JohnsonJones

Depends on what you consider doctrine and what era (I know this is a vague answer, but unfortunately, many things change and so a straight answer is hard to give). Up until at least around the mid 1970s, the answer to your question would be yes. She did. This was somewhat inferred by Joseph Smith but later reinforced by Brigham Young. The teaching was that woman could exercise their husband's priesthood in the absence of their husband, as they were one in sealing under the order of the Lord and thus under the Patriarchal and Celestial orders of the Priesthood. We see examples of this in Church history (mostly with them doing healing, but occasionally in other matters), with the most famous being Joseph F. Smith witnessing his mother exercising this at times in his youth. Today, this is no longer taught. It is no longer mentioned. In that light, if we go by modern Church resources, it is a much harder question to answer. If we go off what we can normally read, it is generally inferred that these things are not performed by woman and thus any priesthood actions such as the blessing of the sick need to be done by the Elders of the Church or those who are of the male gender (and it should be noted that previously, it was normally okay for woman to utilize the priesthood, normally only in the absence of their husband, though they could also aid in a priesthood blessing if there was no other to assist in the home, for example). My guess is that in the modern day church, that the general feeling is that this is not done, and only the men who have had the priesthood granted to them are the ones to do any of these things. However, there is not a lot of guidance for or against a woman doing this, but the lack of instruction of teachings on it seem to infer to me that generally woman do not perform any priesthood functions for any reason in the Church. A recent talk by the Prophet has tossed some mystery on this though. In this, he inferred that the priesthood was not actually how it has been taught, thought, or instructed as in the past. There is no need for it to be passed on by the laying on of hands for many things, and thus EVERYONE has the priesthood who is a faithful member, including woman. However, he did not really elaborate what that means regarding what woman can do exactly with the priesthood that they supposedly have. It has been inferred later that woman have priesthood authority over their church positions, and if we see being a mother or wife as an official position in the church, that would infer that they have priesthood authority to do whatever they want in the Home...BUT (and this is a BIG BUT) that is really an unknown and has not really be specified. In addition, the latter inference from the talks are actually directly countering talks that were given regarding the priesthood and how it operates all the way up until at least 2012, which can be confusing to many. As per many of those talks, only men have the actual priesthood in the formal sense of church ordinances, blessings, keys, and powers. This means, it is unclear in our present day church what the priesthood allows woman to do or not to do in the current church doctrine except with the idea that woman in leadership positions (such as Relief society President) can have some authority under the priesthood and as such the power to utilize their own preisthood (as per Nelson and other speakers after his historic talk a few years ago). That said, when threatened by such as you describe, I think any Saint can call on the Name of the Lord to ask for help and to try to cast such a thing out from the home.

There are some scary things happening in Hong Kong and raises the thought to me that one thing seems apparent, That the agreements made by the Chinese when the British left and their promises were unenforceable and when they realized this, they have simply decided to go and break the promises and agreements that they made about Hong Kong. It should also serve as a Stark warning about how untrustworthy the Chinese currently are, but I doubt that any of our leaders will actually heed that warning.

Took one of the exits that you passed?

I believe that a human that dies and has their soul go to heaven can become an Angel. Those who are resurrected after can also be Angels. In fact, in our religion, we believe in those who were righteous and died becoming angels as a core idea. One of the angels we believe in is called the Angel Moroni. He was an individual who we believe lived over 1500 years ago. He later returned and talked to Joseph Smith and through him came key ideas regarding our gospel which we believe in today. Because of his work in giving us our gospel, we see him as the angel mentioned in revelations that is seen flying, and have thus put statues of him on many of our Temples (church buildings that have a significant importance to us). Angels do not necessarily need to be humans who have lived and died on this earth previously, but those who were righteous and good people who died and went to heaven are some of those who we feel are angels today.

