Moonbeast32

I want to finally make president Benson's advice a reality. But I've never done gardening before. I feel in over my head. I have an empty garden box, and a small portable greenhouse. there are mountains to the east, so I don't get much sun in the morning. I live in Utah county, in the foothills of Timpanogos. I have never done gardening before. I don't know what seeds I should plant or how to raise them. Could someone please help me to make an educated decision?

We do what the Spirit prompts us to do, @Vort. If people are living worthy of it, it will guide them to know what they must do. It is my experience that they who obey are filled with a sort of peace that consumes all panic. I don't see much use in disputing the severity of out national emergency, or to what purpose it serves. As for me, it's been 2 days into my quarantine, and I've been sensing a strange sort of excitement between me and my mother. An expectation of good things to come, and a feeling of refuge inside our home. For now at least, all the measures we've taken feel right.

WHO Is world health organization

I've heard that claim being disputed. Do you have a source?

5.7 the reports are saying. I don't know how many of you live in SLC county, are you doing all right? It was enough to rattle all my bookshelves all the way down here in Orem.

I just don't understand, @Vort. When the church dissolves high priests, reduces meeting times, introduces ministering, its applauded as being progress; great steps in improving the welfare of members worldwide. But when the church takes more steps to ensure the welfare of members worldwide, it's "wrong-headed and based in a 19th-century-level understanding of microbiology." So, what, is the council any less inspired today than they were 2 years ago? I live with my mother who's in the risk category. 3% may seem small to you, but when family members are involved, it's a huge number. If I don't do my part to control the virus, then treatment centers may be strained too thin to help her if she gets infected. You're right that there's no need to panic, and people with the Spirit of Truth will not. But I'm not going to disregard professional and spiritual counsel just because it casts a bad light on the president.

What exactly do you count as church activity, @prisonchaplain? I spend a great deal of my time listening to old talks from past general conferences. That being said, I do not consider listening to these talks to be considered a dedicated study. I just do it to pass time Besides that, I study the Book of Mormon about 1/2 hour every day, with the occasional additional study amounting to about 1 hour per week. There is of course church, including coming early and intermingling afterwards , totalling near 3 hours. After church, I usually get together with a group of friends for 2 hoursto study and discuss next week's reading for the Come Follow Me program. With all that listed, it's time to answer your question. This question isn't specific enough. Despite all the activities I've listed, Ive still gotten no closer to being the ideal sort of member of the Church of Christ I want to be. Why? Because engaging in this amount of time isn't meant to accomplish that end. I suspect that 80% of the time, I'm missing the point as to why I'm doing them. To abstractify my thoughts, Worship smart, then hard.

Yes, there is a better way. Remember this? 16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; 17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; 18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink It's not a "system," it's the inevitability for transgressing the law. What exactly are the points you disagree with? It looks like we're on the same page to me.

Also, based on this quote from C. S. Lewis, I doubt most Christians literally think of hell as a vulcan wasteland of fires and sulfur: "There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of ‘Heaven’ ridiculous by saying they do not want ‘to spend eternity playing harps’. The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them. All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible. Musical instruments are mentioned because for many people (not all) music is the thing known in the present life which most strongly suggests ecstasy and infinity. Crowns are mentioned to suggest the fact that those who are united with God in eternity share His splendour and power and joy. Gold is mentioned to suggest the timelessness of Heaven (gold does not rust) and the preciousness of it. People who take these symbols literally might as well think that when Christ told us to be like doves, He meant that we were to lay eggs."

But I do think it's necessary. For reasons mentioned above, I think the abstract of a burning fire perfectly explains what hellfire is.

To add onto my last post: The suffering of hellfire is not everlasting, but it's purpose is to fulfill the demands of justice and cleanse us of our sins. The atonement and ressurection of Jesus Christ allows man to be redeemed to a kingdom of glory, elsewise the punishment really would last for all eternity, as is the case with those sons of perdition. After all, Jesus suffered and paid for all our sins, not just the ones we repented of. This redemption is not, and indeed cannot be stopped Though hellfire purges sins, it does not change who you are. If you aren't capable of abiding the laws of a kingdom, then you cannot enter. That is why God prepared several different kingdoms of several different glories. But there is only 1 celestial glory; only 1 kingdom in which our Father dwells. The sanctification of man that they may enter this kingdom is the true purpose of this life.

