LeSellers

These children (they have not matured, their chrono-age being an imprecise indicator) have the skin of an amoeba: their entire nervous system is an open sore, a burn that the least contact with the world causes pain. The problem is, that this pain is fake. The whole outrage thing is a lie. And worse, it's a lie they believe or at least they believe in it. Lehi

Obviously, I disagree. First, no one has said that the Endowment includes every covenant we make and every ordinance we receive. However, the Endowment consists of those ordinances done in the Temple for the living and that require the Melchizedek Priesthood and specific settings apart for the officiators. Baptism, confirmation, and the Sacrament do not meet this requisite. I can't find it right now (don't have time) but I believe it was Joseph (or Brigham) who said the Endowment included all those parts I noted eariler. I don't make this stuff up. Lehi

The whole thing, from Ordination (for men) through Clothing to sealing, is the Endowment. The Washings and Anointings are part of the ceremony, and they are where the vast majority of the blessings (by both count, at least) are offered. Lehi

I understand your PoV, but respectfully disagree. I use "(Mr.) O'bama", and never "President Obama" precisely to show my utter abhorrence of the man, not as a man, but of his theft of the office he holds, of his derision for the Constitution and our freedoms, and most of all, his stated desire to fundamentally change this once-great country. BTW, "O'bama" is a sign of respect for his Irish heritage. He went to Moneygall to celebrate his Irish ancestors. I can't afford to go there, so I spend what I can: a few billion electrons to show it. Finally, lest anyone imagine me a racist (as some doubtless will), it is his Black half I respect: his White half is completely degenerate. Lehi

The examples you propose are of a different quality compared to "oft"/"often".English is a nearly phonetic language. Yes, we could spell "fish" as "ghoti", but we do not. It is unfortunate that William the Bastard (aka William the Conqueror) brought Norman French across the channel. We once had a runic "alphabet" that fitted our language better than the Latin alphabet he imposed on us. (This is a relatively simplified verison of the events, but useful for the present discussion.) There are 44 (or 45) phonemes (sounds) in English. We have already seen the loss of edth and thorn, for example, but there were other adaptations, as well. Then, too, there was the great Vowel Shift of the XIV~XVII. Ah became ay, ee became ih, ay became eh or ee. Orthography did not keep up (and I am grateful for its failure*) so we are left with a myriad of misfit words: "great" ought not be spelled that way at all. * English orthography often represents the derivation of the word as much as its pronunciation: "telegraph", as part of a larger word, is an example. In "telegraph", the accent is on the first syllable; in "telegraphy", it's on the second; in "telegrapic", the third; in "telegraphically", it's in the fifth. And the pronunciation of the vowels change, as well. Should we change the spelling of each of these words to follow the pronunciation? I don't think so, but that's my preference. Among the oddities, all of the words with "ough" are weird; it "says" "uff", "oo", "ah", "up", "ow", "awf", "oh", depending on the word it's in. So, with all of these impediments to orthography (a concept that does not even exist in many languages: in Spanish there is only one way to spell a word, it being a wholly phonetic language), it is a wonder that we can spell at all. But the difference between "offen" and "often" is not spelling, it's an ignorance of the basics of the language, its roots, its idioyncracies, its beauty. Lehi

I think it will be soon. I am old, but I think that I will see it before I die. But, whether I do or do not, it won't make a great deal of difference. I hope I am prepared either way. Lehi

I see your point, but I'd dispute that it is the "primary reason" is to get one in the proper frame of mind.The primary reason for going often is to serve others, to become "saviors on Mount Zion", to do for them what they cannot do for themselves. The majority of the Christian world rejects proxy work for the dead (all the while accepting the proxy work of Christ for the spiritually dead), but it has a purpose they simply cannot grasp: we are creating a web with Christ and Father at the center and that connects us with the entire human family. Each knot in this web is a sealing of spouses, of parents and children. And the web is the Kingdom of God, the very "world" for which Christ offered Himself because of His love for His Father. Lehi