I think we are losing our rising generations, but not because of bad lecturing, but because of self-education. I think the more studious and intelligent the young individual is, the bigger chance that they will leave religion behind. I've seen a LOT of this happening in real time, and especially moreso today with the essays students are writing. They see hypocrisy from those who act in religion. They say, by their fruits you can know them, and the fruits the students are seeing are the opposite of what they think the religions say the members should be. We take if for granted that these students NEED us to educate them (and they do, I'll get to that, but not in the way we think they do). Today, whenever they have questions, they go look it up. The internet is FULL of information, some of it good, much of it bad or incorrect. However, many are smart enough to understand the basic ideas of Christianity. One basic argument I've heard of in the past 3 months concerns how Christians are handling the pandemic in the US. Their idea is that a person who lived according to the concepts in the New Testament would do ALL they could to help other people. This includes not spreading a virus to others. Thus, in their minds they feel those who are not selfish would wear a mask and social distance, if for no other reason than to try to keep others safe. (and to be accurate, NOT ALL my students feel this way, but there are enough that I note that this is a rising trend among many of them, though we also have those that argue against masks and such as well). It is a minimal effort, in their minds, to simply just care enough about others to at least try to do something, no matter how small it ultimately is. The discussion then goes with them in how they see those that purportedly are Christian seem to the biggest groups of those refusing to do anything to even mitigate transmission of the virus. They use this as a prime example of why they do not think they can believe in Christianity today. The Christians do not even follow what they teach or say they believe. The students say the Christians do the exact opposite. Why should they follow (or continue to follow) a religion or teachings which the very adherents of do not? This then leads them down the rabbit hole of research on the internet into Christianity (or in our case, our Church) where many facts are tossed in with opinion. These students are not around to hear things about which they already can read or look up themselves, but they still need to be educated. They need to learn how to tell the good from the bad, the right stuff from the wrong stuff. At the university we can try to teach critical thinking, and when we have them list sources, we refuse to accept sources we consider unreliable. HOPEFULLY (and I think this actually is not working as well as some think it is at the university) they learn from this to tell reliable sources from unreliable sources. However, that's not something we can do in Church or with Church lessons. They are not being graded in the way school is graded, and they are not having a degree hung out over their head that they want to obtain and may not if they do not adhere to certain standards. However, they still need to learn what is right and what is wrong. The more inquisitive and intelligent students may have read a LOT about what you are teaching in your lesson already. They may not want to talk to you about it directly though. What they need to be taught is how to tell the good information from the bad information. The ONLY way I think this can be done is to try to help them learn how to identify the Holy Ghost and to understand how to use it to tell them truth from other information that attempts to lead them to the wrong path. I have been privileged to have a Young member in my classes this semester, however when she talked to me during office hours it was not about my class. She used it for a different reason that was somewhat different. She had institute classes, but had questions about what she read on the internet vs. what her teacher was telling her. She had this distinct impression that the teacher and thus the church was gaslighting her about Church history. She felt afraid to approach the teacher (so why she approached me, is also somewhat of a mystery but I think she felt that as I was more of a non-religious instructor of sorts, perhaps I would give a more even or unbiased view) with her questions, but did not feel intimidated to ask me. She knew that I am a member, and I won't go much into the discussions except that it dealt a LOT with changes that the church has made in how it is discussing Church history and the events in church history recently. These changes are being NOTED by these students and it seems causing many questions over what is correct and what is not. I don't know if I did any good. I tried to explain to her about how we have to use the Holy Ghost and how to recognize it, but that can be a hard thing to help others identify at times. Unfortunately, I think it is more important now, then ever before, that our young people learn how to identify and use the Holy Ghost. From this young individual's questions I think hard times may be coming for our young people where it will become very evident who is being led by the Holy Ghost and who is not. I fear that those who do not know how to be led by it may fall into dark paths in the near future if her line of questioning and reasoning is any indication. Thus, I think we need to educate our young people, but I think it is not necessarily through the lesson information itself, but helping them to be able to learn how to find the answers they personally seek themselves. The ONLY way I can see that happening is if we can find someway to help them learn to use the Holy Ghost as from what I can see occurring with the young people I interact with is that soon, in the future, the Holy Ghost may be like that lighthouse in the storm, where our only guidance on what the correct choice is, is by listening to the Holy Ghost.

