askandanswer

I'm comfortable with the idea of a Creater being able to do as He wishes with His creations, particularly if what is done is all in agreement with a plan that the creations agreed to prior to coming to this Earth. I'm not comfortable with the idea of the that which has been created, from their extremely limited perspective and lack of knowledge, trying to pass any sort of judgements on the works and actions of the Creator.

I'm wondering how this arguement would play out with atheists who don't know or don't care or who don't believe in the existence of God, and have no thoughts or feelings towards or about Him at all, but who still have lots of meaningul relationships and enjoy what they feel is a full and rich life?

I can't help wondering if there is a better system than one that requires pain in order to be purged. Isn't there a way, or a system, whereby the purging could be accomplished through some other means? Is there any reason why it has to involve pain and suffering? For example, when I purge by body at times of sickness through vomiting, its sometimes uncomfortable, buts its effective as a purge and not really painful. I don't understand why there needs to be links between justice, redemption and pain.

From what I understand, Joseph Smith only needed to remove a small amount of earth before he was able to use a piece lever to move a stone in order to see the gold plates. It doesn't sound like this doctrine was very deep.

How can anybody really know for sure if something is good or bad? It seems to me that before you decide if something is good or bad you would first need to find out every single consequence of the original act and then all the consequences of every act that follows from the original act. One problem is that we can never really know when all the consequencess of the original act have played out. Once we have found out all the consequences and acts resulting from the original act we would then need to assign a value of good or bad to each act and consequence flowing from the original action. Then we would need to take the next step of assigning a further value indicating HOW good or HOW bad each consequence or resulting act was. Finally, you would need to subtract the total good resulting from the original act from the total resulting bad. Only after gathering all that information and making the calculations would you be in a position to begin making an approximation of whether any particular act or situation is good or bad. Clearly this is an impossible task. So we can either make a guess, which might be right or wrong, or we can pray about it. But i don't think that on our own, we can make a reliable assessment of whether any particular action or situation is good or bad.

I suggest you live as best you can according to what you know and believe, while continuing to seek for more light and knowledge. As you live according to the light that has been given to you, God will give you more, and you will soon have enough light to see what your next step should be.

ps My wife's and my concerns about our daughter moving far away from home to attend college were significantly alleviated by the fact that the nearest chapel was only a short bike ride away, and that the Bishop there, and other ward members, warmly welcomed and accepted her.

Hi @prisonchaplain we have some recent, relevant experience on this issue in my family. After many months of discussion and examination of the various options, and a fair bit of unsuccessful persuasion from my wife and I, late last January my daughter started at a college about 4 hours drive away from where we live. My wife and I really wanted her to apply for BYU Hawaii, which offers a course similar to what she is now doing but after carefully comparing courses at 4 institutions, including BYU Hawaii, she concluded that the institution she is now attending best matches her interests and aspirations. On the other hand, a few minutes ago, my wife and I just finished a discussion with our son on where he is up to with his application to attend BYU Hawaii. He hasn't seriously considered any other instituion and we hope that he won't. Some years ago, my oldest daughter firmly rejected the BYU Hawaii option, and so did I, believing that its offerings in the area she was interested in, were quite inadequate.

All of this and far worse, has already happened, decades ago.

My wife and I have been in Thailand since last Sunday and we've both been coughing a lot for the last several days. Neither of us have had a high temperature or other symptoms so we think its just a normal kind of cough. All the locals we've spoken with say that the number of tourists here is way down on the usual numbers and that many bars restaurants and hotels are feeling the impact.

I've often seen the Exec Sec act as the Bishop's gopher - the Bishop makes a decision and the Exec Sec helps to communicate it and carry it out. Because of the closeness of the working relationship, I've also sometimes seen Bishops use their Exec Sec as a 3rd, informal counsellor. Sometimes the Exec Sec knows more than the two counsellors about what the Bishop is doing and who he is working with.

I suspect that there are very very few, if any at all, circumstances that we can completely accurately describe as good or bad. The information and calculations needed to determine whether any particular act or set of circumstances is, in net effect, good, or, in net effect, bad, is beyond our ability to determine. Only the promptings of the Spirit can help us understand if something is good or bad.

hmm, not such a good description of base ball.

And if the teachings of that other church happen to be fairly similar to those of our church, as many Christtian doctrines are, can a member who has joined another church be excommunicated from our church for apostasy for teaching things that are fairly similar to the teachings of our church?

Base | Definition of Base at Dictionary.com www.dictionary.com › browse › base adjective, bas·er, bas·est. morally low; without estimable personal qualities; dishonorable; meanspirited; selfish; cowardly. ... debased or counterfeit: an attempt to eliminate the base coinage. characteristic of or befitting an inferior person or thing

I've always thought that base ball (what a totally appropriate name) is more like a corrupted, Americanised version of cricket.

I agree, Amos 3:7 and D&C 49: 6-7 can co-exist and there is no contradiction between them. The apparent contradiction I was seeking to draw attention to is between Amos 3:7 where the Lord says He will reveal His secrets to His servants, the prophets, and D&C 130: 14 - 16, where the Lord chose very clearly not to reveal a particular secret to His prophet Joseph Smith. And if the Lord chose not to give wisdom to Joseph Smith regarding the timing of His second coming, then that might raise questions about the promise contained in James 1:5 where the Lord promises to give wisdom liberally to all that ask in faith.

Pam, being Pam, its more likely to be 2 1/2

And if you hold your breath for long enough you might get to ask her in person (or spirit)

Perhaps ^^ But not always 14 I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following: 15 Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter. 16 I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 130:14 - 16) ps D&C 130:14 - 16 might be a thought provoking contrast to James 1:5

I think the various posts that have included this scripture might be overlooking the possibility that for some, the week, month or year, might be very well known, even though the hour or day is not. Again, no comments from me as to likelihood about this being the case, but it certainly seems like it could be a possibility.

Given the fairly specific prophecies that were made to the Nephits about when Christ would come, it seems to me to be odd that there are no such publicly known prophecies for His second coming.

Revelation - how does it really work? Its personal, so the answer, to some extent, depends on how you work.

I would keep my letters regular and platonic and not too long. Missionaries enjoy receiving letters, and if they are kept platonic, they are les likely to be a distraction. I also wouldn't get my hopes up or start forming any expectations.

This impeachment process took about 7 months. With about nine months to go until the next election, and the possibility of a second term, its possible that President Trump could be the only US President to be impeached twice. I'm not talking about degrees if likelihood, I'm just pointing out a possibility.