Midwest LDS

I have a Glock, but would like a Smith and Wesson.

Perhaps @anatess2 can provide some insights on how Catholics view Luther. But having thought about it a bit, I wonder if perhaps it's a case of people being judged according to their lights. Luther no longer saw the Pope as infallible, so there was no "ark" for him to steady when he posted his 95 theses. Similarly the Philistines did not immediately drop dead when they took away the ark, because for them it was just a foreign religious artifact*. Uzzah, having been brought up to know exactly what you can and cannot do with the ark, should have known better.
P.S. How do I make it so that Anatess' name gets highlighted and she gets a notification that I've mentioned her? I've seen people do that so many times on this forum, but could never see how it was done.
P.P.S. * I suppose it was also God's plan that the ark should go into captivity - which would hardly have happened if the Philistines who took it away immediately dropped dead. By the same token, perhaps it was also God's plan that Uzzah should drop dead as a warning to anyone else who thought of trifling with what was holy. Scary thought.

I understand where you are coming from and I don't hate or mock Uzzah by any means. He made a mistake I could easily see myself making in a similar situation. However, he still made a mistake, hence the punishment from God.
And it depends on who you ask about ark steadying with Martin Luther. If I were to ask a Catholic, I bet they'd say Martin made a huge mistake that shattered the church due to his own arrogance😊. Now Protestants and myself look at it differently of course, and in many churches I would agree that this would be a tough question to pose about when you should intervene and when you shouldn't. But in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as you know we believe our Prophet and 12 Apostles are the literal mouthpieces of Christ. When we try to "fix a problem" or '"steady the ark", if we have a testimony, we are making the same mistake Uzzah did. We know God has said he can take care of his church, but we choose to disbelieve him because we "know" better. Doesn't mean we are anymore evil than Uzzah, but we would still be wrong. Of course you have to believe we are actually lead by prophets and apostles for that analogy to work, so I don't blame a non member for looking at it differently, but that's how we see it.

Yeah I always thought it was weird to use Oedipus's name for that complex. Not only for the reasons your daughter mentioned, but because when he heard the prophesy he was terrified and left home right away to avoid hurting his mom and dad, the couple who had adopted and raised him. He had no way of knowing who his real parents were. But like you said people frequently misuse classical metaphors.

The natural man part of me would have wanted to try and steady it. I would hope my spiritual sensitivity would have been strong enough to resist that urge, all of the Israelites and especially the Levites knew God had said he would protect the Ark, but the flesh is often weak. But then that is the point of the story. We have to learn in life to avoid "steadying the ark" in situations where, just like Uzzah did, we "know" God's church is failing and we are the only one's who can fix it. I put know in quotation marks to represent that we are wrong but are convinced we are right. That's what makes ark steadying such a tempting sin and why the Lord was so clear in warning us against it.

I would hope I’d have had the spiritual sensitivity and foresight to have excused myself from the scene long before then.  Israel—from the top down—was messing up big time with what it was doing (see https://medium.com/@eriknmanning/was-god-being-cruel-for-striking-uzzah-dead-for-touching-the-ark-of-the-covenant-e54532f85326); and the fact that David pitched a hissy fit when Uzzah died only goes to show how far from God’s will—and how scripturally illiterate—he was.  Modern commentators are often so enamored of the secular power David wielded, that they are either blind to or gloss over the many poor choices David made and the sufferings his people endured as a result.

2 Samuel 6.
I didn't provide context because I thought "steadying the ark" was a common idiom for LDS.

Just one glaring problem with masks vs concealed guns, everyone will know you aren't wearing a mask!   lol 🤓
Most if not all of the older sisters and many of the older men in our ward won't be attending church until everyone is wearing masks, or they will sit as far away from and behind the non masked members and likely leave early after taking the sacrament. I have no problem with staying home from church until this is over, even if it takes another year or two, letting the younger folks do all the socializing if I don't like the mask situation at church. If I get the virus it is highly unlikely that I will survive. Catching it and dying doesn't worry me at all. I would prefer that there had never been any kind of a shutdown. But my wife has asked me to do everything I can to avoid getting it, so, for her, I will stay home until the odds are close to zero of my contracting C-19. Of course by that time there will probably be some new killer virus, or two or three, out in the wild. 

https://mylifebygogogoff.com/2020/07/when-satan-gives-you-a-revelation-that-you-dont-need-to-follow-your-church-leaders.html?fbclid=IwAR3fwnL_iA_OuCR6yQp3xms9dA9c1fCVuEDOHSQPUaBOY8ufpJFaLDLqpRg

I think there is another relevant question we can derive from yours and that is: Can a person be committed to such standards without a testimony? Perhaps not a testimony of the Church but of the principles themselves? I think that people can gain a conviction of these things under the influence of the light of Christ and I think that would fall under the definition of testimony. But to bring this back around, if we are judged according to what we know I think these individuals will fare better then the uncommitted who have a testimony of the Church.

That's pretty much where I stand.  My Pro-Life stance isn't based in religion, but in individual liberty

Well, if you keep adding qualifications and conditions, you're not going to be successful in your search.  You know what?  You're right.
I want a private island that is large enough to farm all the food for a small community. 
And it needs to have a HUGE mansion sitting on it -- at least 12,000 square feet, all done in French chateau style with marble floors and pillars throughout the inside.
The island has to come with a port for my $100MM cruise ship/oversized yacht.
It needs to be far enough away that I won't be bothered by anyone.  But it needs to be within walking distance of a Sam's club and a Costco.  And Amazon needs to be able to deliver there overnight.
A diamond mine on the island wouldn't hurt either.  I just need a volcano with an on/off switch.
Loo, I'm not trying to mock you.  I'm just trying to point out that if you put enough conditions on your "dream home" then it will become nigh impossible to achieve.  And all the conditions you put on this essentially says that you want a $10MM home and land with a $100k price tag with a high flowing well in a desert area with a forest right beside it.
Does anything about that seem off to you?

