snipe123

It is hard to comment. It is the most ugly and the most beautiful thing that you can look at. I thought perhaps this image would also be appropriate for this thread. The story behind the photo is pretty amazing as well: http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/little-girl.htm THis site is also great to actually see and read about some of the good going on in Iraq, and some of the good things our soldiers are doing...refreshing to read instead of always hearing the bad press...

I have all of his books with the exception of his last two published in his collected works...many of them may be found online used, so you don't have to pay the usual $30 or so for a new one... I have not seen the condensed volume that the other poster mentioned but I don't see how you could put 17 volumes into one and still have it be substantive...I still recommend "World and the Prophets" and "Mormonism and Early Christianity" as good volumes to start with for someone who has not read Nibley...If you have read a lot of Anti, then "Tinkling Symbols and SOunding Brass" is quite ammusing...

Thank you for the idea Isaac. Joseph's forgiveness of Phelps was heartfelt and beautiful, as Phelps had accused Joseph of very heinous acts. However, I’ve decided I'd rather post some of the writings of Emmeline B. Wells, and hope Checker finds them helpful. Oh well, I know the story so I guess I can't complain...I just no longer have the source material to quote from...Good job on the journal citations...very moving...

Actually The Book of Mormon itself says that all of the records from which Mormon made his abridgment were buried in the hill Cumorah, and the plates themselves were given to his son Moroni, who then wandered with them for years until he buried them in Upstate New York...The plates were not deposited in the same hill where the battle occured...all the other records were... EDIT: Mormon 6:6 is my reference for the above statement: "...therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni. "

Excellent question. I'm interested in the answers as well. Elphaba Elph, I thought you might have jumped at the chance of sharing a very touching story of forgiveness from LDS history, being the LDS history lover that you are...(gentle dig there...haha). The story of William W. Phelps return to the fold and what Joseph wrote to him???...hint hint...:) I just have a feeling you could do a better job telling the story than I... Waiting Patiently for your account... EDIT INSERT: Assuming of course you are willing to give said account???

Oh, and John...Be sure to let the anti-stuff alone for a bit and study things that will cultivate the SPirit in your life...There is no better teacher...

That is so great Doug...I just told my son about you and shared your most recent post because he is receiving the Aaronic Priesthood this coming Sunday and will be ordained to the office of Deacon (He is turning 12)...His response was: "Cool". What can I say...He's twelve...:) Have you talked to the bishop about blessing the sacrament yourself? How do you like your new ward family? Made any new friends or aquaintances, met the Bishop etc?

HAHAHA...possitively brilliant...very funny... In light of what was spoken above(in the above posts regarding bathroom reading that is), some of the best reading you can do, is in the bathroom...:)

Hey morning star...Fortunately I do not have the porn problem...I recently remarried my x-wife in October (may have read the story already so I won't go into it) and I also returned to the church in April after a three year absense(have told that story too...haha) and am currently in a disfellowhipped status (told that one also...haha) and I cannot use my priesthood while under that particular status...This is not common knowledge in the ward, since I just moved to the one my wife was in, but a few of the relevent people know...I asked our home teacher who had looked after my wife and kids for the last three years (in my abcense) to give the kids blessings before they started their school year (ages 5, 8, 11) and my fahter-in-law will be giving my Son the priesthood this Sunday (he turns 12 on friday...:))...I would never give a blssing unless I was concidered worthy...I would also encourage any man who does this, to be a man, and humble himself and take the small bit of shame that might occur because "someone knows" as part of the consequence of your actions and then repent...I am missing out on some great experiences as a result of my choices, but I am also taking the steps necessary to insure that I never participate in any priesthood function when my worthiness is in question...As I sit in sacrament on Sunday and do not take the sacrament, I don't concern myself with who sees and who doesn't because I have a repentent attitude...I don't say that out of pride, but in gratitude that God has given me the right perspective...My kids simply know that Dad is repenting and they smiled when we explained it to them...I think most members who understand Luke 15 will likewise smile if they see someone not take the sacrament...It shows they are not hiding their sins, but facing them, and overcoming them...I have a new and improved perspective on the sacrament as the ordinance that it is, its cleansing power etc...I hope everyone sees it this way...I also hope that your Stake President holds such a meeting so that men in your Stake will understand the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood that they are violating, and that they will come to understand the needs of their wives...in the meantime, I hope they will allow a bishop, or hometeacher to step in and provide a blessing where it is needed...Oh, and I should be back in full fellowship by May or June...I have run from The Great and Spacious Building by leaps and bounds and have never looked back! Happy me...:) HAHA

