JohnsonJones

Pneumonia deaths are a prime indicator of other illnesses. With the nasal test (not necessarily the blood tests) it is actually a combination where they can also see if it is COVID or actually a flu or cold that someone is suffering from. There is a direct correlation between Pneumonia and COVID, flu, and colds. Thus, even if someone is hiding or masking (over reporting or under reporting) deaths normally are hard to hide. What they are seeing currently is that COVID deaths are most likely being under reported. Flu caused pneumonia is way down (as I said, they can actually see WHAT caused the pneumonia from nasal tests, and there are direct correlations between pneumonia deaths and these types of illnesses)...but Pneumonia deaths are extremely high this year. For some reason, they either are not testing or do not want to report what caused the Pneumonia, though in many cases Pneumonia is not a singular symptom and is caused by something else (so COVID or flu don't actually kill the individual, the pneumonia does, but the Pneumonia is caused by the flu or other disease). With the number of Pneumonia deaths being so high, indications are that something out there is causing a great number of Pneumonia deaths. Correlation numbers are checked and seen by scientists and data between flu, colds, and now COVID. This actually indicates that the number of cases of COVID are actually being far under reported than over reported. It could be that hospitals are over reporting COVID, but indications from the number and causes of deaths reported are that they are, in fact, under reporting the cases (especially in states with a HIGH anti-science and greater denial factor going on, though it is also occurring in states which tend to focus on science. I believe Utah tends to be a state which puts science above fantasy...but there are other states out there that are trying to do other things). This is how they've seen approximately how many deaths occurred during other epidemics in the past...normally after the fact. They can see how many actually died from Pneumonia and the correlation between it and other diseases, and from that can extrapolate the actual numbers. Science is a pretty awesome thing. Unfortunately, there is a MASSIVELY HUGE amount of anti-science individuals and movements in the United States these days (why, I don't know, but for some reason the US has this massive segment of it's population which hates or wants to deny science). This means it doesn't matter HOW MUCH scientific evidence there may be regarding something, they'll still deny it...

The pre-existence is one of the things that made so much sense to me when I thought about how justice could be available to all who live and lived and will live on Earth. Prior to me learning about the gospel, this was one thing that bothered me. With our existence simply being this mortal existence, how could anything be just with the different conditions were were in, especially if it was reliant upon us being baptized here on this earth (as per my understanding of my youth, rather than after I converted to the Church). Learning about the pre-existence answers so many questions.

This week starting on Jacob, and I imagine I'll go through all the short books up until Mosiah. 1. It sounds as if they had problems very shortly after Nephi's death, which indicates it does not take time for a people to fall into iniquity. It does not sound as evil as we are today, but it indicates what their sins are. They are trying to marry multiple wives without the commandments of the Lord to do so. They are wanting to practice polygamy with wives and concubines, but without the approval of the Lord which brings much sorrow to their families. In addition they are seeking after riches, and it seems are elevating themselves above each other based upon how rich or poor one is. Unless they met some larger group of people I think the group is still relatively small at this point (compared to how large the Nephite and Lamanite civilization later become) so I wonder how widespread this was. I wonder if it was just a few bad apples among the group, or if it was more than a couple dozen or if it were more than that. It is interesting that, if the group was still relatively small, how quickly such things came up and how they were trying to go about it. 2. Jacob is teaching from the temple, meaning they had a temple at that time. This also indicates that they probably had the Higher Priesthood and were able to do certain temple ordinances performed by the High Priests (such as those in Jerusalem). As Levites were the ones who held the priesthood, questions arise to what manner they received this authority. Was it via the Lord in vision to Lehi, who subsequently passed it down to his sons, or was it some other manner? 3. Jacob in chapter 2 is condemning the search for riches. That the primary use of one's life being the pursuit of such is a terrible way to spend one's life. Instead one should seek after the Kingdom of God and then, the only reason to really seek riches is to do goo to clothe the naked and feed the hungry, liberate the captive and administer relief to the sick and afflicted (Jacob 2:19). 4. A worse sin is being exercised, and that is breaking the law of chastity and the vows of marriage. We see these sins among us today as well. It is interesting such things could arise among the Nephites in such a short time, but then I am reminded that just within my lifetime promiscuity has risen massively. When I was a kid, breaking the law of chastity was frowned upon and morality was seen as the right way to do things in life. By the Late 60s there was a downward spiral occurring where promiscuity was on the rise on an exponential scale. Today, the entire family unit is threatened by such careless thoughts in regards to chastity and morality. That said, if people will just repent and turn to following the Lord, the atonement can redeem society. We are more wicked today in Western society than any other time in memory, and only through repentance can I see the Western society turning back to morality and chastity. I think it will finally occur when the Lord comes again, but I'm not sure if I'll see it in my lifetime.