.

Something citified folks often don't know - the further away you get from services/amenities/roads, the cheaper the land/house.   We live on 5 acres, 10 miles away from the nearest town, and 30 miles away from my work (50+ miles when I worked in Denver).  I've commuted to work for 20 years now, quite a happy camper.  We're hardly rich.  It can be done.  I hear you clarifying "I can't afford that", with language of "would like" and "prefer" and "don't want" and "doesn't appeal".  
I've found that joking about owning a minefield, is as satisfying as actually having all that stuff.  Our protection dog died of old age years ago, the attack turkeys do the job these days.
You don't need to rule out living in a remote location.  Here's a pic I took looking out my back door one morning:

 
This is not an expensive place to live.  Halfway between Colorado Springs and Denver, out of the trees, away from the mountain.  
 

In the US, it simply means that in a court of law, the onus is on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as opposed to the accused trying to prove he is innocent beyond a reasonable doubt.

I can’t speak for all states; but in Utah, one’s “arrest record” is not available to “all and sundry”.  It’s maintained by the Bureau of Criminal Identification.  I work in my state AG’s office, and of the fifty or sixty people in my division, only two or three of them have access to that database (I am not one of them).
Now, the court dockets are public record, and that will record if you were charged and acquitted.  But, if you’re acquitted you can move to have the court record expunged.  (It’s not automatic, which many folks feel it should be.  But Utah has been taking steps to make expungement easier lately.)

Now China and Australia
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3091182/why-has-china-australia-relationship-deteriorated-what-some
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-30/china-step-up-attacks-on-australia-accuses-government-of-spying/12405842
https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/amid-escalating-tension-with-china-australia-and-india-strengthen-partnership/
https://www.dailywire.com/news/australia-begins-massive-military-build-up-as-conflict-with-communist-china-grows-over-pandemic
Who would have thought that India and Australia would form an alliance against China?  Has anyone heard of "The Quad" before?  I hadn't.
China is growing their enemy base.  And the US doesn't even need to fire a shot.  But we're more than happy to sell weapons to China's enemies.  Kinda sounds like what we did in 1812.

I KNEW IT!!! UK is actually part of North America.  So, they're AMERICANS after all.  HAH!
All those who thought UK was part of Europe, you'all failed your geography check!
Yes and no. At least in Texas...
So, while the license is confiscated, you are still allowed to drive.  This HAS to be different due to the prevalence of drivers in US vs UK.  Getting a DL in US is a rather simple process.  Virtually everyone has one.  My understanding is that it is not nearly as common for people to have a DL in the UK, and the process for getting one is more onerous.
I may be wrong about this, but...  There is a difference between an "arrest record" and a "criminal record."  Exactly what that does per se is beyond my area of expertise.
Civil Asset forfeiture is one of the biggest travesties of our police/justice system.  It has only come under scrutiny over the past 5 to 10 years.  And many states are working to get rid of it.  It is absolutely unconstitutional.  I don't know any common citizen who believes this is a good thing.
Not quite.  While there are some protections, it is not so far reaching as you seem to imply here.  Take a look at the police being thrown in jail recently.

You do realize I wear a mask because of recommendations from medical experts not politicians right? https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html. When a majority of doctors tell me it's not helpful I'll stop wearing one. Oh and using a video of AOC means nothing to me. I'm a conservative. 

Merry Christmas... to... you...
Oh, wait...

It's not virtue signaling if I legitimately believe it's better to wear masks. I do and I don't mind telling people that.

While studying the scriptures my mind fixated on Satan's first lie to Adam and Eve, "Ye shall not surely die..." Satan's first lie is the same lie that has been used since the fall of Adam and Eve. In the Book of Mormon Jacob asked an important question, "Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?" (emphasis mine)
My mind is even more fixated on this first lie due to a family member who is now trapped by it. The unspoken belief now, "If I partake of the fruit forbidden I will not die." Another notion, "If I am a honest person, live a good life, mind mine own business, I will not die."
Satan hasn't changed, the overall temptation and excuse is, "Ye shall not surely die."

We can see this lie in thoughts given, "I am who I am and God doesn't make mistakes," by which a son/daughter of God then chooses a forbidden path (a forbidden fruit) that will surely enact the end of the Law -- death if unrepented and hard hearted.
We can see this thought, this lie being promulgated, in many forms all leading the sons/daughters of God toward forbidden roads.

..

I was totally joking, but you are right, it would likely work too well!  A safer statement to prevent being driven out of town would be something like "It turns out I tested positive for COVID-19, but they said I don't need to quarantine!"   👁️👁️
 
It will be interesting to see how many people in our ward are wearing masks from this point forward. Previously, the Bishop was often the only other person wearing a mask, besides my wife and I. 

I know you were kind of joking, but it might work if you really can't get people to stop trying to hug you or shake your hand. My sister and her family had a bad case of COVID. They recovered and have been fine for months but whenever anyone hears it they treat them like a family of lepers (hence why they only tell close family members and friends now lol). It might be worth a shot.