askandanswer

Perhaps the fact that David, from whom Christ descended, was also a shephard, is not unrelated. It might also be worth noting how often Christ referred to sheep and shepherds in His parables. On another, not unrelated matter, I've always wondered why the magi, having seen Christ, and having had some understanding of who He was, left Him and went back home. Surely it would have been to their benefit, and possibly to the benefit of the infant Jesus, if they had stayed.

Thank you for this anatess. Next time I'm in a discussion about the causes of global warming, I'll be able to say "It's all the fault of Anatess's kids. :) If this is indeed the case, I'm hoping for your kids' sake that this doesn't mean that the cure for global warming is to eliminate the cause. I also suspect that the vehicle which conveyed you from Florida to New Hampshire might also have made a bit of a small contribution. :)

In response to the original post: I haven't read the preceding 13 pages of this discussion so what I say here might have already been said, but if so, it's worth repeating, and if not, it's worth mentioning: I can't see understand how or why any empirical fact should have any impact in the slightest on a divinely revealed testimony. Empirical knowledge and spiritually revealed/confirmed knowledge are two entirely different types of knowledge, and if there ever appears to be a conflict between the two, then for the sake of one's eternal destiny, that which has been divinely revealed should always prevail.

Under the taxation system in this country, if you don't pay your taxes, you suffer some kind of penalty. To me, extracting money from a less than willing giver under threat of penalty or punishment seems to have more in common with extortion than with theft.

I hope you've looked at the pinned post that appears immediately above your post entitled ldsnet references to tithing at http://lds.net/forums/topic/19560-ldsnet-references-to-tithing/ . I suspect that you may well find something helpful in there.

This point probably only has minor relevance at best, but I remember from many movies that I've watched, and stories that I've read, that the most important people, eg, the queen, the prince, the president, the general, etc, rarely hurry. Its the minions and minors that do all the high speed scurrying around. Slowness often seems to be related to dignity and importance. When it comes to getting things done, yes, the high speed minions get a lot done, but what the slow speed important person gets done, for example, signing their name on a piece of paper, is often more important, with more far reaching effects, than what all the minions, in their haste, are able to accomplish.

I suspect that any good answer to this question will not only need to be informed by your age, but also your country/culture/ethnicity. How you should respond to your mother's direction will be partially influenced by your age and your culture.

I'm not which of the following would be the best description for one of the rituals associated with Halloween: licensed begging, or extortion.

When it comes to getting someone excited to go on a mission, I recommend spending as much time as possible with the full time missionaries, doing real missionary work. Hopefully, with time, luck, prayer and hardwork, the person you are inquiring about will get to be involved in preparing someone for baptism. Being involved in that kind of miracle should do a lot to increase their interest in serving. I think for now, I believe should be enough. Hopefully, after not to long, that should change to I know. The sooner that happens, the more likely it is that they will be a powerful and effective missionary. As for preparation, see my first point. Same advice applies. Good luck. I have seen with my own eyes how a somewhat less than enthusiastic young man served a mission and came back with a much stronger testimony than what they had when they left.

This discussion puzzles me. I thought it would have been obvious to even casual observers, that as time passes, the divide between good and evil has become, and will continue to become, more and more obvious. There will be those who lean more and more towards the good and true, and those who will lean more and more away from the good and true. This unavoidable, inevitable division is what will guide and shape each succeeding generation of youth. The good will become more good and the bad will become more bad. I expect this trend will be clearly noticeable with every succeeding generation. If this argument holds true for the future, then it is likely that it also holds true for the past. If that is the case, then we could safely say that every generation has been both better and worse than the previous generation.

One of the main shopping outlets here in Australia requires that you put a 2 or 1 dollar coin into a little slot at the top of the trolley to unlock it from the other carts before you can start using it. You get your coin back when you return your trolley and lock it into the other trolleys. I thought carriage returns are what happens when the train gets back to the station it left from :)

Jacob 5 is all about taking branches (people?) from one part of the vineyard (the world) to another, far distant part of the vineyard, and grafting (marrying?) those branches into a different tree. When Jacob 5 is read in this way, it seems clear that the Lord is not opposed to foreign marriages.

My father married a foreigner 54 years ago and they are still married. I married a foreigner more than 25 years ago and we are still going strong, although we both continue to be strongly influenced by the very different cultures in which we grew up. There is a chance that my daughter might end up marrying a foreigner as might my son. It is certainly no sin but it certainly does bring with it a multitude of challenges that need to be dealt with.