This is an interesting take on what the future could hold. The Home has always been the key to the Gospel and the Church. It is almost always in the home where the basic foundations of the gospel are laid. Those who rely on Primary and Sunday School to teach their children faithfulness (in my opinion) have a greater chance of their children falling away from the gospel and the church in the long run than those who teach and practice it in great amounts in their homes (edit: This of course, in addition to attending church meetings, if that was not clear by implicaton). There have been many various church programs to try to impress this upon people. Though I do not see it as stressed upon today, Family Home evening is one such program. Too many families were not teaching the gospel within their walls, and too many were simply leaning upon the church to teach and train their children for them. Today, once again, there is a push for the members of the Church to focus more on a family centered gospel where it is studied and taught in the home. Much of the shortened church and the new gospel teaching programs were based upon this push. In this way, I'm not so sure Covid-19 is such a wakeup call for the general authorities who were already pushing to have this, as much as it is for the some of the membership of the church. Even though Come Follow Me was instituted, I think many were not utilizing it in their homes (and I think there are still many who are not). Instead, they simply took the extra hour and spent it on other things on Sundays rather than study with their families. This epidemic upon the world and the consequences of it should have been helpful in reinforcing the importance of scripture study and taking that extra time in our homes to do this study. I say should, because I'm not sure of how much members actually have taken it to heart. On whether the future would have even more home centered worship rather than time spent in our chapels together...perhaps in the future but there are things that worshiping together fulfills which I'm not sure how they would be achieved otherwise. 1. By worshipping together, people see how the church should be run. They can see the examples of others and understand more fully what positions (for example, a Bishop, or a Counselor, or even just other members) do and how they should act. I'm not sure how you would replicate this from a purely home based church. 2. We have been told to worship together. Now, this can be fulfilled whereever two or three saints are gathered together, but the implications are that when there are more, and more are available, that we are to do so together. This lets us build upon the strengths of our neighbors who share our beliefs. I think this is needed for many, especially when their faith is flagging or trouble haunts their spirits and they need the spiritual strength of others to rely on. 3. When we are in front of others or seen by others were are more likely to be on good behavior than to let our bad behaviors or attitudes come out. By meeting together we are reminded, at least some, to try to be better than we are. There are several other things that we obtain by meeting together on a regular basis. It may be that we worship solely from our homes in the future (and it has occurred in the past in some areas of the world, and perhaps today, where meeting together as a group is impossible or not feasible), but there are certain aspects that I think would need to be addressed on how they could be fulfilled before that occurs...at least in my frame of thinking currently.

The very end of 2 Nephi has some very pertinent things to us of which I'll note briefly. 1. Nephi talks about the apostasy and how it affects us. We see it today with all the various different beliefs that cover the earth. The Book of Mormon accurately predicts the reaction of many to it, where people will say they already have the Bible and nothing can be further revealed and all there is to be known is to be found within it's covers. I've heard people discuss this with various reasons all my life (you cannot add or take away as per Revelations...even though if that is so, any version of the Bible is condemning them who read it already for not using ALL of the books, plus the misunderstanding that this phrase is for the revelation of Revelations, not the Bible, or the Law of Moses when taken from the Old Testament...etc). He discusses the coming of the Book of Mormon and the conversion of many, as well as those who do not believe. It should be noted that we can see many of these things occur throughout Church history...but this translation was written BEFORE it occurred. The Book of Mormon predicted people's reactions to it before it ever occurred. Another evidence I would have of the Book of Mormon. 2. It is interesting that after going over the apostasy and the coming forth of the gospel and the truth, Nephi talks about the atonement and the Holy Ghost. It is as if he is trying to explain how people in the midst of this darkness can find the truth and find the gospel.

Short bit as it is later than normal, but I've been occupied throughout the week. A Lot of Isaiah has been discussed in 2 Nephi. It is perhaps some of the greatest prophecies of Isaiah that we can read. It covers the atonement and great sacrifice of our Lord and Savior. This is one of the shining prophecies Isaiah made, and Nephi also finds the glory of it as he not only records it but also how they are plain and that it will be easy for many to understand them in the last days. I know that at least much of what Nephi writes, is easier for us to understand as we look back on the Savior's life and see how it fulfilled all the prophecies that had been made about it. Nephi mentions that it could be hard for some to understand it during his time, and I wonder in reflection if we do not face the same thing with the prophecies of the second coming for our time.

