laronius

A person's lineage is only partly biologically based. The other part has to do with a person's mission in this life and perhaps into the next. Since we are genetically descended from many people it is very possible to be descended from multiple tribes of Israel. When this is the case our official lineage as stated in our patriarchal blessing is based on what role God wants us to fill. This will determine which of the tribes we are officially a part of. Of course there is still much we don't yet know about what our tribal lineage entails. Make that question #862 when I die. 😉

That's a good analogy. I was actually thinking of a similar one this week. We often hear about the need to feast upon the words of Christ and how we should approach it as a grand buffet and not just pick at it. When reading about Enos' experience when his father's words sunk deep into his heart he said his soul hungered and I got to thinking about why our souls don't always hunger for the gospel. This got me to thinking about how the world is constantly offering us empty calories in the form of "candy and other junk foods" that simultaneously ruins our appetite and health at the same time. It's almost like Heavenly Father put us in a world designed to teach us things. 🤔

That thought does sound gloomy indeed. But I don't think that will be the case. D&C 121:29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ... 32 According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest. I think most of what we view as having to be endured is tied to this mortal and fallen existence and is geared towards producing a specific result, namely an exalted being. Once exalted there will still always be work to do but I think the struggle part goes away. Can we rightfully say that God struggles in his work? I don't think we can because he has all power and knowledge and though he still feels sorrow because of some of his children what he doesn't feel is doubt, fear, despair, insecure, unsure, worried, fretful, impatient, tired, or any of the other negative things we deal with while enduring. He knows, always, what needs to be done and he is able, always, to do it. A far different experience from ours in this life.

In my mind I always interpreted that question as referring to the idea that active gospel living will not allow impurities to remain long in our lives. But as I read the full verse for context I wonder if the Lord is speaking of something else entirely. Any thoughts? D&C 121:33 How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.

The command to endure to the end is specifically tied in the scriptures to being saved and as such is referring to this mortal probation: 2 Nephi 33:9 ...enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation. But in a more general sense, as @mikbone implies in his post, there really is no end to the need to lead a godly existence. But once a person is exalted how much "enduring" is really required? When Satan is locked away and the natural man is brought into complete submission to the spirit (if the natural man even exists anymore) and the temporal challenges of this life are behind us what is there left to endure? Yes the choice to do or not do good will always exist but if there is nothing enticing me or pressuring me to choose the bad I don't know if I would label that as enduring.

I think what we call perspective is really just seeing through the glass darkly in that we only see part of the picture whereas God sees the whole thing. The part that I see is a product of my life experience which is never going to be exactly the same as anyone else. But the more we learn and experience the greater and more inclusive our perspective becomes until we see as God sees. Kind of like listening to the same general conference talk and coming away with differing and yet still correct understandings of what was taught. One day we will comprehend it all fully but for now God shows us that which is most relevant for us individually.

This is my point. Does this "huge difference" increase the quality of life or provide some actual benefit for the patient even one iota? If so then I agree it should be done and I would do so myself. If not then what difference, huge or otherwise, has been accomplished? When I say acceptable I am not talking about substandard. And maybe it's just a difference in how we define the term.

Maybe it's just me but I really don't like doing things for the sake of doing things. When I reach the point where no additional benefit is achieved other than just because I could do it better I lose all motivation. If the piece that goes underneath is sufficient to do the job I would much rather move on to something that isn't sufficient for what's needed.

I don't know that I believe in an actual blessing of release as an authoritative act. I think at the point where a release is the Lord's will it may be manifest to loved ones but the blessing is more for the benefit of everyone else and so "releasing" an individual is more of a letting go by the loved ones. It does seem like I remember a quote about people having to suffer longer than need be because everyone keeps praying for them to not die but I could be wrong.

At some point the church stopped receiving tithing in kind. If that wasn't for efficiency's sake I don't know what it was.

I could be wrong but I don't know of any prophecy that says "the Church" is going to relocate to Missouri. Build up a Zion City there? Yes. But that doesn't mean everyone has to move there. I think it will be a gathering point at some future time but only for certain people to accomplish certain responsibilities. Otherwise, the Lord needs us all over the world to do his work. Now concerning the drought it very well may be one of the many signs of the times. But if you think escaping to Missouri is to escape the less fun signs of the times I would think twice about that. I think that place is going to get "purified" like nothing we've seen before. To be the Lord's Zion it's got to be.

Matthew quotes the scripture in relation to Jesus' birth adding it's interpretation that "God is with us" so it's fulfillment is found not so much as his name rather than who he was. Similar I think to the prophecy found is Isaiah 9:6 "...and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

For me it has always been a temptation to focus to heavily on the intellectual pursuit when studying the scriptures. I would judge a successful scripture study by whether I had learned something new, which is not necessarily wrong but if that learning does not translate into living then I have not truly accessed the power of the scriptures. That's kind of like me eating a Thanksgiving dinner every day and then sitting around watching football. My body is just going to grow fat and lazy. Got to put that spiritual nourishment to work.

Yes.

Because they recognize that the Lord often reveals things line by line, precept by precept. They were praying for guidance, not necessarily a reversal of policy.

