JohnsonJones

So, basically a 20 mile range? It looks like a Big Drone. Surely someone could make a drone which had a longer flight time?

Biopics on Members of the Church in various things (For example, it's been a while but perhaps on the life of Dale Murphy, or on Mitt Romney). Have a Saint who's also a Superhero?? A story where a Saint is a good person who helps others and is respected, perhaps.

Earlier this week I finished up my read through and restarted the Book of Mormon again. I have had a busy year thus far since the beginning of classes and realized my scripture study has not been as extensive as it has been in the past. I've tried to read at least 5-6 pages of the Book of Mormon each day, but I realized I had not spent as much time reading the other scriptures. I've done the bare minimum with the Doctrine and Covenants, basically going over the Gospel study topics each week and their relevant portions, but not much more with the Doctrine and Covenants. I've done less overall with the Bible. We had a recent discussion of scripture study in Sunday School and it seems that many of us at times also suffer from these slumps in studying. I was pondering on this during my Book of Mormon studying on Wednesday on the whys we keep reading and studying. I've realized it before, but it struck me even more so as I read through Nephi. If nothing else, as I read the Book of Mormon I feel the Spirit. Even if nothing else during the day has lifted me up with the Holy Spirit manifesting itself to me, when I read the Book of Mormon I feel the spirit there. By reading and studying, if nothing else, it helps us remember the gospel and it's importance if we are focused enough to feel the Holy Spirit manifesting the truth of it to us as we do so. I think that reading the Book of Mormon while open to the Spirit helps us keep our testimonies in a world that would tear them down. If nothing else I can identify that feeling of the Holy Ghost directly. It is something that stands out even when other things seem to try to tear down your testimony. It is that extra something that is different when you read the Book of Mormon than from any other book...with the exception perhaps of some of our other standard works. It helps us realize once again, and every day, that the Book of Mormon is true, it tells us and reveals to us truth, and through that we can know that the gospel itself is true and from the Lord. I need to get more set and invested in doing better and more scripture study though, as I should also remember to study the other standard works alongside the Book of Mormon.

Very briefly... Basically, it found that those who are LGBT and are part of the Faith have lower suicide rates than their counterparts.

Not a Physicist. In short (as the long description would be lengthy, even for my posts) My understanding is that ALL matter was in the singularity BEFORE it was a Singularity, BUT as there were no laws of physics as we understand it, it both existed and did not exist at the same time. Both comments could thus be the same. It was, at the same time, both infinitely large and infinitely small, because the measurements we have in our universe did not apply and did not exist. In the same fashion, time, and other ideas of physics we have did NOT exist, thus it would be infinitely all at the same time. In this infinitely small and infinitely large thing you had a balance of matter and anti-matter, both existing at the same time in a balance. For some reason we do not understand, that balance was disrupted, and each cancelled each other out...EXCEPT there was, for some reason we do not understand, a minute amount more matter than anti-matter resulting in our universe's creation and the matter universe we existing in coming into existence. Now, there ARE theories on how this occurred, but the one that I think could pertain to the gospel is the idea that this is actually one eternal round. It is something that occurs over and over again. The universe expands, and then contracts until it becomes a singularity and collapses in on itself destroying space, time, and all other ideas and rules of our universe...then in that moment explodes into existence once more. Thus, it is one continual round of contraction and expansion, the former giving birth to the next, but as time does not exist in that instant, it is also the next giving birth to the former as well. We have heard at times that eternity is one eternal round. There is no time, only eternity. In the same manner we hear that things in eternity are unchanging. You either have always been such in eternity, or not been such. This makes sense than that certain changes MUST occur in mortality, or a temporal existence where change is possible. With eternity being an eternal round, it is very possible that events previously give birth to events after, and events after are the birth of events previously. I suppose it could be confusing to a degree, but I think it actually could make sense, and though it is unproven on both ends (gospel and science), one eternal round of things actually DOES explain where things actually come from. The hard part is that our mind isn't designed to comprehend eternity or infinity, and that includes the idea of something being an eternal round of the former giving birth to the latter while at the same time is is also the latter giving birth to the former.

The Catholics would say a Rose by any other name is STILL a ROSE. Whether they call it it excommunication or membership withdrawal...still same thing. Though, they have funny things too...prime idea is indulgences. Still a thing, though how they are administered and seen has changed...still the same idea as before even if the way they are seen or applied have changed. There's more in common with Catholicism than some would think.