I actually think Chinese/Japanese food is more similar, and Italian and French food also similar. I actually do not really care for REAL Chinese and Japanese food. They are VERY different than the stuff sold in as such in the US. I am not much of a fan of many of their foods. On the otherhand, the fake AMERICAN CHINESE and fake AMERICAN JAPANESE foods are very tasty, but they are anything but authentic. They do not really taste much like what I've had of the authentic Chinese or Japanese foods for the most part. I'm not sure Americans would really care for many of the authentic forms of those nations foods. Black beans, Mochi soup, Bamboo shoots, and other such things are not items I see much call for in the US. On the otherhand, though still not the same, American Italian and French foods adhere more closely to their European counterparts. I can find some of the more common ingredients to Italian and French foods in the US, and while seasonings tend to differ from place to place, they tend to at least have more similarities. Of the Korean food I've had, I actually liked the authentic Korean foods I ate, which have not been a ton of variety. The best stuff I ate was by a Korean research fellow we had for a while. He had a small burner in his office and had KimChi in jars (which, if you think about it could be rather scary, as it was a canning jar and he or his wife probably made it themselves) which he would bring with him. He would then open a jar at lunch time. He had it every day, and heated it up on his office over that burner on the floor. He would sit cross legged and if I showed up (you could smell the stuff throughout the entire building, I think I was the only one who ever joined him for lunch, I'm not sure many wanted to stay in the building during his cooking) he always invited me to stay. It was ALWAYS the Kimchi, but he would always mix in many different things with it so it was always different as well. He had all sorts of different items he would combine with it from vegetables to things I don't even know what they were. He was quite good at making it though, and his lunches were generally very enjoyable. I don't know what the names for it were though, or what it was called.

Not a physicist, and indeed, my grasp of physics is rather limited. I was actually under the impression that there were four basic forces of the universe, Gravity, Strong, Weak, and electromagnetic. I understand that in the late 20th century there was work that indicated or showed in theory that the Weak and Electromagnetic forces were actually operating under the same duresses of force, and thus were a unified force, but in that same light we'd also be pressed to then also assume the later work of the Unification of Forces argument. In this, if you say there are actually only 3 basic forces of the universe, you'd actually by a similar reasoning say that there are only TWO basic forces of the universe, as a Strong force also is inhibited in the same way as the electroweak. In fact, the electroweak idea was an outcome of the unification of Forces argument, where the Strong Force was actually in conjunction with the weak and electromagnetic forces. The difficulty being at the time (and probably still presently) whereas we could in theory show the unification of the electromagnectic and weak force to support the overall theory of the unification of forces argument, showing the same with the Strong force was beyond us at the time. The ultimate idea is that ALL the forces are one force, including gravity, but that takes it beyond even the combination of the three other forces (strong, weak, and electromagnetic). If we use that idea, there is indeed, the idea of anti-gravity forces that could be utilized and seen, but once again, beyond our current capacity to test or even find it. However, the idea of this has been present for many decades, and one could even say that it was one of the ideas that pushed forward the branches that eventually theorized and somewhat showed a unification of forces by the indications that the electromagnetic and weak forces perhaps were operating under the same workings and as such may be considered one force in theory that would be combined as the electroweak. At least from my rudimentary understanding of the ideas and theories behind it.

I am not actually disagreeing with you, but in the interest of semantics... Where does it say that the founders said the Bible was to be a guiding document? The Declaration of Independence was a document we could say was guiding at first, but after the Constitutional Convention and the Constitution was written, it was and is seen as the Supreme law of the land. No other document or item supposedly was seen as guiding us other than the Constitution in regards to law and regulation. In that light, many would say Plato's and Aristotle's writings were of greater influence as well as that of the mid 2nd Millenia AD philosophers in the understandings of the Constitution and the later amendments known as the Bill of Rights. Many would say the "Common" Culture we think we had in the past is actually originated in a false sense of history based upon TV shows of the 1950s and 60s, whereas the true culture of the US is far more complex and complicated. In that idea, what is the common culture that you are referring to? That of the Black Americans caught in Share Cropping? That of the Asian-Americans in their Korea/China/Japan Towns? That of the Amish and Mennonite villages that dot through the US? That of the undocumented Irish workers and later the undocumented Central and South American workers that are under the radar of the government regulators in the US throughout the late 19th to early 21st centuries? The Gangs of the Inner Cities? That of the White, Christian upper Middle Class and Upper Classes that composed less than 20% of Americans in the 20th Century? (this is what many refer to as the common culture of the US, though it actually was NOT the culture of the majority of Americans throughout History). What is this common culture you refer to?

