askandanswer

As reported by the BBC http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29531850 Its a little dated (2014) but there is probably still a lot of truth in it. And it seems to come from a reputable source. Canberra in Australia is the best city in the world to live, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Canberra is the only city in the Australian Capital Territory, which led the regional ranking. Australia led the country rankings, followed by Norway. The OECD ranked 362 regions of its 34 member nations in its survey. It used nine measures of well-being, including income, education, jobs, safety, health and environment. Five Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth were also in the top 10. Other top-scoring places included the states of New Hampshire and Minnesota in the US. On the other end of the scale, Mexican states constituted all 10 of the bottom regional rankings. On a country level, Mexico, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia were ranked as the hardest places to live.

I can imagine a resurrected being, in the telestial kingdom or in outer darkness, being unhappy at the thought of facing an eternity of damnation, whereby their prospects for progress and their ability to meet with their loved ones in higher kingdoms are eternally limited. In such a hopeless and unhappy situation, such a being might decide that there is no point in continuing their existence. This does not seem like an unrealistic scenario given how frequently it happens here and now. But even if it is unrealistic, or unlikely, does that being then the choice, or the ability, to end their unhappiness by ending their existence? If they can end their existence and commit suicide, would that rob justice because they have escaped their eternal punishment? If they can’t end their existence, and are forced to continue living against their will, is that denying them one of the most important choices provided by free agency – the right to choose whether to live or not? Who wins – justice or agency? The church teaches that after this life, there will be no more death and that the body and spirit will be eternally joined together. If that is true, then it would seem that a resurrected being would not have the ability to choose to end their eternal existence. Perhaps agency loses out to justice. Or perhaps, when formulating the teaching that there will be no death after this life, the formulators or promulgators of that teaching did not give any consideration to the possibility of post mortal suicide. I don’t have a particular position on this question and I’m not saying that I believe or disbelieve any of the speculation or assumptions contained in the above question. I also don’t see a discussion of this question as resulting in any immediate, practical outcomes, or any direct outcomes that are likely to have any impact on how we should be living our daily lives. However, I think there is a reasonable possibility that a good discussion of this question could lead to a greater understanding of God, and His laws and operations, and that would certainly be a good thing.

It almost seems as if something similar happened to Joseph Smith's nephew. One of the tasks of a prophet is to give to the people the word that God gives to him. On the day before the October General Conference, President Joseph F Smith received a vision. He did not write the vision until 31 October and give it to his counsellors or the Quorum of the Twelve until 31 October and it was not until more than 60 years later, in 1976, that the church accepted this vision as scripture. During the conference, President Smith did not tell the saints of this vision. Instead, he said “I will not, I dare not, attempt to enter upon many things that are resting upon my mind this morning, and I shall postpone until some future time, the Lord being willing, my attempt to tell you some of the things that are in my mind, and that dwell in my heart." In other words, "I'm too scared to tell you what the Lord, through the Spirit, has been impressing on my mind." Six weeks later, he was dead. Perhaps because he failed to fulfill the most important responsibility of a prophet. https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/sections-132-138/section-138-vision-of-the-redemption-of-the-dead?lang=eng Of course, an alternative explanation, at least equally plausible, is that, after a period of lengthy illness, the Lord kept him alive long enough to receive and write the vision, and then allowed him to enter into his eternal rest.

Why on earth not? Sounds like you are working under a false assumption here. I can't see why the women you currently seem to be having success with can't be LDS women, and why the new friends you are making can't be LDS friends. Its time to put those newly improved social skills to better use by making good friends at church. And certainly, if you deserve it, your Father in Heaven will bless you with far more of a good life in His kingdom than outside it.

I dunno...... You might have the sort of wife that takes an eternity to satisfy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,or You could be the kind of husband that takes an eternity to satisfy your wife So eternity may well be useful

I'm a bit doubtful about the proposition that we must always wait until Godly/gospel knowledge is revealed. I think a good arguement can be made for the proposition that some valid conclusions can be extrapolated from data that we already have, some, but not all, of which is contained within the scriptures, and then we put those conclusions to God in prayer for confirmation, rather than revelation. And if any resulting new knowledge or additional understanding is generated through this process of intellectual effort coupled with divine confirmation, then I'm not sure that the usual restrictions on sharing unrevealed knowledge would still apply.