I don't think most mentions of hellfire are referring to the fate of the sons of perdition. Remember that there are so very few of them in this world. Consider these verses from section 19: 6 Nevertheless, it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. 7 Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory. 10 For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore— 11 Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. 12 Endless punishment is God’s punishment 16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; 17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; 18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink 20 Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit. Contrast this with the harrowing decrees in 76: 33 For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity; 34 Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come 38 Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath. So it seems to me, that the traditional Christian view of going to hell after death is largely correct. They who do not repent must suffer, but not for all eternity. Eventually they will be redeemed unto a kingdom of glory. I grew up thinking that we don't believe in hell except for a few exceptions. I was wrong, hell is very real, and quite common among men. But it isn't, as you put it, for all eternity. In this way, it can be likened to a fire that burns you alive because the fire will only burn until it has nothing left to burn, and then comes the ressurection. Wether or not we go to hell is less of a concern to us as much as it is our concern what happens to us after hell.

It is certainly a testament to the state of things that most people acknowledge some form of eternal consequences for actions in this life. The only thing I don't understand is why mainstream Christianity and most other abrahamic theologies fixate so much on the eternal punishment aspect. There were many 1st generation members of the church of Christ who left their old sects because the ministers there seemed yo relish the thought of watching sinners suffer. Why do you suppose that is, @prisonchaplain? My upbringing had very little mention of Hell and damnation, do you have any insights that I may have missed?

Question: was Dante a poet or a mystic? Did he acknowledge his books as being a work of art, or did he try to pass them off as a literal experience?

I doubt that the habitation of the sons of perdition exists anywhere in this universe. All things that are created by God bear a degree of glory in their respective kingdoms. There would be no place for they who have no glory anywhere in these kingdoms. It seems far more likely that their final habitat is in the expansive abyss of nothing outside of all creation.

I think you're missing the point of tithing. It's meant to teach the Saints to rely on faith and mercy more than money. This arguing about what funds get tithed and which don't is completely irrelevant. I assure you, that no harm will come to you by donating an extra $5 dollars. No harm will come to you by donating an extra $100 either. You'd just have to learn to do without some things. And is that really so much of a curse that it isn't worth the extra mile?

Can we, you know, just close this thread already?

Well, I suppose that's all well and good. I still trust the church to know what they're doing.

I'm confused why some of you appear to be so adamant about insisting the virus isn't a threat. It either is, or it isn't, and it doesn't ever hurt to take precautions. A lot of times, these pandemics are judged based on their potential, not entirely on current statistics.

Hmm. There is some enormous weight upon the April 2020 general conference right now. The emergence of this new viral plague around the same time can't possibly be a coincidence. But what could it mean?

Ask yourself a question: what exactly does divine favor look like? Here, your question implies that divine favor means an absence from pain, hardship, and loss. While it is certainly true that a prayer of faith can take away these things God willing, they really don't matter so much in the eternities. There are worse things in this life than pain. Seeing that it rains on both the just and unjust, I'd invite you to participate in a little journal activity: Instead of asking why God allows bad things to happen, look for and identify the ways in which God blesses the humble and faithful. It brings peace to recognize what the truly most important blessings in this life are.

Christianity, in its pure form, makes good people. There's no way around it; if you are practicing true Christianity, you are a good person, or are becoming one. The world we live in is not yet so lost that it can't recognize goodness. Even the most depraved are capable of seeing it in others. Let this fact lend you faith when facing the difficult decisions to open up about your convictions. After all, how will they glorify God if they do not know from whence your goodness comes? (Mathew 5:16) There are no true atheists. They'll know good when they see it. The only thing you have to worry about with atheists, is that their understanding of the divine is infantile. Often times they think they know what Christianity is about, but really have no clue. There is no way to tell it to them, you must show it by your example and lifestyle.

Well, have yourself a nice stay.

The church has taken no position of the matter. But personal experience tells me this: homosexuality is one of the plagues that afflict the people of this world in latter days. As with any disease, the faithful men and women of God may hope to receive strength to accommodate for their condition, or even be completely healed if their faith be sufficient.

Ok, how about before the Garden of Eden Story, where it says God created the land, the seas, the plants, the animals? Are you saying that was all some other planet that we would thenceforth hear neither root nor tail about? Does not the passage say that Adam was given dominion over the Earth? But my most pressing question is this: who's been teaching you all this?