When Christ was born a new light appeared. When he died, there was great darkness. When Joseph Smith first tried to pray in the Sacred Grove he was surrounded by darkness. This light and darkness was seen and testified of by many. This suggests that in these instances, the light and darkness was physical, not spiritual. These events would seem to weaken the arguments that the light associated with godliness and the darkness associated with evil is symbolic and this may have implications for the argument that there are two types of light.

When it comes to seeking and finding divine truth, honest, humble, faith filled, sincere prayer, coupled with diligent, humble, faith filled scripture study will get you more in the way of spiritual understanding than participation in online discussions. (And I've always disagreed with the implied suggestion that you have a second rate mind :) )

Try reading the scriptures in the dark, and then see what happens when you turn the light on. Does it not increase your ability to see gospel truths?

These verses do not seem to be overly symbolic to me. They seem to be saying that truth shines and that this truth is the light of Christ, and that it is this light which shines from the sun and the moon and the stars, and which (verse 11) also gives us knowledge. 7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. 8 As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; 9 As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; 10 And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. 11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; 12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fillthe immensity of space— 13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the powerof God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things. Verse 11 really seems to suggest to me that there is one kind of light with two characteristics, or properties, one of which is to shine, and the other of which is to quicken our understanding. Parley P Pratt seems to have come to the same conclusion, when he stated, (with thanks and acknowledgement to James 12) that It is, in its less refined particles, the physical light which reflects from the sun, moon, and stars, and other substances; and by reflection on the eye, makes visible the truths of the outward world. It is, also, in its higher degrees, the intellectual light of our inward and spiritual organs, by which we reason, discern, judge, compare, comprehend and remember the subjects within our reach. This makes me wonder whether there is any connection between the dual wave/particle nature of light, and the dual impure/pure, or refined/coarse matter nature of light. I also think that it might not be a coincidence that so much truth and knowledge, and yes, a lot of lies and filth, is conveyed rapidly around the world by means of light, travelling along fiber optic cables. This is a successful man-made attempt at conveying truth through light. Perhaps this can be regarded as a very early and primitive prototype of what God does, or if that is to much to say, perhaps we could say that the conveying of truth through the means of light at least has some similarities to what God does. This idea fits well with another idea that I like to ponder about, and that is, that as the second coming gradually gets closer, and as we gradually prepare, and are gradually prepared for, our eternal life, that many of the things of this earth, will gradually come to resemble what will come after the life and place in which we will live after this life.

Thank you Slamjet and Vort and Saul

I'm not sure what this spiritual realm you are referring to is. Moroni, and most, probably all angels, are physical beings and I suspect they live in a place that is full of physical beings. This makes me think that Moroni, and others who have made the same trip, travelled from one physical realm to another, or, perhaps more accurately, from their part of this physical realm, to our part of the same realm.

Nice to see you back again Eowyn, after the recent advancement of your father, even though you don't seem to have much to say :)

How much energy does it take to rearrange the electrons, proton and neurons that make up 6 waterpots of water into wine? Could the principles that made possible this miracle, when applied on a larger scale, produce the amount of energy needed to create and control a wormhole?

Abraham 3:3, 4, 9 and 16 suggest, but do not definitively state, that God dwells in the physical universe as we know it. This idea is supported by the fact that God will eventually end up dwelling with us, on a celestialised Earth, although admittedly, I supposed its possible that this celestialised earth could be transferred to somewhere out of this physical universe. I suspect that a well built space ship could hie to Kolob, thereby bringing the occupants thereof closer to God, but with God being the ultimate source of all truth and knowledge, I doubt that He will ever give us the knowledge needed to build one and the second coming will probably occur well before we could figure out for ourselves how to build such a ship.

Do the events referred to in Joseph Smith - History verse 42 describe an angel travelling through a wormhole? 43 After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance.

Whatever you want to do, subject to the rules of whatever kingdom you end up in.

I think a computer chip is a much better analogy than radio technology, and I think there is reason to speculate that it might be more of a description than an analogy. The world will ultimately become a giant seer stone in its celestialised state, D&C refers to the world in its celestialised condition as a sea of glass and fire. Silicon, from which glass is made, and fire, in the form of electricity, are the two main ingredients of a computer chip.