On the First...never really enjoyed flying SouthWestern...which is why I choose an airline that I get a seat assignment. I don't like jostling and rushing for a prime seat. On the Second, that could predict trouble for the Thanksgiving weekend. If TSA would pay higher than my current salary (doubtful) and pay high enough to tempt me (let's say $50-$75 an hour) to put up with the hassle they have their employees do...I'd even go and be a part of it. They wouldn't have trouble recruiting...but normally money is a factor when these things happen. Pay low enough that people think they can get an equivalent job when you require something (doesn't have to be vaccines, it could be that you now have to have their email, or do things a certain way) then there will be those that either ignore the new policy or seek a new job leaving you in a lurch. Pay high enough and they will come around. Of course, secretly I hope that they most of the Screeners for TSA and we can go back to being able to go to the gate to greet people and see them off without having to go through a long line at security/metal detectors/body detectors. BUT...those days are probably long past.

It may be things we do not understand. I have heard stories that babies still have memories of the pre-existence, but as they do not know how to speak to us yet, cannot tell us. If they do remember, having the ability to tell us may tell us things unprecedented by anything else in the gospel. Of course, this is conjecture rather than anything else, but I am under the idea that it was also babies speaking wisdom beyond what one may normally expect...whether that was with very young children under the age of one, or older, I think it is to show that the Spirit was so prevalent among them at that time that even their children and young children were affected strongly in a very spiritual way.

I can only speak on my own part. It's one way to have food storage, one can never know what the future holds...and having meat may be something that is nice to have. I put meat in the freezer because it's good to have a supply there, even if I don't need it so there's always something there...unless of course, we have a 2 day black out....in which case it is wasted money (normally does not happen). I also put deer meat in the freezer and make jerky out of it.

Good Job. Never preserved meat in that way...I always turned it into jerky if I didn't put it in the freezer, so no idea or commentary on how you did it. But it sounds like you successfully got it into food storage with your method.

My current point of view... Plenty of food seems to be made/grown in the U.S. right now. Plenty available. In fact, in some places there is an overabundance. The big sticking point right now seems to be shipping, especially those who are trying to ship food overseas or out of the nation. They have too much food to ship off elsewhere because shipping is so backed up. If they can't preserve it and can't ship it, it stands a chance of rotting on the docks (or warehouses). There ARE backups and vast delays on many things coming from overseas right now as well. What items is the company using that takes from being shipped overseas if they are a U.S. based food company? Or are they getting their preservation materials and machinery from China rather than US based companies? Many of the delays and backups can be traced back to how eagerly we sent our industrialization over to China and now that there are delays with China and shipping from overseas, it's coming back to hurt us.

Some thoughts. It is not inviting one to repentance which is bad or hard, but HOW you invite them that can be relevant. A Bishop (or Stake President) has no choice at times but to call someone to repentance, but it is not necessarily one where you try to be a hypocrite and call them out. It can be done in love. A better way to understand would be a Father (or Mother) who has a child who is doing things that they should not be. Now some Parents may take to screaming and whipping and all manner of things. I'm not (or hope I was not) like that. In those cases, you take your child apart and talk to them. You help them understand what they have been doing or did that was not right. You help them understand why it may be bad for them or for others and hopefully they will then understand WHY they should change. If you are lucky you can then have them discuss with you what should be the next step (many times it is punishment, but other times there are other steps instead). There were times when they did not understand or agree that they should do something (for example, a teenage daughter who did not feel 10:30 PM was a good curfew, and staying out later than that was their right). At which point, perhaps rules will need to be reiterated (the rule of the house was that anyone under 18 not accompanied by a parent had to be home and in by 10:30 without special permission). Perhaps they still do not agree (they understand the PARENTS want them home by 10:30 PM, but do not feel it should apply to the daughter). So then we institute stronger measures and hope that we can continue the conversation until they understand at a later time (they should get to bed early enough to get enough sleep during school days and nights, and even when it is not a school night, keeping their sleep schedule in order will help them sleep better during the school week rather than trying to readjust after the weekend, though the other reasoning is that we don't want her to get in trouble with peers which occurs more often the later it gets...though is not the ONLY time one can get in trouble with boys, friends, etc). So, stronger measures are taken. We talk to them and explain we do not see eye to eye on the matter, but as a parent, we are going to enforce the rules (be in by 10:30 AM). To do this we are going to restrict driving privileges to going to and from school, and not let them go out after 8PM or on dates until they understand they have a curfew and will agree to follow it. The daughter disagrees and storms out because at that point, they still do not understand or agree. This is...of course...not ideal. It takes a while for them to agree (grudgingly) to follow the rules. MANY YEARS LATER...They finally understand the parents point of view. They are grateful to the parents for the care the parents had...even if at the time it happened it was not easy. Of course, it doesn't ALWAYS happen as I described above (sometimes kids NEVER agree) but I think it can illustrate how one can try to correct others they love. Most of the time you do not have the Power or Authority a parent has over their child, but you can express the same type of love to others who are engaged in troublesome activities and such. Sometimes it is easier to do (and less confrontational as at the beginning of my example of a disagreement between me and a daughter) and other times one is confrontational (as the end of the example of a disagreement between me and a daughter).