It was not always like this, but a change occurred...I think in the late 90s, from what I understand. ALL the men that a woman married in this life, once all parties are deceased, are sealed to her and all the women they have been married to are sealed to them. It has led to some very strange ideas from members that I've discussed this with. I'm not going into these things here (though at least one idea expressed in this thread by another touches upon this subject, or one of the unique ideas that some members have arrived upon because this practice occurs today) as they do not spiritually uplift me (actually kind of depress me to think about them much, which is probably where some concerns of mine come from at moments). The idea that has been said to me about this, concerning this change, is a complete 180 degrees from what it used to be. It used to be thought that a woman who was sealed to her husband (after all parties are deceased) would only be sealed to one husband. Normally this was the husband she was either sealed to at the time of death, or if no sealing, the first husband if there were no records otherwise, or if preference was given (for example, a divorce rather then being widowed), sometimes who she was married to upon death. If there were problems and discrepancies, it would be cleared up in the millennium. The thought was that there were less mistakes when done this way and order was kept in the records. Originally, it was common that women would outlive their husbands and remarry. It was understood that these remarriages would not be ever for eternity, but temporal...thus no one had a problem with them or with their wives remarrying after their death (if they only knew what was coming later on...in our day). Today, divorce is common...perhaps more common than widows remarrying. Perhaps this is the cause for the changes in perspective. Instead of simply leaving them married to the first husband, or whoever they were sealed to upon the death of all the involved parties, all members of all marriages are sealed together after death. The idea now is that the ordinance is done and if there are mistakes...the Lord will only approve of the ones that will be valid and the entire mess, if there is any, will be cleared up in the millennium.

My thoughts on the question... IN THEORY, Federal law trumps state law (Trumps...haha...get it...okay...not that funny). Once again, in theory, if a state refuses to enforce Federal Law or ignores it, the Federal Government can enforce it upon that state. Normally, this doesn't happen by force or power these days, instead it is more of withholding money or other incentives to force the state governments to comply. However, Federal Government power is limited by the Constitution, and those powers not granted by the Constitution (though these have increased due to judicial activism) are given to the states. Again, in THEORY a state could have more restrictive gun laws then Federal requirements, but not less. Sanctuary cities/counties for 2A rights would probably be handled similarly to Sanctuary Cities in regards to immigration, or so I imagine. County enforcement of State laws on the otherhand would probably vary from state to state depending on how states determine their Gun laws and enforcement thereof. I hadn't heard of counties refusing to enforce Federal Regulations yet, but I have heard of some deliberating about ignoring STATE laws that are restrictive.

Would that be the Libertarian and the Green Parties?? Well, I think I've heard the BLM organization is run by blatant, outright, and proudly proclaimed communists...so at least one party probably would be the Communist Party of America I imagine.

In 2 Nephi Jacob talks a LOT about our time and the second coming. I'd just like to highlight two verses I underlined on this read through. First...2 Nephi 6:12-15 We can see these things happening already in our time and our day. Much alarm is given about global warming and the events ensuing from them, or so they suppose with increased storms, droughts, hurricanes, and much more. Just this past week we've discussed in the news tempests and hurricanes as well as the ongoing pestilence of plague and disease. Here are lists of many things we see today regarding our Western Morality and those who participate in what the world considers good. They do not heed the counsels of our Lord or the scriptures and instead tell us things that the world puts forth. Carnality and whoredoms abound (they say only 5% of those in the US are still clean when they get married...if that), we put sports figures and actors as our heroes (and pay them millions to do so), we see the desire to earn money and riches as more important than lives, and the economy as more important than health, we see the desire to retain our riches and money and worldly stuff as more important than trying to help the poor or ensure they have places to live, a safe place to go or food to eat...and much, much more. What the world seems to value today seems to be the exact opposite of what the Lord would have us do. However, I find the last verse hopeful, for it has the thought that if we can be spiritually minded, it is life eternal.

2nd Nephi... 1. Chapter 2 is perhaps one of the hardest doctrines that I had accepting. My view has been one where heaven has no evil, where wickedness does not exist. If we believe that in heaven the Lord cannot tolerate even the smallest sin, how is it that evil and wickedness could exist? However, the Prophet Lehi points out that there must be sin, or that wickedness must exist, for without opposition in all things, there can be no sin, and without sin there can be no righteousness and without righteousness there cannot be any happiness. This is something that I am still struggling to understand. I have never felt inclined to smoke, and as such have not had to suffer from the ravages of tobacco. I have not had to struggle with that addiction, never suffered from the cancers caused by it, and can say I am happier from not having participated in it. Does this mean that I have not had any opposition in regards to tobacco use? I feel that it is not necessarily that we participate in sin or wickedness which makes us happy, but it is the choice between good and evil, or two different oppositions which enables us to be happy? It is the choice between the two or the free agency that enables our freedom and happiness? IN verse 27 Lehi says men are free to choose liberty and eternal life, or to choose captivity which would make us miserable. So, perhaps it is not that wickedness must exist in our lives, per se, but that we have the choice exist between them? That in heaven, wickedness and sin might be possible, but because of freedom and our choice to be happy, we will always choose NOT to do such. We know in heaven it is possible to go against the wishes of the Lord. We had a third of our heavenly siblings rebel against the Lord and be tossed out. Obviously they must have been able to make that choice, which implies choices still exist, but we will choose righteousness rather than wickedness if we choose to be with the Lord in heaven? 2. Lehi passes away and promptly Laman and Lemuel seem to start falling away from his wishes. I wonder if this also implies a lack of honoring their parents. Because of this, great strife comes upon the people. It seems contentions, and even wars start. I wonder how big those wars were though, considering that there would not be that many from Lehi's family yet. Even one death would be a pretty big impact upon a group of that size, or at least among those who have been mentioned thus far (Lehi and Ishamael's families and their children). 3. Nephi builds a temple and refuses to be a King. He also consecrates his younger brothers (Jacob and Joseph) to be Priests and teachers. Reminds me that today we also have Priests and teachers in the Church.