His entire collected works are excellent...World and the Prophets is the best...Mormonism and Early Christianity is a close second...especially the chapter on the Early Christian prayer circle...Ahhh, what am I saying...they are all excellent...

Go to church smiles...:) I was not active for 3years and did a lot of things I am not proud of...Church is like a hospital for sinners...A hospital would never deny you entry or look down on you because you were sick...Church is the same way for sinners like us(and everyone for that matter...everyone sins to one degree or another)...haha...I found the members to be wonderfully supportive...You won't drag them down unless you invite them to the bar for a beer and they actually go along...haha...Meet with your bishop, and hit the road running...Trust me, the destination is worth the effort...Hopefully you will go to the ward I attended in Portland until I moved recently...The members were amazing...Of course, they are everywhere...:) What part of Portland do you live in?

Well, to make it sound more beautiful and familiar...By the way Moksha, you just botched it horribly...hahaha

Here are a number of good articles on the subject: http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai285.html In short: That the Nephites and Joseph Smith did not speak King James English is obvious, and it is not a problem...The job of a good translator is to render his translation in a way that his readers will understand, find meaningful, appreciate, be familiar with, etc...Most people in Jospeh Smiths day read The King James version of the Bible...I have read that version of the Bible my entire life, and when I read our more modern versions of the scriptures, like the NIV it seems foreign to me and does not sound at all like scripture...That does not mean that it isn't of course, but it was the "language of God" most English readers were familiar with in Josephs day... Had Josephs target audience been 5th graders (exclusively), then he might have rendered his translation into Pig Latin...would not be very reverent of course, but atleast every 5th grader on the planet would understand and appreciate it... That was a joke of course.... "The diction of a translation" is not determined by any such thing (that is the choice of the translator) as the period from which it is extracted, as evidenced by the fact that he used King James English...He either wrote it himself in King James English (not an easy task since it is not commonly used in every day speech as you pointed out) or he rendered his translation in King James English...still not an easy task, but very cool, and very worthwhile...Either way, he obviously did not stick to the language on the plates ( " which consists of the learning of the jews [Hebrew] and the language of the Egyptians[Heiroglyphics] ... 1Nephi 1:2) , or the common tongue of his own day...Have you looked at the direct word for word translation of a particular Bible verse from Greek? If it was simply rendered exactly word for word it would not make sense to you, and would sound like very choppy, bad English...Biblical translators have to be very skilled individuals to preserve the meaning of the original, while still making it comprehensible to his readers...The beauty of the King James is that the translators rendered the text in a beautiful way that one can not only understand, but appreciate...That is also the beauty of Joseph Smiths translation... By the way, you might look into the Hebrew forms of Poetry that the Book of mormon has THROUGHOUT ITS ENTIRE LENGTH called Chiasms...Then you will really begin to understand the ancient origins of the words in The Book of Mormon and how amazing it was for Joseph to have preserved that form of poetry in his translation...HIs skill as a translator is unmatched because he did it by The Spirit...By the way, Chiasms were an unknown form of writing in Joseph Smiths day, and have only recently been rediscovered ...Articles on that and many like subjects may also be found on the website I linked you to, among other places... Hope that helps you and your friend...