So, how do Torontans pronounce "soften"? With a /t/ or just /f/?The pseudo-sophisticated "often" so grates on my nerves that I cannot hear it without a shudder running the full length of my spine. Further, the inconsistency of "often v. "soffen" really makes me shiver with incredulity. Lehi

While I have a hard time envisioning this (loving going to, being in, and reflecting on the Temple, as I do), it seems you are not alone. (There are people who've left the Church over this.) But those I've spoken to who shared your feelings, the way they "get over it" is to go more often. We are most comfortable doing things and in environments we are most familiar with. Going to the Temple often can make you feel more "friendly" there. All the best, Lehi

While I agree that these are unlikely to be false flag events, it does not mean that a false flag can't result in real deaths. The U.S.S. Maine and the Gulf of Tonkin were both false flags, and people died. Lehi

There is no need to assign "false flag" status to these events. There is quite enough evil in the world (and it's growing) to account for it.Does O'bama relish them? No doubt in my mind. He doesn't want to let a crisis go to waste that could advance his agenda of a bigger, more intrusive government with less freedom for individuals. But he is an exploiter, not necessarily an instigator. Indeed. An armed populace (i.e., a well regulated militia) will not allow their our freedoms to go trampled under the jackboots of a tyrant. At least, one hopes not.Lehi

Some here will duplicate what others have said, but the whole picture is important. A stake is the key structure of the church. Its president is the president of the high Priesthood, and even if we do not sustain them as prophets, seers and revelators, stake presidents have the same responsibilities and same spiritual resources for a stake as President Monson does for the whole church. Every organization at the general church level also exists at the state level, but some are "muted". When, in 1948, the Communists cut Berlin off from the world, and the Western Allies started the Berlin Airlift, the branch in Berlin was also cut off from Church headquarters, the Brethren saw the need to assure that the Church would be able to function if that sort of thing ever happened again. I once had an overstated belief about it, but early after the Airlift was no longer needed, they took that branch, divided it into two very small wards, and formed a stake. A stake can exist and operate without direct and frequent interaction with headquarters for a prolonged period. The stake president can authorize conferring the Melchizedek Priesthood (because of his presidency). The stake high council parallels the Quorum of the Twelve. Stake organization of the Relief Society, the Primary, the Young Men and Women, and so on, oversee and coordinate the activities of the ward organizations (where the action happenz), just as the general boards of the Relief Society, etc., do higher up. Over the past few years, we have seen stakes taking their more rightful place in the structure of the Church. Stake presidents now set missionaries apart. In 1967, I was set apart by an Assistant to the Twelve in the Salt Lake Mission Home. I see this trend continuing as the Church gets larger and more and more Regional Authority Seventies are needed while these brethren have no Priesthood keys. To understand the function of a stake is to truly understand the power of the Priesthood and the necessity of keys. Lehi

I fear we're well on our way to having billion dollar toilet paper. Lehi

Your asking the question indicates that you do "know what to make of that." Why people around the world hate USmerica is too complex to discuss, but it is clear they do (until we snatch them from the maws of tyranny). While I served in France, back in neolithic times, I wanted to post billboards with the words "Les américains ont tous disparu. Eh bien, presque tous."* against a background of an USmerican war cemetery in Normandy. * The Americans have all left. Well, almost all. Lehi

Whether it's the "Pride Cycle" or something else, one wonders what the USmerican Civil War/War Between the States/War of Northern Aggression was really about. Yes, slavery was an issue, but the country had be dealing with slavery since even before the Revolution. Slavery would have ended within two decades any way: it's economically non-viable, and the Southern Belle was getting tired of seeing her slaves getting light and lighter every year. Yes, unjust taxation (which is redundant) was an issue. The North had already begun having a declining birth rate, so, within five decades, that would have been reversed. There were others, but none was enough to have a war. It is my firm belief that the Civil War was retribution/punishment for killing a prophet of God. Pride-apostasy-poverty-repentance-wealth-pride has been a trend since Genesis. But just as Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews dispersed in ad 70, I believe that Missouri and Illinois, Georgia and Virginia were brought low because they not only rejected the Gospel of Christ and His prophet, but they needed the humbling power that only war and famine can impose on arrogant mankind. Lehi