I've heard the rumors and accusations, but I think they are baseless still the same. In addition, they are not worth bringing up at this time in general. Despite those, I think the fact that we have no DNA evidence of any children ever shown to have occurred is pretty strong evidence in and of itself. There are so many that would leap at the chance to tear the church down over that if it could be found, I think there have been many who have eagerly looked for it ever since DNA evidence became something one could utilize.

That's a big question, and one that has many different answers depending on who you talk to. One thing I try to keep in mind is that a Christian is one who believes in and follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is he who said... John 14:6 If nothing else, to learn the teachings of our Savior and to follow his example and commandments in being his loyal disciples is part of the path that leads to salvation.

One of the interesting things is in theory, Christiandom...IF THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVE in the Bible, have a belief in a plurality of deity rather than just one. In many portions of the Bible (and this is also, probably how the confusion over the Savior also literally being the Father, even though he is also a distinct individual of his own, ala the trinity, because in portions his name is used interchangeably with this) the wording used is the PLURAL form, rather than singular when discussing deity. There are various explanations for this. Many translations these days, rather than using a correct plural form, simply change it to using a singular form in the English language. In fact, a majority of the popular translations (including the KJV used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) do this. However, when looking at it, the way it's been translated has integrated different words to mean the same thing (thus a plurality of deity vs. the singular form vs. the one we call the Savior prior to him coming to the world...as well as who he talks to...etc...etc..etc). In essence, because we've conglomerated several terms into one term, most English translations are incorrect and conveying what many of the verses actually say. This makes understanding some of the things in the Bible hard for many English speakers to understand. Understanding who or what the Bible is discussing in regards to deity can be harder for those who look at the various words and spellings and make sense of it (and thus we get everything from scholars talking about the origins of the Judaic religions being founded upon Babylonian mythos and a deity of a pantheon of deities being their chief diety..etc). Thus, there is a LOT of speculation among scholars. I find this also applies to those who study such things in our religion, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With that overly long explanation, thus, is my speculation. The idea that our Heavenly Father was once a man, who trembled and worked out his salvation as we find in the King Follett Sermon is absolutely correct. We may not understand everything or all there is about it, but it shows the divine purpose and design of man. As our Father is, we can also become. When discussing plurality I think there was a Heavenly Council of which all of those who were related to our Father discussed the plan of salvation and how they could become more like our Father. At that council we discussed not just the atonement, but the creation of the worlds and the things there in, and it is this same council that, under the direction of God, created all there is in the order of Heaven, as it was planned. Thus, God created all there is, but we also helped as we did as he directed (much like other denominations would understand angels to do as God directs and also have power to do things). He is God and supreme, but we are his children and have great nobility and strength within us. We can be more like him if we choose, or fall from that nobility by choosing darkness instead of the light.

Hey now...I'm old, but not quite 85 yet. That's still a few years off. 😀

There are parts of Abraham that are difficult to explain as well. In this chapter there is a GREAT DEAL of symbolism and symbology. In my opinion, perhaps too much to really explain offhand. Symbolically, this would also be talking about the organization of heaven and men, much like the rest of the chapter also gets into.

