious mortal state to a glorious immortal state. If that is what death is, and that is what we preach and believe, then perhaps we have an incorrect, unhelpful view of the awfulness of death. Perhaps from our point of view, death is a bad and awful thing, but perhaps from God’s greater vantage point, it is not. I also have faith that God loves all of His children and always acts on their best behalf, so if He orders the death of a nation, then it ways that I can’t be sure of, but can speculate about, the deaths of those of that nation is in their best interest.

We can become gods but not God. That position is already occupied, and the current Occupant is doing a pretty good job in spite of the difficult and stubborn material He has to work with.

I notice a sort of synergy between these two goals.

I've made a whole bunch of resolutions. Now I just need to find someone to keep them for me. I'm tempted to keep them locked up in a drawer where no one will ever see them.

Another Vort! Sounds like yet another good reason to go gator hunting before this calamitous transformation actually takes place.

I think instead of making a set of New Year's resolutions, it might be better to make a set of one month resolutions every month some of which might be the same as the previous month, and some of which might be new, for the new month.

That's quite impressive. Well done Pam! Sounds like you should be able to achieve these goals well before the end of 2017

Gator hunting

How could any of these four guys have been President? They all seem to have rocks in their head. Perhaps this sculpture is a literal fulfillment of Isaiah 50:7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. or maybe Ezekiel 3:9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

umm, which resource?

I want to join Rob's church. It sounds so much easier than this church. It sounds not exactly the same, but a lot like (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:1) Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. and (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 28:8) And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

I recommend reading the Doctrine and Covenants in conjunction with the History of the Church. The historical background that precedes every section usually contains a reference to a more detailed historical context in the History of the Church. For example, Section 10 contains a reference to History of the Church volume 1, pages 20 - 23. I find that when I read the two together, the Doctrine and Covenants usually makes a lot more sense.

From a colonial perspective Educated – Great Female – Most welcome Non-member Buddhist husband – Step right in British – GET OUT OF HERE!!! No way. Never! ##&@!&@!&@* off! No POMS allowed (just teasing) We even have a few Americans in our ward, that's how open and accepting we are.

(Old Testament | Genesis 2:18) 18 ¶ And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Perhaps you could call yourself gator aide?

I just had a look at Google Earth. West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT certainly is a straight road but it doesn't look to be all that narrow

My comments were directed more towards the second part of the OP which asks "do you think some are just stories with important messages handed down?" My response to that comment is that the scriptures are more than just stories with important messages handed down, they are "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." This applies, whether they are literal or not.

(New Testament | 2 Timothy 3:16) 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

I just want to make sure I understand you correctly Zil. You're looking for someone who is prepared to admit that a) they are Texan, and B) they are a lawyer? I admire your optimism. I suppose there are such people, but I'm concerned that you would want to meet one of them.

It seems that some of your discomfort with the Old Testament is because of all of the killings and mistreatment of people recorded therein. It might be helpful to keep in mind that for almost every death recorded in the Old Testament, the person killed will, at the very least, end up in a place, the glory of which surpasses all understanding. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 76:89 And thus we saw, in the heavenly vision, the glory of the telestial, which surpasses all understanding) So in all likelihood, their death facilitated, and hastened there entry into, a far better set of circumstances than they were in when they were alive. That doesn't sound like such a bad deal. I think we mortal have a very different, limited, temporal view, of death than what God has.