In the book The Child Buyer (the first place I know where "ghoti" is used for "fish"), the model is "o" from "women". Lehi

There is no /t/ in "often", just as there is no /t/ in "listen", nor in "whistle". List => listen Whist => whistle Oft => often One wonders why those who pronounce "often" incorrectly don't, consistently, say "combing". When Webster wrote his "Blue-backed speller", he changed the spelling of a lot of words. Examples include "often" for the existing "offen", and "det" which he changed to "debt" so as to preserve the connection to the Latin debit. But no one pronounces it "debt". Lehi

A hand cranked radio is more reliable, and doesn't require batteries. Many of them also include a flashlight and some even have a cell phone charger. Please don't forget any critical medications you may need. If possible, have the doctor prescribe dry, not liquid, forms. They last longer. Lehi

And, yet another: the average temperature on Venus and on Mars has risen proportionally (compared to Earth's) over the same time frame as the proposed anthropomorphic global warming. I can't find anything about whether or not their temperatures fell during the global cooling hysteria, but I'd guess they did. Global warming alarmists keep forgetting (purposefully or ignorantly) that the reason we have climate at all, and the reason there has been climate change cycles for millennia is the Sun. Further, I will start worrying about global warming when the alarmists tell us why we should worry. During past warm period, grape grew in Greenland. Mosquitoes live in the arctic today. Warmer weather increases rainfall. The list of conflicts with the alarmist perspective is long, longer, endless. People have managed to live through a long series of warm periods with cooler periods in between. Finally, those who worry about greenhouse gases focus on carbon dioxide (even getting the absurd position that CO2 is a pollutant), and forget that higher levels of carbon dioxide increases plant growth. That means that we will have more food, animals will have more food. And, by that fact, the levels of carbon dioxide will necessarily fall because all that carbon is sequestered in that new plant mass. Lehi

Here's what Webster said it meant in 1828: Lehi

You are responsible for your own happiness. One of our sons and his children wrote a list: The five rules of happiness: 1) Love 2) Laughter 3) Gratitude 4) Work 5) Forgiveness If you are unhappy, I strongly suggest gratitude. It is impossible to be grateful and unhappy. Lehi

One twisted version is that the "keep'n'bear arms" clause depends on the dependent clause "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state", such that only those who are members of the militia may keep'n'bear. A second twisted version is that the "keep'n'bear" clause has no concomitant responsibility to form and train as militia. Yes, we all have (even us who are not required or capable of joining one) the personal right to keep'n'bear. But, unless unqualified by age or physical capacity we also have the duty to be the militia. The part "necessary to the security of a free state" keeps getting ignored, and thus, the right-wing interpretation of the II is twisted. (Less twisted, I believe, than the left's perverted ignorant version.) Indeed, it is not merely a right, it is a duty. If one cannot protect himself, he is equally unable to protect his stewardship. Failure to protect (or at least attempt) his children, his wife, and his friends is a sin. Lehi

I love the Jacobean cant of the AV, and I am "used to it", but it is not my mother tongue. One reason (or way) I use it is that there are the italic words indicating that the original Greek or Hebrew did not have those words and the translators felt they needed to add words to make it make sense. There are myriad instances of those words potentially changing the meaning. In many translation, these added words are not identified, so it is difficult to recognize these editorial comments. Understanding the old language of the AV, regardless of how familiar one is with it, is still open to personal struggle. Modern language variants almost hand one the "one, true" way to understand the passage. I don't like other people telling em what I should know. Lehi

There's a big difference between "happiness" and "pleasure". In general, pleasure is about the flesh, and happiness is about the spirit. If one wants to be happy, he'll choose the right. If all he wants is pleasure, … . The Lord allows us, and encourages us, to have pleasure, but there are strict limits as to quantity and "quality". When we respect these limits, they may even lead to some happiness. But true happiness usually comes from losing oneself, from forgetting pleasure in favor of seeking happiness. Lehi

Not certain what happened: double post. Lehi