I don't get here as often to do a daily summary of thoughts. This week I am on 2 Nephi, but I'll do one last visit to a thought about 1 Nephi. 1. The Isaiah Chapters are popping up at the end of 1 Nephi. I have been thinking why Nephi put it down on the records. The records he had were smaller than the large plates, and these chapters take up some room (and far more later on), so he must have thought (as he expresses) that they were incredibly important. They could be seen as doing a double prophesy of the Savior's Mortal Ministry and our time, but Nephi seems to focus more on the OUR time in his records. Previously he had mentioned that he was making these plates, but I'm not sure he recognized the purpose behind them. It could be that at some point he recieved a prophetic revelation (he did get to see a similar vision, if not the same vision, as John the revelator so perhaps he learned of the Book of Mormon and the events of Joseph's Translation, the loss of the 160 pages, and why the small plates were necessary). If he knew this, then perhaps he put this in the small plates as they were more for the spiritual aspects of his record keeping and he felt alerting us to things in our time were important. It could be his way of trying to give us a heads up of things that were going to occur in our modern era, but which he couldn't go into specifically as John had the rights to cover it instead. Because of this, he knew Isaiah's writing well enough that he utilized that because it had already been stated by someone else, thus, feasibly could be free game. 2. Some people question why these verses are so similar in writing to the KJV and use it to ask whether Joseph Smith was actually translating. I ascribe to the theory that the KJV was the form which Joseph Smith was most familiar with. Because he was more familiar with it, the Lord had it's wording and language in these parts of the Book of Mormon so Joseph could more easily translate. I find Isaiah being quoted in the Book of Mormon as one of the strongest PHYSICAL evidences that Joseph Smith actually did a translation. The reason is because if he had been carrying the Bible and reading off of it in front of the scribes he used, I think they would have noticed very easily that he was reading rather than translating. It would be more than just noticing he was reading it to them by physically seeing him do so, but also that when one reads vs. when one is speaking in other ways, the cadence and way they speak is normally different. Many can tell when one is reading rather than talking in another manner. In addition, as I think he was not reading as that would have been easily discerned, the ONLY way for him to have given these chapters would have been by memorization. With the amount of Isaiah we are given in the Books of Nephi, he would have needed to have been a scripture scholar greater than any I've met these days. It is possible he had this much of Isaiah memorized, but extremely unlikely, especially as exact and word for word as he gives it throughout Nephi. Unless one thinks he was some memorization savant in his early 20s and a Biblical scholar to boot (and there have been those who have been, so it is possible, but they also normally had more focus to do so, more time, and more education), I think it is an actual physical evidence that shows that this is a translation rather than something he made up. If he made it all up AND was such a scriptural savant, we'd see a LOT more quoting (perhaps 1/2 or 3/4 or more) as this would be FAR easier than trying to make up a whole bunch of scriptural or other type of writing. The amount of Isaiah tossed in is just large enough to show that it is exact, but small enough that you cannot really say one is trying to quote a book to make it easier to write than not. Thus, for me, it stands as a physical evidence in regards to the idea that Joseph actually was doing a translation. ON the otherhand, it seems Nephi, though I understand he felt the writing was important, with the amount of the book that is Isaiah, could have been taking the easy route of quoting rather than writing...in addition to the divine purposes he was directed by in putting it on his records.

Interesting tweets on twitter. I cannot comment on all the departments in BYU at this time (and especially about the English departments) as I'm not as familiar with who is in them, but I've always felt the History school professors were rather faithful and loyal (From my experiences with them) and the Law School is top notch (Utah also has a good reputation, saying this before Utah fans jump up in fury). I think BYU balances between the fine line of trying to have a top rate academic program while also having a faith promoting school. As I said, I cannot comment on English or their department (as I'm not an English professor and never majored in English), but with some areas of education it can be a tough line to follow in some instances. Secular history is not necessarily always faith promoting or even kind to the Church's side of the coin, however, to remain relevant in some historical circles, a certain stance on some ideas sometimes has to be taken from a secular viewpoint. It can be difficult (and from what I've seen, and my impressions, the BYU professors who I am familiar with seem to do a tremendously good job with this). It may be that more nefarious things are afoot among those professors (And there are many of them, in fact, probably a majority of those who work at BYU if not most) that I am not familiar with.

I got a little behind with doing work and such, not sure whether I should go where I currently read today, or go back and cover some thoughts I had earlier. Probably, and from here on out, if things happen, perhaps a little of both. 1. Nephi asks for and receives the vision that his father had and has it explained, at least in part to him. The first part is rather glorious in that it reveals the Savior and his ministry to Nephi. He sees many things in the vision including the wickedness of the world and the followers of the Lord. 2. Of interest it is stated there are only two churches, in chapter 14:7-10 he relates to our own church, which is the Lord's Church, or the great and abominable church. This part I think is directly relatable to our time, in that he shows that the numbers were few (v 12). Nephi saw many more things, but which he can't reveal, but he directs us to the Book of Revelations found in the New Testament where we can read in more detail of these things. 3. Nephi is told to build a boat in chapter 17, but his brothers do not want to help him. I think sometimes in life we also have these types of struggles where we are told to do something by the Lord (For example, Church callings) but feel, or actually are, inadequate for that task. AT times like these it can be hard to keep going. Nephi struggles to continue, but with his brothers as obstacles and having little help from them, it can be discouraging. We see the Lord help him though, and through that help and following the Lord's inspiration, he obtains his brothers' cooperation and help in building the ship. 4. We see how continually Nephi is reliant upon the Lord and how Lehi's family is reliant upon the Lord. They rely on the Lord to lead them through the Wilderness, to show them how to build a boat, and finally, to actually guide them and direct the ship to the Promised Land. When Nephi's brothers and the Sons of Ishmael decide to party and bind up Nephi, misfortune follows rapidly. We soon see how reliant they were upon the Lord as the Lord withdraws and they are faced with the fury of nature and the natural consequences that ensue. Only by pleading to the Lord for his aid and intervention once more are they able to not just be saved out of their predicament, but also obtain the promised land. I have been in circumstances of my own making many times where I get put in a situation due to my own foolishness which makes a great deal of trouble for me. I can remember at those times pleading to the Lord for help and asking for his aid...many times when I did not know how I would survive or get out of it myself. In his great mercy the Lord has come to my rescue on multiple events throughout my life, saving me from my own mistakes. He also has at times made things turn out even better than I thought they would, not due to anything I did, but the marvelous blessings he granted me. On that I am thankful, not just for the Lord's atonement, but for the great many blessings he has given me and the tremendous protection he has granted to me many times. I know that most of what I've been able to do in life is because of him and without him, my failures would be more absolute and more abundant. ONLY because of him have I had any success, and because of his blessings I have (at least thus far) been able to live and survive. It is through him that I have hopes for salvation, and through him and the atonement that I have for exaltation in the life to come where I am with my family and those I love for eternity.