I agree that prayer and similar things, are governed by the law of God. I also feel that such laws are discoverable and testable. In fact, I am sure that this is what God is inviting us to do. Discoverable (Book of Mormon | Alma 26:22) Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance. (New Testament | Matthew 7:7) 7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Testable (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 24:10) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (New Testament | John 7:17) If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

I'm not sure if the Celestial law in its fullness has been or will be revealed to a terrestrial world. Once you know the law, there is an obligation to abide by it, and that might be a bit difficult to do in this terrestrial world. In an act of mercy, ie, not imposing too great a burden to be borne, perhaps God has withheld the Celestial law at this time. I suspect that we have at least one aspect of Celestial law at this time - the type of marriage described in Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants. At first glance, it might almost appear a little surprising, perhaps even unnecessary, if the laws of one kingdom were revealed to another kingdom. However, I have no doubt that the laws that pertain to this current kingdom are designed to prepare us to live the Celestial law.

I wonder if this ^^ would have been true if Joseph Smith had been born in Australia? I think not.

Thanks for your thoughts Jane, I always enjoy hearing from you. In reply, I make the following responses B. I stopped doing math in high school as soon as I was allowed to (end of year 10) so I am certainly no mathematician. However, I do know enough to be able to say that pretty much anything can be turned into an equation. When I go to a doctor and he asks me how much pain I'm in on a scale of one to ten, I tell him a number, and his next action is determined by the number that I say. In spiritual terms, a low degree of faith might not be enough to influence a certain course of events, but a high degree of faith might be. Both degrees of faith, and every degree in between, can be assigned a number and numbers, and the relationships between them, are the building blocks of equations. I acknowledge that this is not the usual way to think about spiritual things, but I don't think it is an invalid way. C. I think my question takes into account the will of the Lord. To quote from the question "Or are faith and righteousness of no effect when it comes to God's will being done because His will will be done regardless of who is praying or how many people are praying?" D. I agree that there can be, and usually is, some positive effect of praying, but I also do not discount the negative effects that sometimes can arise from praying, eg, the confusion, doubt and unhappiness that sometimes occurs when a prayer is not answered when or how the person praying wanted/hoped/needed/expected it to be.

I think the following quote from President Nelson’s conference address last April is definitive proof that there is at least one kind of connection between this life and the spirit world. I realize that the OP is about near death experiences, and the kind of experience related by President Nelson is not what we normally refer to as a near death experience, but it does show that there is at least one type of connection between here and the spirit world, and this raises the possibility that if there is at least one type of connection, there could easily be others. Then one night last May, I was awakened by those two little girls from the other side of the veil. Though I did not see or hear them with my physical senses, I felt their presence. Spiritually, I heard their pleadings. Their message was brief and clear: “Brother Nelson, we are not sealed to anyone! Can you help us?” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/the-price-of-priesthood-power?lang=eng

Traveler, thanks to the faithfulness and obedience of your great grandparents, 150 years later, on the other side of the world, I, and presumably others, gain the benefit of your posts. Its interesting to reflect on how things come about, and how decisions, both good and bad, can have such long lasting effects on so many people.

(New Testament | James 5:16) 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Does the fervent prayer of two righteous people avail twice as much as the prayers of one righteous person? Or is there something like the laws of diminishing returns happening, whereby the fervent prayers of two righteous people avail something less than double what is availed by the prayers of one righteous person? Or is there a multiplier effect in operation, whereby the prayers of a second righteous person availeth more than double what is availed by the prayers of one righteous person? Is there some sort of limit whereby once a certain number of prayers is reached, the prayers of additional people above that number no longer have any additional effect? What exactly is it that is being availed by the prayers of a righteous and to what extent, if any, does the number of faithful righteous people praying for a specific outcome increase the likelihood of that outcome coming to pass? Which has the greater impact - the faith or the person praying, or the righteousness of the person praying? Or is it more to do with the faith or righteousness of the person being prayed for? Or are faith and righteousness of no effect when it comes to God's will being done because His will will be done regardless of who is praying or how many people are praying? Or is God's overall will and plan sufficiently flexible as to allow for the variations that might arise as a result of granting the petition expressed in the prayer of a faithful and righteous person. These questions occurred to me yesterday when I was pondering the two facts of 1) President Monsons continued ill health and 2) the large numbers of faithful righteous people who are praying for him every day, myself included.

I can understand why it might sometimes be helpful to sleep apart but why does this have to mean separate rooms? Surely two beds in the same room would be better than two beds in separate rooms? I recommend that if you have the time, you find a new hobby or interest that will take you out of the house and that you enjoy doing. If you regularly participate in something you enjoy, some of this joy should carry with you back into the house. That should help to reduce the depression and make you look and feel and be a more desirable and attractive spouse.