When it relates to sociality, I think it means that we will still associate as we do here, in that we have families and friends and converse and work together. HOWEVER...the things that are created by pride, prejudice, arrogance, and all things that do not belong in heaven will not be there. We will love all, seek to help all, and trend to work for the help of others. I imagine (from what I've seen in some of the wards) that compared to some places within the sociality of the Church, the Celestial Kingdom will run almost the exact opposite of it. There will be no one elevated above others, or a "popular" crowd vs. the meek...etc. It will be more toward the IDEAL of what a Ward should be and run rather than how it actually occurs in our modern era where the more popular and rich get the prestige (and prestigious callings at times...in some areas I've been it's has been almost like nepotism and popularity run the church rather than humility, love, and righteousness. I'm POSITIVE heaven is NOT going to be like that). It won't be those who are rich and powerful that rule the world here today that will be there ruling heaven...no MATTER WHAT earthly accolades they receive from men whether in the Church or out... It will be based upon the relationship between them and the Lord, and those who truly have a good relationship will be those who SERVE others and SEEK TO PUT OTHERS FIRST rather than seek glory themselves. In a heaven where everyone seeks others above their own gratifications will truly be a great place to be...and though we still will have friendships and families, it will be within that higher sphere of love and treating others than what we see most of the time here on this Mortal Earth... In my opinion...of course.

Well, I hope you bought Facebook stock yesterday... People always panic when there is an outage I suppose.

One can be all powerful, but choose not to USE that power. There is a difference between being all-powerful and all-knowing. Just because you know something and have the power to make it occur or prevent it from occurring does not mean that you have to do either. You can grant someone the power to choose without interfering, even if you are all powerful. People wonder WHY an all-powerful and all-knowing being would do this...which is really what many of the questions come down to. If he is all-powerful, why does he allow men to do such terrible things to each other? If he is all-powerful, why does he allow bad things to occur? If he is all-knowing, he would already know the outcome of everything, so why even let it happen. We are not all-knowing or all-powerful, but we have similar things with our own lives. If you have ever had a 3 year old and a 25 piece puzzle, you probably could easily put it together yourself. You could put it together for the 3 year old. Some parents did and do. Some choose not to. The 3 year old can demonstrate if they have an interest in puzzles if they start trying to do it themselves. You can see if they truly are interested if they keep at it. If they succeed, they can have the pride to show off to their parent and the pride in their own success. Even if a parent aids them, they may still have pride that they were able to do it. Even though you KNEW how to put it together (most likely) very quickly, and could have done it for them, you allow them to do it. It helps them to know their interests (they may have no interests in puzzles, if you do it for them, what does it do to really help them?) and they will lose interest in it, or they may find they love puzzles. If they like puzzles, they can have the pride that comes with finishing them. It is a simple answer. We have these things for our benefit and to discover ourselves. It is not for the benefit of one who already knows and could do it themselves, but for us. The next question is why do bad things happen then. We wouldn't let a child purposefully hurt themselves (unless we have some sadistic streak within us)? We may let the child be saddened. Perhaps they cannot figure out the puzzle and we won't help them figure it out. They may be upset and angry. We know it most likely won't cause any lasting harm. Eventually they will either go back and figure it out, or realize that at this point in life, perhaps puzzles are not things they REALLY are interested in. They are hurt for a little while. For an all-knowing being that is eternal, this life is temporary. It is like a blink of an eye compared to endless eternity. In comparison, we feel less pain in this life in the timespan comparative to each other, than a child would have at not being able to figure out a puzzle. It's all in the perspective. Perhaps if we look at it from the perspective that this life is all, that this is all the time there is, it may not seem logical, but when we see from an eternal perspective (even if it is a mere 10 BILLION years, that means someone who lives 100 years will have live will have lived 1 one hundred millionth of the time of the existence. That would be around a minute of pain if they experienced pain their entire life (actually, not absolutely sure on the Math, that's why I'm a historian and not a mathematician, but it's not a terribly long period of time). Compared to your life, one minute of pain is extremely short compared to the rest of it. NOW...as members of the Church of Latter-day Saints there is another additional factor that we see tossed into it. This life is also a TEST to see if we are worthy to have the greatest power there is, the power to have the same ability as our Deity, to inherit all he has. This is something you don't just want to trust to anyone. At the same time, you want those who do not receive it to understand WHY they don't get it, and ultimately be responsible for their OWN choice in the matter. Instead of simply telling the child..."because I said so"... it instead becomes the idea of..."because you choose so." Sure, he could FORCE us to do as he wants, but then we become nothing more than automatons with no free will and no free thought...which is better for our Deity to enjoy...mindless automatons, or things that he can take pleasure in as he sees us take pleasure?