askandanswer

As a general rule, I think that independence is a better condition than dependence. I'm not sure if there are exceptions to that rule, but I'm open to the idea that there might be.

Are the only possibly outcomes of the plan of salvation either 1) dependence on God, or 2) damnation? It seems to me that no matter how a person lives their lives, either with perfect uprightness and integrity, or as the very vilest of sinners, or anywhere in between, dependence or damnation seem to be the only possible outcomes. Is there anything else?

The idea expressed in 1 Nephi 4:13 is not so different from the prophesy of Caiphas, the High Priest who said 50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; Do you have any disagreement with the idea that "It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." Would the assasination of Hitler in 1938 have been a better outcome than the second world war? Everything belongs to God who both giveth and taketh away (Job 1:21) and who "shall reward every man according to his works. (Matthew 16:27) A little later on in Job we read 12 Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou? (Job 9:12) When pondering whether the death of a person is a good thing or a bad thing, it may be well to remember the words of Ecclesiastes 6:12 12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

All of a suddent this discussion below is making much more sense

I'm kind of puzzled and surprised. You seem to be suggesting that the existence of kim chee is not one of the global disasters preceding the end of the world?

I think I will finish my talk with a slight pun by saying something like I pray that we might all live in such a way that it may be said of us, the yoke is on you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Two relevant scriptures 5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost? (Book of Mormon | Alma 39:5) 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (New Testament | Matthew 5:11 - 12)

You live in Utah - I thought you were already there.

I think that in all cases, a dead person is reunited with far more family members than they ever leave behind when they die. From one perspective, it could perhaps be said that grief is rather selfish - it focuses on the loss and sadness felt by the griever, rather than being thankful for the improvement in the condition of person that often comes about as a result of their death.

Well on the one hand, by not allowing Australian citizens in India to return to Australia, the government is protecting Australians in Australia, as the figures are clear that when flights from India were arriving here, the passengers were testing positive at a much higher rate than flights from other countries. On the other hand, by not allowing Australians to return, they are being left unprotected in a country with enormously high infection rates and an extremely limited capacity to care for infected people.

The response from the legal and human rights fraternities and from the Indian community has forced the government to backtrack. The Prime Minister has recently said that no one would ever be punished to the full extent allowable by this law and that the ban would almost certainly not be extended beyond the two weeks that have been announced.

The talk won't be until May 16. I hope to start writing down a few rough thoughts today. I'm starting to think that the answer to my question might lie somewhere in the idea that the Saviour's yoke is indeed relatively easy compared to the adversary's yoke.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (New Testament | Matthew 11:29 - 30) Last night I was asked to give a sacrament talk in two weeks on Matthew 11:30. While thinking about it this morning, I came across a possible difficulty. At the moment, I would find it difficult to agree with the proposition that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When Christ says “my yoke is easy” I’m interpreting this to mean Him saying that living the gospel is easy, or keeping the commandments I have given you is easy. It must be true because Jesus said it, but at the moment, I don’t understand how it is true. I, and probably many others, find that there are times when it living the gospel is not at all easy and that it requires real work and effort. If it was easy, it would not be a growth promoting gospel. I see a major disconnect between what Christ said – “my yoke is easy” and the lived experience of many, many people and I’m not sure how to reconcile this lived experience with what Christ said. For me to feel comfortable giving a talk on this topic, I would either need to find a way to reconcile these two positions, or find a way to give this talk without committing myself to either positions, and of those two possibilities, the former is far more preferable. I acknowledge that living the gospel gets easier the longer we have been in the yoke, but I think that for some people, maybe for all people, there are aspects of the gospel that will always require work and effort and that never really become easy. So I guess my main question is how do I reconcile Christ’s teachings that his yoke is easy with the lived experience of many people that it is hard?

A few days ago the Australian government passed a regulation imposing fines and possible jail sentences on Australian citizens or permanent residents currently in India who try to return home to Australia until (I think) 15 May. How would Americans react to a ban preventing American citizens in India from returning home to the US? Over here, the legal and human rights communities are responding with a lot of concern but there doesn't seem to have been much of a reaction yet from the general public. The Morrison government has defended its international travel restrictions, maintaining they are consistent with international human rights law, despite strong criticism from the national watchdog. The Human Rights Commission revealed it had “serious concerns” about threats to jail or fine Australian citizens returning from India under a new travel ban. From Monday, people who have been in India within the previous fortnight before their intended arrival in Australia will face a $66,600 fine, as well as five years imprisonment for entering the country. The government has staunchly defended the tough move saying it was necessary to protect Australia’s public health and the quarantine systems, as India records more than 300,000 new COVID-19 cases a day.

Perhaps if you occasionally drive closer to the edge, it then becomes easier for those who live closer to the edge to then climb on to the safety of the cart, although when you do drive closer to the edge, those who choose to jump off the cart at that point end up closer to the edge than if the cart had stayed in the middle of the road.

Lol, I've been coming to this forum for years but I think that responding to your post was probably about the second or maybe the third time that I've looked at the study boards forum. I'd actually forgotten that there was such a forum, as I almost never go beyond forums 2, 3, 4, and 5 forums listed in the Third Hour Popular Forums. Having now looked at it, it looks like the Study Boards forum is more for discussing matters that arise from Sunday School, Priesthood or Relief Society lessons, rather than being a repository for people's talks and lesson notes that others can draw from.

Perhaps part of the answer might be because one - pornography and self abuse - is a sin and the other is not. But I also think there is some merit in the arguement that normalization of SSA is akin to intentionally driving the cart a little closer to the edge. And who knows, I certainly don't, but perhaps someone has made a calculation that in some circumstances, when everything is taken into account and properly weighed up, there are times when driving a little closer to the edge serves a greater purpose than not doing so.

To me, the speech sounds doctrinally correct, I didn't hear any errors in it. I don't think the gender or sexual orientation of the person giving the speech is relevant as it neither adds to or detracts from the message.

This is a suggestion for a new feature to be added to Third Hour. The suggestion is that a space be created where people can upload their lesson notes, or maybe even talks, and people can then view and download that material. The notes could be sorted by topic and when a forum member has a talk or lesson to prepare, the material that has been uploaded could be a resource that they could use to assist them in their preparation. How much interest is there in this idea, does something similar already exist, and if this did become a new feature on Third Hour, how likely is it that you would use it?

Boredom is in the eyes of the beholder

Every time I fast, it feels v - e -r- y looonngg.

23 For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand. (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 26:23) What does the bolded, underlined word refer to?

THis is very similar to something that's happened to me three times in the last two weeks. THe car in front of me suddenly slows down. THe first time it happened, I immediately pulled out of the lane to overtake it, and when I did, I saw the reason why he had slowed - there was a speed camera just ahead. The next two times the car in front of me suddenly slowed, I also slowed, and drove passed the nearby speed camera at a much safer speed. I've learned my lesson now about what to do when the car in front of me suddenly slows down.

This ^^ is a most unusual manner of expressing admiration and appreciation for my sharp wit and brilliant sense of humour. I guess there are still aspects of Tex-orean culture that I still don't understand

A King in California in a land where the Book of Mormon says that no King will ever reign? America must be changing more than I realized.