Spousal sealings and parent to children sealings are different things. Sealings of adoptions (which were common previously in the church) normally fall under the parameters of the Parent-Children sealings. There are also marriages that are for eternity rather than for time. Joseph Smith is supposed to have had many of these, where woman married to men in this life were for time only, but in the afterlife were sealed to Joseph Smith. The reason this is possible, or supposed to be possible is the claim that whatever is sealed here on earth is sealed in heaven. Thus the authority to seal people together is effective here on earth and HEAVEN UNLESS (and this is a BIG one) it is either against the wishes of the Lord, OR it is abused in a progressively lax manner. A prime example of this being lost is seen among the Early Church and the apostasy. The apostles (and thus what we assume were the keys) were killed. We know that the apostles assigned others to their positions, or elected others, though we do not know who they were. IF we take the Catholic's claims of authority as authentic, we also know they lost that authority. One reason is the marriage or multiple marriages at times of multiple spouses...in a way where multiple men may be married to the same woman, or vice versa. We KNOW that a woman cannot be sealed to more than one man...so why perform such a thing? (for early church procedures, this was probably due to politics, where a woman's husband died and she was a rich widow...thus the political and monetary effects of connecting her to someone else was beneficial, especially if done on heaven and earth..though for two men get problematic). In our dispensation the early church this was mostly avoided. They normally, or at least originally ensured a woman was ONLY sealed to one man. There were exception to this. If she married again and the next man's priesthood authority was higher than her previous husband's, and she chose to be married to the one with the higher authority, then no divorce was needed (temple) and she was sealed to the second husband. Otherwise, a temple divorce would be needed as what is bound in heaven can only be unbound or undone by one who has the same authority to declare it such. Most of the time, whoever the woman was married to first, was the husband she was sealed to in the temple. This kept things orderly. The question arose, however, about if a woman had been divorced and remarried or was unhappily married. Thus, recently (in my lifetime) they have started to seal a woman who is dead to all the husbands that she was ever married to with the reasoning that they can clear it up in the hereafter, OR the idea (and this is where it gets questionable in my mind, as it seems abusing the power rather than following exactly the intent of the matter) that as if something is done against the wishes of the Lord it will not be approved, so why even bother trying to keep things in order as only the approved one counts anyways. This has a deleterious effect in marriages in the church (in my opinion). Men are reluctant to marry a divorced woman. After all, even if she gets a temple divorce currently, she WILL be sealed to her ex-husband in the afterlife which makes it more questionable on who is actually sealed to her. If one has a question of if they are sealed or not, or a guarantee of being sealed...guess which one many men will chose instead? I suppose it is good for those woman who have always been single as their odds of marriage go up the older they get, while in previous times this was not necessarily so...however...for those who get divorced at times it makes them feel like pariah's among the the dating circles of the church. I have had the unfortunate circumstance to find myself having these types of discussions with many a worthy lady whose only thing in life that made her less wanted by members of the opposite gender was that she was previously married and now divorced...and the hardships they felt this brought them in feeling equal to their peers in the church. Many of them were VERY accomplished and wonderful people, but the stigma that was held over them saddened me greatly. This is also the reason that me and my wife (hopefully, if I go first she does this, as I do not want to be superseded) have an agreement that she will never remarry if I die. We do not want such confusions and horrific things to affect our thoughts of the future or doubt about the eternities. The LORD never meant for confusion to be sown in his house, and in the hereafter, you will not have multiple men sealed to one woman who is in turn one of many wives sealed to one man. It is not a network of woman sealed in eternal marriages to multiple partners. It is not a place of chaos, but I can understand how some who see what the church currently is doing with sealings can be confused about the differences between partners being sealed together vs. that of children to parents. The bonds between husband and wife that extend from this life into the next and it is a singular marriage between them. It is true that a man may be part of several marriages to different women, but a woman is ONLY sealed or party to one marriage to one husband. It is a sealing bond between the two that unites them in a parental relationship to have children with each other in this life and eternally. Children on the otherhand are sealed to their parents and through that their lineage tracing back to Abraham, and from there back to Adam. Through this they have the blessings of covenants made to Adam, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, and the Children of Israel. Brigham Young inferred that unless we have these sealing bonds, we are in danger of losing those blessings which are essential for are salvation and exaltation.

He also saw in that vision, if I recall correctly, several people that were still alive. It was an interesting vision to say the least. In my opinion... It is a commandment for all men (meaning humanity collectively with each individual who is a part of that human race) to be baptized. This means that in order to follow the commandments of the Lord, we all need to be baptized. This can occur in this life through physical baptism, or in the next life if by accepting vicarious baptism for the dead in it's place. In this way, those who are living can be saviors on mount zion by acting in the place of others who cannot do their own ordinances. We can serve in the temple as proxies or in place of others, taking their place to do the work that needs to be done. With that said, it is a commandment from the Lord, and as such, we need to obey...BUT...the final decisions and judgement are his to make. He is the ONLY one who decides what is or what is not ultimately needed to attain what reward. If he decides that it is not needed for someone, we have no position to argue or disagree. It is his atonement which makes our salvation possible, and his commandments are there to guide us in the direction which we need to heed. We have things we must do to follow him, but he has the ultimate decisions on who gets salvation and exaltation. He is bound when we keep the things that he has told us to do, as he is an honest and honorable being. He has told us that if we do as he has commanded, we will be rewarded, thus obeying him is actually very beneficial to us as it covenants things between us and him, guaranteeing us certain blessings if we fulfill our part of the covenant. Those who do not have this protection or covenant are much more taking chances with their eternal fate.

Receiving blessings from the Lord. The Holy Ghost can comfort us and any who have received it. Those who have this gift are all favored (in my opinion) and the comforting influence of the Holy Ghost can keep us calm in times when others are panicking or afraid. It can help us weather the storms of life and help us have an easier time with the troubles of life. The Holy Ghost can also teach us the truths of the Gospel. While others wonder about our purposes in life, our purposes in regards to heaven, or why things happen in this life as they do, we can learn for ourselves directly from the Holy Ghost about the plan of salvation and our purposes here.

1. One thing that is mentioned in chapter 6 is that the genealogy of Lehi and Nephi was given in the large plates of Lehi. I wonder if this was written by Mormon when he did his abridgement as I think this would have been important to the people of Nephi as well as evidence of where they came from and their lineage. 2. Chapter 7 they return to Jerusalem to pick up Ishmael and his family. This is one where I wonder if they had just the right amount of daughters and sons that were unmarried for the sons and daughters of Lehi. Of course, it could be that there were some that were already married, but with the daughters it appears that there were 5 daughters (which matched the number of boys/men mentioned beyond Lehi at that time, that being Laban, Lemuel, Sam, Nephi and Zoram). This could mean Lehi also had two daughters at this time. Seeing the demeanor of the Sons of Ishmael, I wonder what those daughters attitudes were towards leaving Jerusalem. Two of the daughters of Ishmael seem to be mentioned in their attitudes in being a good match for Laban and Lemuel, I wonder if in the Lord's wisdom he had chosen a family which had attitudes which closely mirrored those found in Lehi's family. 3. Chapter 8 is Lehi's dream, but I found some items in Chapter 10 rather interesting. First, Lehi mentions that the Jews would slay their own Messiah...something which I think the Jews may not have believed themselves when during the Lord's mortal ministry. They probably did not see themselves as doing something like that, but as we know, due to the evil intentions of men, the prophecy was fulfilled. In many ways, even as we look forward to the Second Coming, it seems the righteous Jews (And probably Israelites, at least earlier in history) looked forward to the coming of the Lord and the Savior of the World. Lehi mentions how they needed the Savior, and though we now know he fulfilled his mission, at that time it had not yet occurred. 4. Near the end of Chapter 10 Nephi also seeks to know of the things his father saw, and specifically mentions the Holy Ghost. Once again, as I read yesterday, Nephi talks about how the Holy Ghost shows and tells us truth. I think this is an essential thing in our day. This is how we are supposed to gain our testimony, by the Holy Ghost telling us the Book of Mormon and then the rest of the gospel is true. However, it is not always given to us all at once, but piece by piece and segment by segment. Nephi actively asked for truth and information from it, and I think that also shows a pattern to a degree for us to follow, or one way for us to obtain truth that we seek actively.