I don't think it's the lone light house of conservative ideas, nor do I think it is viewed that way by most conservatives. I think it is viewed that way by FAR LEFT LIBERALS who are so far left they are looney. Unfortunately you see more and more of those types in society today. Because they are so far left, they only are aware of Fox News and constantly think it is giving views opposite of what they (the Looney so far left they might as well almost be on the right) think are correct. It is also viewed as a conservative/main news source I think by those on the right who believe the far left and align themselves with an uneducated assumption that by only listening to Fox News they are getting all the news possible. On the otherhand, you also have the FAR RIGHT crazies. They no longer really listen to Fox News either, feeling it is far too liberal these days. Instead they listen to OAN, the Blaze, and other such type sources. I have tuned into these channels once or twice and ironically, I'd say a few of their newscasters are FAR MORE responsible for the riots in the Capital on Jan. 6 than anything Trump did. To listen to some of the conspiracy theories they toss around and other items, they are just as bad as anything the far left says, if not worse. Unfortunately, it seems on the internet and other locations the Far Left and Far right are extremely loud in comparison to how much of the population they actually compose of, and are 100 times louder as a 1/1000th of the minority than anyone else. On the otherhand, I think that most Liberals are not as loud as the looney left and most Democrats are very similar to most Republicans as follows. Most of those who are not on the extremes get their news from a variety of sources rather than just to rely on one source. They may listen to Fox News, read the WSJ and the NYT, as well as watching MSNBC and CNN. Or they may get their news from Sky News, BBC, and the Guardian as well as Huffington post and Bloomberg TV. I (and maybe I'm too optimistic) feel most of those who pay attention to the news these days (and there are fewer and fewer who even care to find out about the news) go to a variety of sources and a variety of different views in order to try to find out more fully what the complete story is rather than just going to one source of information.

I had a dream recently that caused me to reflect on my life. Perhaps not of interest to others, but wanted to write as much of it as I could down so I could recall it later. I went camping this past Friday and of course at night went to sleep and that's when the dream occurred. I found myself in Salt Lake City Utah. There, the Lord had come for a visit but he was not dressed like you imagine. Instead he seemed almost like he was a homeless individual and in such an appearance went to person to person trying to talk to them. I was surprised, no one wanted to talk to the Lord. No one recognized him. People even seemed to shun him. I then saw that he was not alone, with him were others that were angels that were also going among those in Salt Lake City. Some gave them a few dollars, or perhaps some food, as they did with beggers, but no one listened to them or truly tried to help them. Then, I saw the Lord in a large plaza. It looked like there were fountains and a walkway which was surrounded by a mall of some sort. He walked through it towards a street where you could see the Salt Lake Temple across of it and in the distance I think there may have been the Conference Center on the far side. A crosswalk there went right across to the middle of the section, but he stood across the street near the plaza. No one listened to him, and instead, eventually, people that appeared to be in uniform took hold of him and took him away from where you could see the temple and told him he could not be there. I wondered how this could happen to the Lord. Why could they not see who he was. Why did no one listen to him or pay any heed to him. Why didn't anyone do more to help him? I then saw him among others who seemed to also be homeless. There were also sick and others who he healed. Those who had heard he could heal who seemed to be among the homeless tried to reach him. It was only those that many would consider despicable in our society, but they were the only ones that gave him any heed. However, if Salt Lake City was bad, it was worse other places. He showed me other locations where he visited on this earth. In some places people were so engrossed in violations of the sin of Chastity that it was almost like they were trying to convert people to their cause. In such places as the Lord did not join in he was cast out even more strongly. He was shunned far more in many places that you may think they would be more open to hearing people. There were those who said that the poor should be cared for but then, when he was found near their places of work or wealth, forcibly removed him and many threatened him with bodily harm. Many who claimed they wanted to have more equality or freedoms would see him and toss accusations on him. They would say that he was not as disadvantaged as they, even as they spat on him and mocked that he appeared to be homeless. Still, even there, you could find some who were the poorest of the poor, the wandering homeless of the street that would talk to him. It seemed odd that the rest of the world was oblivious to his and the angels presence, but he was known occasionally by those on the street. It was like an open secret where he could be found, but the only ones that really exerted any effort to actually find him were those who were homeless or destitute. I found myself there with him and able to talk to him, so I asked him what was happening and why this was. He told me this was how it always was and always has been. This is how it happened to him when he was here in his mortal ministry, and how it has happened before among others. He then showed me a short period of his time during his mortal ministry. I found myself among crowds of people, but these were not the rich or even those who had a comfortable life. I saw those who were stricken in poverty. I saw those with great disfigurements and disabilities. I saw those who were sick. Almost none of them were what I'd say were in any station above that of a beggar. They came to the Lord, but those who you think would listen, did not. Those who were encased in their religion, who people considered the leaders of the Jewish Faith, those who were busily engrossed in the Jewish practices and would be considered the moral leaders of the time were no where to be seen. I asked the Lord why this was and he whisked me to another time and place. Here he explained was Alma and his companion teaching people. They were located in what I would think would be a village. I was told it was a city of the Nephites. The homes were not what I imagined they would look like, being more having domelike roofs and wooden stake like walls (I could not tell exactly what they were made of or how). They were scattered about with dirt paths between them, and a much larger building that seemed a bit sturdier close by. Alma was not being listened to by anyone in the larger building and they seemed to scorn him, but there were a group of people that seemed dressed in rags and to be the lowest of society that came to listen to him. Here, I finally found out why people were listening (but not why they didn't). These people were destitute and considered outcasts by those who worshipped in the larger building, and as such were also the lowest in society. They had been forced to be humble, but it was more than just being poor, they were desperate to improve their situation in life. They were desperate for anything that offered hope. Thinking back on the other things I had seen, I recognized that all that had come to the Lord had likewise been deseperate. It seemed that the only people that came to the Lord were desperate individuals. They were desperate for hope, desperate for something better. Those who were not desperate rarely came near him. However, even the desperation did not cause enduring humility in all those who sought him or his servants out. Many who were very sick and without hope of ever being well would come to him for healing, but after he healed them they would go their way and forget about him. They would be grateful for a few minutes and then it was as if he never existed to them. Once again I was told that this could be seen during his mortal ministry. Even on the cross you had those who were desperate to be saved, with one on the one hand asking for hope while the other side despised him in their death. I asked why this happened. Why was it that it seemed almost everyone that sought him out were only those who were desperate, and even among them there were many that only came because they had no other hope, but as soon as it was restored they would leave. A few would remember him afterwards, but there were many who did not. Finally, he had more of an explanation. He said that it was the pride and selfishness of the world. Too often we are happy with what we have, and we do not want more. We will do whatever we can to keep what we have. Instead of caring for others, we will even go as far as to hurt another in order to keep what we have. This is not the way of the Lord. The ONLY way we can be like him is if we do all we can to not do any harm, and do all we can to help others. If we met a beggar on the street and we did all we could to ensure that they had a place to live, food to eat, the comforts of life, and then help to overcome any illnesses or ailments (which include addictions and other things) we would be doing as he would do. In his life he used all he had to help others. He did not hold back (much to the bitterness of some who claimed to follow him). His entire life was focused on helping others more than himself. On a scale of importance, he would put himself at the bottom of the scale and everyone else far higher. If he had choices of who to feed, who to house, it would always go to others rather than himself. This is a concept that is foreign to men today as well as in the past. When he said love they neighbor as thyself he was serious. This is the way of the Lord. Most people do not want to live this way. If everyone put their neighbor's care equal or above themselves, no one would go hungry and all would have shelter and the necessities of life. It may not make anyone rich, but it would make a society which would prosper because the focus of everyone's life would not be their own comfort, but that of others. No one wants to hear how far they have to go to live this type of lifestyle. Only those who are truly desperate will even give someone trying to promote such a lifestyle an ear to hear the ideas of this. It is only the very rare individual that would listen to such a message (much less do this message) without being forced into the desperation to try anything to make their life better. This is when a great secret was shown me, which amazed me. In the eyes of heaven, those who were desperate in this life, those with the least among us, at times were considered the greatest in heaven. I had thought at times that those with wealth and comfort in this life were those who were the chosen in the pre-existence, that they were blessed with such because of valiance or some such before. It was not necessarily so, many who we consider the least of us in this life are the greatest in heaven, and many who are the great among us today in this world, are the least in heaven. Because of their humility and desires to follow the Lord, they are far more blessed than the richest and most powerful individual on this earth. In fact, the best way to the Lord is to be that desperate. We cannot just comfortably seek him out, but must be absolutely desperate for his ability to save us and his gospel. If we are that desperate to follow him and seek him out we will find him. However, even after that we cannot simply go back to a comfortable life. We HAVE to try to help those who are around us. We cannot ever want to harm another for our own gain. We NEVER seek our own gain above others. It is only by truly loving our neighbors, by ensuring their safety and hope above our own. At this point I suppose I was somewhat hard-hearted. How could we ever do this? The Lord then said it didn't take us helping everyone, sometimes it was just one person. He then expressed the story of Ruth in a way I hadn't thought of before. I won't tell it all here, as it is too extensive, but I will tell the theme. The Story of Ruth isn't so impressive because she is of the lineage that led to David, but because of her great love for her mother-in-law. She sacrificed everything she had and all she could gain in her own family to help her mother-in-law survive. It was her singular focus to help Naomi that made Ruth so great. In a very similar way mothers are redeemed through their children. By having a dedicated focus on ensuring the well-being of their children, they can be like Ruth or others. In the same fashion with our families, if we can put our families and their welfare above our own, we can be more Christlike. If wives and husbands would put their spouse above their own desires and needs, homes would be more stable, families would prosper more, and our society would become more in line with what the Lord desires. It doesn't take us to go around to everyone necessarily, though ideally we could, but our focus can also be on the few or one in our devotion to make their lives better, even at the expense of our own. But above all, we must want to help others and never do harm. It is a message the world never wants to hear and thus never heeds. He then left, back to his wandering as a beggar among the people of the world. As people ignored him, or even mocked him, I realized that they saw him as just another homeless beggar. AS they did this to what they thought were the least of us, they literally WERE doing it to him, personally. He was there, right there before them and they were doing it to him in person. It was a very strange thing to feel. It isn't every homeless, in fact probably not most, but one never knows, it could be the very person is the Lord himself or one of his angels, and as we do help or harm to them, we are doing it to him. And that was the end of the dream. Yes, I know it was a dream, and not really based on anything in the scriptures or our doctrine, but as dreams sometimes do to us, this one sort of impacted me when I had it recently. I think we sometimes have dreams that make us think. This one does that for me, at least recently. It makes me realize that I probably am very far from being as good a person as I should be. I have far too much selfishness and pride in my life. I need to love more and help others more. Even my own children have not always been at the forefront of my desires to help constantly. I don't always seek the best thing for my spouse. Even in the more limited fashion of putting others before ourselves, I have not been exemplary with putting my family members above my own needs, desires, or welfare. I could always ask how can I help them more, how can I serve them, but I don't take every opportunity. I think perhaps, even if it was a dream it is telling me that I need to be more selfless, if nothing more, with my own family members.

Well, perhaps other nations were not administering the vaccine to those who were on their deathbeds, or were extremely old with critical underlying conditions. Norway has noted that those who died had some conditions which were killing the individuals already making it a question of whether it was the vaccine, or that they died of the other conditions that were already killing them. However, out of an abundance of caution...they have now issued the following in the past day. More on it where they still advise that the vaccine be taken. The link is deaths after corona vaccination norway issues a blatant warning

At least one member of Congress has filed a letter to the Attorney General asking for an investigation as well from what I'm hearing this morning.

From everything I've seen on the Robinhood actions yesterday, it appears that all sides of Congress are calling for an investigation into it. Both AOC AND Ted Cruz (though, AOC refused to cooperate in a bipartisan way, which really is foolish, reaching across the aisle to work with your opposites in cooperation brings more happiness and unity and gets far more done where everyone can agree upon compromise or other items together) spoke in very concerned notes about the events.

I have had many TV's, from the days of small Black and White Televisions, to the present with LCD screens, but I have to admit that thus far I've been blessed that none of them had those problems...yet. That Black and White TV lasted two decades! That's when the US made quality stuff (as opposed to everything being made in China today). My wife on the otherhand relates a story where she burned down the house when she was young because of a faulty TV. I suppose that could be a case of a malfunctioning TV.

Then, that's probably your answer right there. If there are no churches in heaven, by default, no one in heaven would be part of any church but would be joint-heirs with the Lord instead (as per Romans 8:17)

Gamestop is the primary one, (and boy do I wish I had invested in it during March of 2020...a little over $4 then, and yesterday selling for up to $370), but AMC and a few others have also increased in value in the past 3 days. Gamestop was particularly malicious as some of the actions by a hedge fund from what I understand were designed to make Gamestop go out of business, and thus with the falling stock prices be able to short them very effectively and make a massive profit. Instead, the move is to hold up the Gamestop stock prices until the shorts come due (on Friday?) which then will put that hedge fund (and perhaps another one which is propping it up) to face bankruptcy themselves instead. It was the maliciousness of the act of the hedge fund that drove the individualsto unite so strongly against it. However, we have seen some very blatant and obvious stock manipulation by some of the other actors and companies (some also say CNBC is in on the manipulation) in order to try to bring GME back down to earth, and perhaps save the hedge fund from owing such massive debts that they themselves face the same bankruptcy that they were trying to force on Gamestop.

Your TV exploded!? That seems rather dramatic. How did that happen?

Oh wow...that's different. When I was in (it WAS MANY MANY MANY years ago) we didn't get a choice about shots. We were given them whether we wanted them or not (well, technically I suppose someone could refuse, that would be a one way choice to prison though). It may turn out that this is a choice as long as the amount of vaccine is limited. Most people in the military probably are healthier in general and at a lower risk (or so I imagine) than some of the other groups out there. It would make more sense to allow the vaccine to be administered among high risk groups first. You ask some good questions, most of which I do not have the answers for. I don't think they absolutely know how long the immunity will last from it, or whether it will provide protection for ALL of the various strains that may come out. The advise I've seen is that it doesn't stop Covid-19 from infecting you, but prevents it from triggering the immune response and inflammation that will cause harm or kill you, thus you can still spread it to others. That means at least for right now, social distancing would still be a thing to adhere to. These are valid concerns, and if you have the freedom to make the choice currently, good on you for utilizing the freedom granted to you. I don't know if anyone has the full answers to the questions you pose yet. I do want to get vaccinated, but am slightly more picky of the vaccine I'd like to get vaccinated with, and hope that we could get a choice of which one. If I get vaccinated I WANT the moderna vaccine as they think that will give immunity to all the versions out currently, and will last at least for a year (some have hypothesized up to 10 years of immunity from it). Johnson and Johnson's version which is coming out I fear will give less immunity and may require more frequent boosters...something I could definitely do without. I don't understand why it is that someone at my age is not getting the vaccine (I would like it) but they are already vaccinating those who are in their twenties and thirties and such for being in the second wave of vaccinations. Some have said I have to make an appointment but someone forget to tell a lot of us just how we are supposed to do that. I know several of my co-workers (other professors and such) are telling me that they are now able to get vaccinated, but none of them have told me where these vaccinations are being offered to them at. I haven't seen anyone on campus advertising it being given out on campus yet, so I imagine it's not via the university that it is being offered to them, but somewhere else.

Yes, I googled Vaccine deaths and how many Vaccines had been administered. It gave me the same 32/33 you quote, but I also noted that there had been at least one case more noted in the news just yesterday, and another that I had not heard mentioned much bringing it up to at least 35, IF we counted them all as deaths. The number of vaccines administered is easily looked up in Google, and as we were using international numbers for deaths, I figured we should use international numbers for the number of vaccines adminstered as well (today it is listed as 82.5 million shots given, though the US has a mere 10.6 million vaccinated (which differs alarmingly from another number google has which says 25.6 million doses administered). For a non-google link you can look here (one of the first results off of Google). Bloomberg covid Vaccine tracker

I guess that's an interesting question. Do you think we will have churches in the afterlife?

While there may be a risk of death from COVID, we should have correct numbers. There have currently been around 71.3 million shots given thus far. 35 deaths out of 71.3 million is actually something like .000000043 of a percent (I maybe off 10th or 100th of a percentage there, math has never been my strong point). Basically it's about 1/2 out of a million, or a one in 2 million chance (and that is attributing ALL of the deaths to the vaccine instead of other things). There have been 339,000 cases of Covid registered in Utah as of my typing of this according to Google. There have been 1614 deaths (and that is considered to be undercounted by around 35-60% in Utah at least...). Now, there have probably been more cases of COVID in Utah than that, but as we do not know as they are not verified...taking into account those numbers we do have...is around a .0048 (rounded up to the nearest 10,000th). Even being bad at math I can see there have been more deaths in Utah from COVID-19 with fewer cases, than deaths from the number of shots of the vaccine comparatively (32 compared to 1614). Though I admit there are concerns, I'm not certain I agree with your numbers. I am not a mathematician by any means, but I don't think the numbers are currently saying there is a greater risk to your life. Your own statement is that you have 3.2 Million people in Utah. That would be more like 1.4 - 1.6 deaths from the Vaccine (if we say the deaths are directly attributable to the Vaccine) from what I see the numbers standing right now (and to be safe, we can even round that up to 2 deaths, for the benefit of the doubt as now on suffers from a .4 death). That SEEMS to be a LOT LESS than 1614. At least from a quick glance on my part at the numbers.

