SilentOne

That $20 to $100 jump is a lot. If I'm planning to also get paper and ink, I think I'd better go for a Jinhao.

And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand. And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth. - 3 Nephi 1:15-17 As the prophesied birth of Jesus drew near, there were those among the ancient Nephite and Lamanite peoples who believed, though most doubted. In due course, the sign of His birth arrived—a day and a night and a day without darkness—and all knew. Even so today, some believe in the literal Resurrection of Christ, and many doubt or disbelieve. But some know. In due course, all will see and all will know; indeed, “every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him.” - D. Todd Christofferson, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given. - 3 Nephi 1:13-14 I felt that I saw in my mind and felt in my heart the fulfillment of Samuel’s prophecy that the sun would set without darkness. I saw it at His birth, as if I were somewhere among the people in these lands of promise. And I saw it as it will be when He comes to stand, in resurrected glory, on the Mount of Olives. The darkness is dispelled when the promised Messiah comes with healing in His wings. Knowing how much I need that healing, my heart nearly bursts with joy and love for Him at the thought of that light. - Henry B. Eyring, Always

Asking around is unlikely to do any harm and has the possibility of helping, so that would be nice. I tried to question my dad about his preferences for pens, and got that he has liked thicker and thinner pens and balance matters more to him than barrel width, and that he likes the look of wood. I don't know if I'll be able to get any more information without being too obvious about what I'm doing.

Are there any wooden fountain pens?

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. - Matthew 1:24-25 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. - Luke 2:4-5 Just think how much Heavenly Father trusted Joseph. He trusted Joseph to raise His Beloved Son with loving care. He trusted Joseph to protect both Jesus and Mary. Joseph earned that trust because of his humility, his patience, his obedience, and his willingness to comply with the Lord’s will. He exhibited all of these attributes because he was first a man of complete integrity. - Richard J. Maynes, The Christmas Story Is a Family Story

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. - Matthew 1:22-23 When He was born, He was called Jesus because He would save His people from their sins. But He also was Immanuel (Isa. 7:14), meaning “God with us.” How appropriate that name, for He was God, and indeed He came into the world to be with us. “God with us”! This He was in fact. He was deity before he was born into mortality, and He was His divine self while on the earth. He did not change His identity. He forever remains the Son of God, our Redeemer and our Savior. - Mark E. Petersen, Creator and Savior

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. - Matthew 1:21 Mary and Joseph did not need to be taught the deep significance of the name Jesus. The Hebrew root from which it was derived, Jehoshua, means “Jehovah is salvation.” So the mission of Jehovah, soon to be named Jesus, was salvation, and His supreme destiny was to become the Savior of the world. - Russell M. Nelson, Christ the Savior is Born

Is that the one where a very smart and strong guy lives in a society where handicaps are placed on anyone who is above average in any way, like noises to distract those with above-average intelligence?

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. - Luke 1:46-55 Mary had recently received the blessed visitation of the angel who revealed her special role in the “good news and glad tidings” our Father in Heaven had planned for us. She was to be the mother of Jesus Christ, our Savior! The scriptures record only a small portion of the dialogue between Mary and her heavenly visitor. But Mary’s expressions of joy to her cousin Elisabeth tell us that the blessed plan of salvation was unfolded and she understood the role she would play. Her loving response was, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Savior." At that moment Mary committed her life to bringing our Savior into mortality, and we as Latter-day Saints know that he had already committed his life unto death for us. When we . . . fully understand this, then the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes not a religion of habit but one of commitment. This commitment can then release us from the bondage of fear and confusion and hesitation in which we sometimes find ourselves in these difficult times. We can only be as strong as we must be when we are truly committed. - Naomi M. Shumway, Teaching Our Little Women

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. - Luke 1:41-44 [T]he story of the Savior’s birth represents only a part of why we feel the Spirit during the Christmas season. Christmas is not only a celebration of how Jesus came into the world but also of knowing who He is—our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—and of why He came. - Craig C. Christensen, The Fulness of the Story of Christmas