So, though I'll revisit my other thread on culture and traditions which cover some gospel topics, this thread covers more straightforward topics and ideas. Rather than deviating into what could be called speculation, I'll try to center more specifically on the more basic ideas and thoughts concerning gospel topics and ideas. Basically, this will reflect what I'm reading or studying each week...and it makes a good period to start with as I'll be starting the Book of Mormon over again this week. This could also prompt me to continue further into other books of scripture and read them more often. Thus starting with 1st Nephi...and some impressions... 1. It's always interesting that the very start of his writing (though this is the small plates rather than the large plates, who knows how the large plates was started) he mentions he was raised by goodly parents. This is in line with the 5th commandment, to honor your Father and your Mother. This could be expanded to all of our thoughts and even beyond our mortal parents to our eternal parents (though at this time we really only know our eternal father). We should also honor our eternal or Heavenly Father in all we do, and have him foremost in our thoughts along with his son Jesus Christ. In some ways, the families we have on Earth are modeled on an eternal model of family in the heavens. 2. Later on in Chapter 4 I thought about Nephi's comparison of them and Moses. Here he is relating on the power the Lord showed to Moses in dividing the Red Sea and saving them from Captivity. I wonder if there is more in his thought than it seems on the surface. I can see parallels between what the family of Lehi and what Moses and the Children of Israel went through. Both were fleeing capture, though the Children of Israel were escaping, and Lehi was evading it in the present before it could occur in the future. At the time, though unknown to Nephi, they would spend many years in the wilderness, though not as long as the Children of Israel, long enough in their wanderings that it would be many years before they would settle down permanently. 3. Chapter 4 also covers one of the more controversial items that some people have trouble with, which is Nephi slaying Laban. I think this comes to the core of whether we believe Nephi is able to recieve revelation. Can someone recieve revelation of that sort that has such deep implications on their's and other's lives. Nephi's revelation had ramifications for his family, and he needed that revelation at that time to make a critical decision. It is important to note that though the spirit talking to him affected his family and those who were descended from them, that revelation from the spirit was NOT for the entirety of Israel. It was not like his father or the other prophets who were prophesying to Israel and Jerusalem at that time. Instead it dealt more personally. In this, I think we can see some things about the seriousness of revelation and personal revelation.. If we have heard the Holy Spirit and can testify that it has told us the Book of Mormon is true, this is actually because the Holy Ghost has revealed or told us that it is true.. We are NOT prophets as the Prophet of the Church, or the one who leads the rest of the Church, but in regards to personal revelation we are able to receive such things that help us personally, or those within our areas of authority (for example, a father for his family, or mother for her children). This does not make us prophets as we understand the prophets of the scriptures AT ALL. I'm simply saying that we can receive PERSONAL revelation which sometimes can be of vital importance to us and our situations at the time. I see Nephi's situation as him receiving personal revelation. Of course, there are those who question whether Nephi's choice was actually due to the spirit, or his own personal bias. I think this reflects our own doubts in our own lives regarding how to tell when something is revelation, when we hear something from the spirit, vs. that of our own feelings on the matter. How many times are our own personal feelings confused with being revelation, and how can one tell the difference. I think Nephi also questions this in his mind in chapter 4. He does not act immediately, instead verifying if what he is being told is actually correct. It is then that the spirit talks more explicitly to him. I know in my life I have had times where I have had feelings or promptings...but there are also other times when you actually hear a small voice that is a literal voice talking to you as the Holy Ghost. I think Nephi had one of these moments, where the Holy Ghost wasn't just a feeling, but was actually talking to him at that time. However, he goes both into what it talks to him about and tells him, and his own impressions that it is relaying to him...showing that it is not just the voice talking to him, but the spirit moving upon him. Nevertheless, it is a serious choice and one not easily made. I think it shows the importance of being able to recognize the spirit, and even moreso, perhaps hearing the spirit in our day. President Nelson has told us that in these perilous times we need to specifically tuned to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit, that it will become a very important ability to have. I think Nephi's story can help us understand more on reflecting on our own need for personal revelation, as well as the need to be able to be clean and pure enough to hear it when it talks to us. (PS: this is not saying you should go out and slay someone to preserve the gospel...I hope we never have that choice and I don't think this happens all that often. In fact, I think things like this happen very infrequently and HIGHLY DOUBT any of us will ever get something like that happening to us. More likely it may be promptings to perhaps buy something in the store (perhaps toilet paper a few months back before the rush went on and it disappeared from the shelves for a few weeks/months), or to build something or talk to our children about something. It may not be that it seems important at the time, but if we listen to the spirit and heed it's promptings, sometimes we will find what we thought was unimportant originally was a major thing or a major influence in the future.

I ran into almost this exact situation recently. The member was convinced that because it was not in hot liquid that the Green Tea extract was okay. It didn't sit right with me and I didn't use any of what they offered. They extolled the health benefits and all other virtues, and while they may be right, for my own conscience I chose not to use any of it, nor even took any of it. I think they used it every day (And probably still do), but for me it didn't feel the right choice. I seemed to be among the minority at the time, but it was just a small group of members at the time that were offered it, and perhaps there are others out there that also have similar feelings to my own.