askandanswer

I agree that the USSR and North Korea are tyrannical, but responding to the point @Carborendum made earlier, tyranny can be a scale. Has the position of the US on that scale shifted in the past month or so?

What this sign says to me is if you see someone drowning, in large print, right in the middle of the sign, lol. Hardly an appropriate response. And then, in small print, at the bottom, call 911

Hardly a "prize" 'worth getting. Things must be pretty quiet in policing if this one has come to the top of the list. Now if it was someone like @Just_A_Guy or @pam well that would certainly make it worthwhile.

Take note @MormonGator. See, it can happen.

How would you know how many words there are in a post?

China is no longer a threat to anybody now that Australia has got involved. The threat is over. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-22/tensions-rise-in-south-china-sea-after-us-australia-exercises/12171806

Thanks Carb, your post taught me how to search the church website according to source. I did not know of this function before but now that I do I will use it more frequently. Your post led me to many valuable resources for my lesson today.

Thanks for your tip. Ive been using the citation index for a while now but it was only after reading your post and then going back to the index that I realised that it could be searched by topic.

Oh!

Hi all Im looking for talks/sermons/lessons about change by apostles or members of the First Presidency to support the Priesthood lesson I'm currently working on. General Conference talks can be searched by 306 topics, but unfortunately "change" is not one of the listed topics, and neither is "transformation", "progression" or "natural man." There are 28 talks on change at speeches.byu.edu but most of them are not by apostles or members of the First Presidency. Does anyone know of any online resources attributable to apostles or members of the First Presidency that talk about change - why it is necessary, how it can be done, blessings resulting from change, divine help in changing, consequences of not changing, etc?

Yet more truth and light from my local butcher. On one side of his board: Three unwritten rules of life: 1. 2. 3. On the other side: Justice is a best served cold. If it was served warm it would be just water.

You think @Pam needs a 4th Lexus?

A tad too late. Do you have any tips on how to remove heated lemon juice from my screen?

I've noticed that people in control of boats who end up dreaming while on the job sometimes end up on the rocks.

An absence of records does not mean an absence of visits. This is that Christ said to the Nephites during His visit: 1 AND verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister. 2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. 3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them. (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 16:1 - 3) Are you honestly asking whether the authors of a New Testament study manual did not know that much of New Testament is about the travels and letters of Jesus' eyewitnesses as they spread the gospel after His resurrection? Just in case this is an honest question, the answer is yes, the author realises this. I don't know the answer to this, its something I have occasionally thought about. My guess is that God's decision to focus more on the descendants of Jacob than other groups of people is that it probably has something to do with arrangements made in the pre-existence. I don't think its correct to say that God dealt only with the descendants of Jacob, it's just that we don't yet have reliable records of His dealings with other groups of people, apart from the Book of Mormon. But as it says in 2nd Nephi 7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth? 8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also. 9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever. 10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. 11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written. 12 For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it. 13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews. (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 29:7 - 13) Perhaps you could read it and tell us what you learn? Then you will know for yourself, which is far better than relying on what you might hear from others. As a starter, I suggest you go here https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng and then use the search function to do searches on the words salvation and atonement. I hope I will never be foolish enough to refuse any invitation from my Saviour. Any invitation He might extend to me will always and only be for my good.

Hello @Allison welcome to the forum. Please keep in mind that this is not an official church website, its just a place where a bunch of people, members and non-members, come to exchange views and ask and respond to questions and comments, so the views expressed here are mostly personal views rather than official statements of church policy. Its a great place to learn more about the church and gain a greater understanding of its practices and policies. Sometimes the discussions can get somewhat vigorous. If you have any questions about the church or the things you have learnt, this is a great place to ask them. Members of this forum are normally fairly gentle and supportive of newcomers who come here with honest, good intentions. I encourage you to continue with this new journey that you have started and hope that it leads you to happiness in life and membership in God's kingdom.

Does this mean that everyone has subsribed to Zoom or do you keep your meetings to less than 40 minutes? Over here, I think there is a 40 minute limit on Zoom meetings for non-subsribers.

Our general practice is to fast for two meals on the first Sunday of each month and to give as a fast offering to the church, at least the money we would have spent on those two meals. Some people will fast for a full 24 hours, but I think that two meals is the norm. Most of the time people will fast for their own personal purposes, between themselves and God, but on rare occasions, the church will call for a wider fast in response to a specific issue. The purpose of fasting is to draw nearer to God and to demonstrate to Him that we are willing to forgo the appetites of the flesh for spiritual purposes.

Locke's ideas and mine are almost the same, we've just used different words. Locke's idea of a right to life is the same as what I have called the right to existence. What he calls a right to liberty is about the same as what I called the right to make choices. both of which are different words for free agency. My idea of a right to pursue our eternal destiny is somewhat broader than Locke's idea of the right to puruse happiness. Taking a pedantic approach, the wording Locke uses suggests that he is granting this right only to those who wish to pursue happiness, while my wording of the right allows everybody to pursue their eternal destiny, whatever that may be and regardless of whether or not that includes, or is aimed at, happiness. The way I see it, every other so called right is a man-made invention and can be taken away or restricted or controlled. Perhaps the only exception might be freedom of thought, as it is a necessary pre-condition for the exercise of the right to choose, otherwise known as agency or liberty.

I have two thoughts, at the moment, that I'm happy to share here about this article. The first is that to some extent, there are some similarities between what God and governments are doing. Both God and government lay down the law and provide penalties for breaking that law. (Fortunately, God also provides rewards for keeping the laws whereas most governments do not). To equate the activities of government with Satan's plan by suggesting that because they both use force to ensure compliance with law seems to overlook the fact that rejecting and turning away from God's law results in adverse consequences that will be far longer lasting and far scarier than any punishment that any government could ever devise. As Christ said in Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." I am free to break the governments law any time I choose, so long as I am willing to face the consequences. I am free to break God's law any time I choose, so long as I am willing to face the consequences. The second thought is about the idea that there are God given rights. Apart from the right to exist, the right to make choices, and the right to pursue our eternal destiny, I doubt if there are any other God given rights. I acknolwedge that there are some rights that philosophers and political theorists and perhaps even some theologians are willing to believe came from God but I'm skeptical of those claims. I think that apart from the three God given rights mentioned above, the only rights we have are those we have agreed to with each other to have, those we take, and those we are willing to prevent having taken from us.

In geographical terms, successive temple announcement are bringing us closer to a temple in Jerusalem Rome temple announced October 2008 distance from Rome to Jerusalem 2322 km Budapest Hungary temple announced April 2019, distance from Budapest to Jerusalem 2233 km Dubai temple announced April 2020 distance from Dubai to Jerusalem 2089 km Statistically speaking, the above figures also show that the rate at which temples are getting closer to Jerusalem is increasing. Just an observation, that's all, with no conclusions or suggestions attached. These are the kinds of things that people notice when looking for reasons not to continue with the gardening work outside. I'm open to other excuses that anyone might be willing to suggest.

If Dubai had a river, my guess is that this temple would be located du by the riverside.

I think the use of the word "dream" in this nursery rhyme can be attributed to an error by the stenographer who transcribed the rhyme under the authors dictation. The author probably said steam but the stenographer heard dream. The nursery rhyme started as the authors refelection on the pending transition in nautical engineering from man power (rowing) to steam power and, when contemplating the likely future outcome of this transition he said, with some confidence, that life is but a steam. The stenographer wrote life is but a dream. When the author saw that, and thought how much easier the work of rowers was about to become he decided that no correction was needed.

Perhaps we have cause to question Revelations 13:18. Undeniable photographic evidence clearly shows that the mark of the beast is LC. Or maybe it's 27. Or maybe even WAD Or it could be something even more random: But nowhere cani see 666 So now I'm pondering the theological implications of these imporant discoveries. First impressions are that its a load of bull.

hmm, I'll have to remember this one, it could come in handy some time.