A silly four line syllogism suggesting that at some point, plural marriage will be reintroduced followed by a more reasonable reply: 1. I am married 2. It would be severally unjust if God disallowed any other woman from marrying me 3. God is not unjust 4. Therefore, at some point, polygamy will recommence I admit there might be one, possibly even two exceptions to the specific example above. However, I think that the following general principle holds true: Subject to the great and eternal laws of justice and free agency, I cannot see that a loving Father in heaven would disallow or prevent an action - in this case, a plural marriage - that would stop His righteous children from carrying out the desires of their hearts. I suspect that this general principle of allowing all sorts of actions as long as they do not violate these two laws holds true not just for plural marriage, but for other types of actions as well. As to whether or not the recommencement of plural marriage will occur in mortality or post-mortality, I see that as an irrelevant detail as I believe that the timing of the recommencement probably makes no difference to the underlying principle of plural marriage or the manner in which it will be practiced.

Zounds like a zilly question to me

Needle, there are some great ideas here! Thanks for the suggestions

When considering the idea that God created the universe, I think we sometimes overlook to well known facts. The first is that in talking about the creation, Joseph Smith and others have taught that a more correct translation of the scriptures tells us that the gods undertook the creation – it seems to have been a joint effort, involving many god-like beings, and not just a single Being. The second fact is that what we often refer to, or think of, as a creative process, was more a process of organisation. The gods imposed order on pre-existing material. Perhaps all that was involved in this imposition of order was simply tweaking a few parameters in such a way conditions that were once indisposed towards the creation of life became disposed towards the creation of life. A small intervention at the exact right moment into circumstances that originated elsewhere, or through other means, can bring about dramatically different outcomes than would have been the case if there had been no intervention. I can envisage how, in some ways, the creation of the universe is analogous to solving a traffic jam. The vehicles in the traffic jam already exist, but they are in a disordered state. By simply changing, or correcting, one or two lines of computer code, you can change the sequence in which the traffic lights flash, thereby imposing order on a pre-existing situation. The sooner and more strictly the drivers in the traffic jam comply with the new directions, the faster order is restored. In much the same order in our own lives can be improved as soon as we start to strictly comply with divinely issued directions.

Clearly this, or some other universe, predates the existence of God, because God, as a mortal, needed a universe in which he could grow up and pass through His mortality.

The fact that God, in His mortal life, before He became a God, did not create the universe in which He grew up, to me, leads to either one of two possible conclusions; either God did not create all that we now refer to as the universe, or there is more than one universe – the one that we live in now, and the one in which God spent his mortality. As soon as Joseph Smith taught that God was once mortal, in the 1844 King Follett sermon, it became possible to conclude that there is more than one universe. This sermon was preached many decades before scientists first come up with the possibility. This strikes me as one of what is probably a great many examples of where theological knowledge can be used to inform our theories of physics and astronomy. At present, I can’t think of other examples, but I am quite sure that they are out there. I think it would not be an unreasonable approach to build scientific knowledge by first drawing conclusions about the universe based on what the scriptures and prophets say, and on personal revelation, and then looking for evidence of those conclusions in our microscopes and telescopes. I understand that this was often the approach taken during the dark ages and the middle ages, and the results were not encouraging, but that was a time when the heavens were closed and the quality and quantity of revealed and man-made knowledge were dramatically different from what they are now. I think that scientists, in their search for knowledge, undervalue the knowledge that can be gained from divine sources, and that their search would be hastened if they looked more closely at the Source of all knowledge. It sometimes surprises me that this does not seem to be a common methodology used by the LDS scientists I know as I believe it would be a very fruitful approach.

In the back of my mind I have this nagging question "would it really be outer darkness if there were no women there" but I'm not going to ask it here because I'm concerned about what the reaction might be.

Gator, in these uncertain times where everything seems to be changing, I thought I should ask the question - are they all female?

I plan on delegating all the drudgery work to my angels. They will benefit more than I would by the doing of it.

Yes, its facetious. The scriptures are suggestive, rather than definitive, on the question of whether Christ had tattoos, and my interpretation is that the suggestion is that He did not. However, the scriptures are quite clear that He did have, and still has, body piercings, which He sometimes shows to His friends. www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/19.34?lang=eng#33 www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/john/20.27?lang=eng#23 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/11.14?lang=eng#14 And if you are reading this it means that so far I've dodged the lightning bolts.