I would caution on making this assumption. As a preface to Pres Nelson's explanation to the changes in policy he said this: "...we can adjust policy when the Lord directs us to do so." What proof do you have that the original policy adjustment was not inspired? In other words you are saying that the brethren decided to deny baptism to children without first receiving approval from the Lord to make that change. Is that really what you want to imply? Pres Nelson also said: "The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve have continued to seek the Lord’s guidance and to plead with Him in behalf of His children who were affected by the 2015 policy." Why would they plead with the Lord in behalf of those affected by the 2015 policy if it was not the Lord's direction in the first place? Also, just to be clear it was never the policy that children of LGBT parents could not be baptized until 18. The initial change made was that it would require approval from the First Presidency before they were baptized. Later that policy was changed so that the determination could be made at the local level. What the initial policy change did was put the First Presidency in closer contact with those LGBT parents whose homes the brethren were trying to support in the first place. I can only imagine how much understanding and enlightenment came from those dialogues, whether it was in person or through a representative, not just in relation to the baptism of children but in supporting homes of LGBT parents in general. We may not always know why the Lord does what he does but we shouldn't just assume something is uninspired just because we don't have all the answers up font or that there is another change later on. Recently Pres Nelson said: "I know that good inspiration is based upon good information..." This may very well have been a case where in seeking the Lord's direction on how to support these certain homes the Lord essentially said "You don't have all the information you need so let's make a policy adjustment that will help you gather that information. Then when you know more you will be in a better position to bless the lives of my children."

As a general rule I avoid anything that appears to be click-bait. If the product is legit and of real value there is no need for sensationalism or misdirection.

You mean in addition to with live? I can't say that I'm super knowledgeable about substance abuse so I would have to rely more on the Spirit. Every situation is different.

Loving someone only means we have the proper motivation in trying to help them. It doesn't negate the importance of using wisdom nor acting under the influence of the Spirit. But if we truly love them then we will do whatever is necessary to help them. That is why it is such an important commandment because not only can it greatly bless the recipient but it can also have a sanctifying effect on the one expressing the love. Of course, as @mikbone pointed out, much of the responsibility still rests upon the intended recipient to receive that love.

It makes for a tricky situation to be sure. Partly because we identify certain eternal truths with certain societal norms that it's tough to pull them apart. A couple years ago we had a young woman transition (no pun intended) from primary to young women's but who always wanted to be doing what the young men were doing during mutual. I think largely because she was surrounded by boys at home and that was the kind of activity she grew up with. But the young women leaders would come and gather her up to participate with the young women. I think in time she came to appreciate the young women's activities but I remember thinking at the time that it must be hard to want to do what the boys are doing but told she can't because she was a girl. The gospel of Jesus Christ does not say girls have to prefer sewing over dodgeball. There have always been more feminine boys and more masculine girls and there is nothing wrong with that. Part of it is I think nurture and part I think is nature (temporally speaking) and I think there ought to be accomodations for that. But it can never be allowed to overshadow the eternal truth of who we are. Gender is not fluid, but eternal, and for those wishing to participate there must be the recognition that while they deserve to be treated with love and kindness like everyone else the tenets of our faith will not be compromised. I think this is where the new youth programs are truly inspired. Instead of youth being told what they ought to pursue (whether with scouts or young women awards) youth now choose their own goals that allow them to pursue their own interests but still within the framework of the gospel. There will still be difficult situations to address but I think the Lord has provided His church a much better structure to deal with them.

To quote Lectures on Faith: "For faith could not center in a being of whose existence we had no idea; because the idea of his existence in the first instance is essential to the exercise of faith in him." So no an atheist cannot exercise faith in God/Jesus Christ. But while the answer to my question is pretty straight forward in reality it was really secondary in terms of what I wanted to discuss which was the relationship between acting on the light of Christ and developing faith in Christ. So I appreciate everyone's comments. The three elements necessary for faith, according to LOF, are: First, The idea that he actually exists. Secondly, A correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes. Thirdly, An actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing, is according to his will. Having an "idea" that God exists surely implies a willingness to even consider the possibility where as an atheist has altogether rejected that notion, though it may be because, as @Traveler pointed out, they do not possess the second necessary requirement. But it's the third requirement I find most interesting and I think where the light of Christ comes into play. As someone begins to entertain the possibility of their being a God and learns of His divine attributes the Holy Ghost can begin to work on that person to the convincing of their truthfulness. But the ability for the Holy Ghost to do this is, I believe, is directly tied to a person's willingness to abide by the light of Christ. Responding to the light of Christ is, at least in a limited fashion, living according to the will of God, a necessary prerequisite to faith. Also, a person who has smothered the light of Christ in the choices they make are going to discover it nearly impossible for the Holy Ghost to reach them in any meaningful manner. So while responding to the light of Christ is not yet acting in faith I do believe it is necessary preparation for the development of that faith.

Quick question. Feel free to expound on your answer should you so choose. When an atheist acts upon the light of Christ within them and obeys a commandment of God, is he/she unknowingly exercising faith in Christ?

Modesty is not often addressed when teaching young men because when it comes to the law of chastity there are a half dozen other topics that are of greater importance to address in terms of what they may actually be struggling with. Where as for young women modesty is more likely to be an issue some struggle with and thus more likely to be addressed. It's as simple as that. The whole idea of trying to make things "fair" is one of Satan's tricks for distracting us from what matters most.

I think having a temple recommend is largely symbolic and the power of that symbol is largely what we make of it. It begins with our approach to the interview. When viewed as an interview with the Lord it can become a profoundly sacred experience. There is a big difference between those who are there just to answer the questions right and those who see the opportunity to express the depth of their conviction and love of the Lord. Both may be considered worthy but the experience seems to mean so much more to those who recognize the importance of the principle taught over and over in the temple of returning and reporting. It is something that happens at various intervals: daily in prayer, weekly with the sacrament and every two years with temple recommends. I think for these people the physical recommend is a reminder of that ultimate report we all will have with the Lord that the temple prepares us for.

Encouraging is a good start but from pre-covid experience real progress in this area only happened when executive secretaries started working the expired recommend list setting up appointments with the bishop. This got the lazies in and those with worthiness issues progressing towards worthiness again. Some things just require that one on one level of effort. Either that or maybe a temple recommend lottery.