I think it is fair to consider that vaccination does cause injury and death. It is normally overblown, but I think that it is not something that can be written off. Unfortunately, too many take it too far in their avoidance of vaccinations and become anti-vaxxers in general, which has led to MANY MORE deaths due to this, with the unfortunate casualties generally being children dying from childhood illnesses that we thought were wiped out decades ago (and would be still if not for the anti-vaxxers). Still, to say that there are no deaths from a vaccination problem is similar to saying that the deaths from COVID-19 in the US are understated. Both do not look at the full picture. From all estimates, deaths from Covid-19 in the US have been undercounted by up to 50% (meaning we could have almost double the number of dead from Covid-19 in the US. Hospitals and very conservative trumpist can try to disguise the causes of death or how many are infected, individuals may die at home in apartments without being counted at first, but they normally cannot hide the number of deaths. Just like the actuaries of insurance companies have pretty involved formulas for figuring out the true numbers of deaths from a cause (which is done with flu deaths each year) they will do the same for COVID-19. The results thus far do not look promising, it appears that there are MANY uncounted deaths. Probably not 50% (that's more of the worst case), but could be hovering around 25% of Covid-19 deaths being under-reported. In that same light, from the opposite side of the spectrum, the complications from the vaccine are not being discussed all that much from what I see. Much of this is to encourage people to be vaccinated rather than discourage them. If the complications were discussed more, it would only serve to reinforce some of the negative attitudes some people have developed. I have heard and read that there ARE complications and that means that there are probably deaths. Here's the kicker though, and this applies to many of the vaccines that are out there. Covid-19 has anywhere from a 1% - 7% (depending on the situations and circumstances, when hospitals are overwhelmed it seems to be much higher in the 5%-6% range, but when everything is going well and the numbers are few it may even be below 1% mortality) of deaths. The Vaccine from everything I see shows that it has under a .1% mortality rate. Some say it's even less at a .01% mortality rate. That does not mean there is no risk, but even at it's worse, I have 1/10 percent chance of dying from it in the worst case comparatively to Covid-19, and 1/7000 chance comparatively in the best cases. I think I'll take the vaccine with those odds.

For Larger cartridges you can always get into the ammunition making hobby, or at least refill. You take your cartridges and reuse them by packing them with your own bullet and gunpowder. I have a friend who swears by it. I've gone to their place on occasion where they have their gear in their front yard (it almost looks like an ice tray, they melt down lead and then put it into a tray sort of contraption to form their bullets). I'd imagine that they probably pay a lot less for their ammunition...plus have the added benefit that they do not have to rely on the supply chain to determine how available it is. If you are willing to drive to New England, than this type of hobby sounds like something that could be beneficial for you to learn! They've offered to give me some ammunition at times, but thus far I haven't taken them up on it. They seem to enjoy it though and are pretty fanatical about it.

It seems odd so many would go to the Gun Store due to certain events. If one needs a gun, then it shouldn't be dependent on certain events occurring for you to need it, you would want to utilize it for what it is necessary for. If you think you may need it in the future, rather than buying it as a reaction, be proactive and buy it prior to that. You'll find you have far less crowds to deal with. If this is about Ammunition instead, I sure hope that store has a bargain on ammunition, otherwise, it would have been WISER to buy ammunition BEFORE everyone rushed out and made the ammo crunch even worse than it already was. At this point, it probably is easier and better to buy it online than at a store if you have to deal with crowds like the above. I don't think I've ever seen the store this crowded during Quail Season, or at least for Quail season. However, if you expect it to be crowded because Quail season has popped up (every place is different I suppose), then it probably is best to buy your guns and ammo BEFORE the season ever begins. You'll know what you have, know what you are expecting to use, are prepped to go before the season begins and can plan other essential items (where you are are going, where you'll have the dogs if you use them, etc) rather than fighting the crowds hoping that the store isn't sold out of the Ammo you need or the Gun you want.

Snarky Responses.... Maybe or Maybe not given to me by children or relatives at various times of their life... Tell your Mother that your Bishop already has one wife that tries to tell him what to do...he isn't currently looking for another one. Tell your Mother that you are currently attending a Catholic Church, perhaps she would want to talk to the Father in Charge rather then the Bishop first?? Ask for her Bishop's and Stake President's number as there is a member in their stake that you think should have their membership restricted for abusing their power over you... Ask her if you can now drop her off a 100 foot cliff and see if she can fly as obviously she puts myth over that of science... Tell her that no, you will not clean your room, in fact insist on it and that then include that you should also be given a bag of candy and cookies...and when she is mystified at the change of conversation tell her you were acting in the manner she was treating you... Tell her that you've gone off the deep end, if she thinks that's all she has to worry about she's mistaken. You've also taken up a Heroin habit and are also now a hitman for the mafia as well. Don't make you angry or she might be the next one on your list... Not that any of my kids ever did this to me , or were ever snarky ...sarcastic...or tried to make me realize that they were now adults and could think on their own...