For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. - Luke 1:37-38 Mary humbly responded that she would do what God asked, without demanding to know specifics and undoubtedly in spite of having countless questions about the implications for her life. She committed herself without exactly understanding why He was asking that of her or how things would work out. She accepted God’s word unconditionally and in advance, with little knowledge of what lay ahead... When we decide to do “whatsoever [God] saith unto” us, we earnestly commit to align our everyday behavior with God’s will. Such simple acts of faith as studying the scriptures daily, fasting regularly, and praying with real intent deepen our well of spiritual capacity to meet the demands of mortality. Over time, simple habits of belief lead to miraculous results. They transform our faith from a seedling into a dynamic power for good in our lives. Then, when challenges come our way, our rootedness in Christ provides steadfastness for our souls. God shores up our weaknesses, increases our joys, and causes “all things [to] work together for [our] good.” - L. Whitney Clayton, Whatever He Saith unto You, Do It

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God; only to them who believe on his name. He was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the same word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, as we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:12-14 JST Let me suggest that holding fast to the word of God entails (1) remembering, honoring, and strengthening the personal connection we have with the Savior and His Father through the covenants and ordinances of the restored gospel and (2) prayerfully, earnestly, and consistently using the holy scriptures and the teachings of living prophets and apostles as sure sources of revealed truth. As we are bound and “hold fast” to the Lord and are transformed by living His doctrine, I promise that individually and collectively we will be blessed to “stand in holy places, and shall not be moved.” - David A. Bednar, But We Heeded Them Not

@zil2 I seem to be rocking a little too hard there and might fall over soon.

@JohnsonJones @laronius Thank you for your input. I have started a thread for my devotionish posts. If other people want to post other music in there, or if they create or resurrect another thread for less spiritual music, I'll probably go along with whatever. Unfortunately, I haven't thought of a way to integrate the Light the World stuff with my song-scripture-quote format, but that service generator is fun.

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus as the prophets have written, who is called Christ. - Matthew 1:16 JST The mortal birth and life and death of the Son of God was essential to our Heavenly Father’s plan “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Before the earth was created, Jesus Christ was chosen to experience mortal life and be the Savior necessary to carry out that plan. Father Adam was commanded to offer sacrifices as “a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore [he was taught], thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.” - Dallin H. Oaks, Prophetic Announcements of Christ's Birth

2 - The thread would be centered around the devotional thoughts 3 - I would post a devotional post, then might come back and add The 12 Days of Christmas or Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Baby, It's Cold Outside 4 - There would be one thread focused on the devotional posts and one for any music, spiritual or very much not so

Speaking of getting ready for holidays... I think most of the posters on here are aware that I've been creating threads for the lead-up to Christmas for years now. It started as just places for anybody to post whatever holiday songs they wanted, but the last couple years I've been including scriptures and quotes. And I'm not sure what to do for this year. 1. Go back to just posting whatever holiday music 2. Do a spiritual, scripture-and-music-and-inspirational-thought thread 3. Combine the two, so the more thought out and spiritual posts are in the midst of whatever other stuff I and everybody else feels like posting 4. Do a general music thread and an inspirational thread 5. Something else

For Spanish, what about the one about the dad who asks his son what he's drinking? "Soy milk." "Hola, milk. I'm Dad."

I think so

Zilpah? And I believe you missed Joanna.

I actually tend to despair more at Jacob 5 than the Isaiah chapters. It's soooo looooooong.

I thought both Elder Oaks's and President Nelson's talks fit well into the whole of what I've been taught about the kingdoms of glory: everybody is eventually going to end up where they will be happiest. Where we will be happiest is determined by what we become while on this earth. And the people who are capable of being happiest in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom are the ones who are capable of the highest degree of happiness overall.

With Vancouver, British Colombia and Vancouver, Washington, will this make the first set of temples in different cities with the same name?

The Good Guessing Recognition Post And with a 100% accurate, 4/4 list: