Jonah

Not sure why you mentioned a rainbow, but I found it mentioned in the teachings of Joseph Smith. "I have asked of the Lord concerning His coming; and while asking the Lord, He gave a sign and said, In the days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that the coming of the Messiah is not far distant". I would disagree with that based on what the Bible said. It was not about the return of Christ or of famine,pestilence, or great distress among the nations. To explain my view, I quote the passage in Genesis. "And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth" Jonah

Sorry to hear about your current employment situation. It's tough here too. What do you believe is the symbolism of the steel bow breaking and that he did not try to make another like it? Or even the symbolism of him choosing to make a steel bow instead of a wooden one in the first place? Jonah

Why do you believe that about Manti, Utah?

I see from chapter 24 (The Sabbath Day) of Gospel Principles that it says "Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day". I don't know if this includes watching sports on tv on Sunday.

I had a question on this section, given on November 1 1831. "For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion". Could this be a future reference to Revelation 19:19-20 or what there some event soon after 1831 which sheds light on it?

James 1:1 does not give the impression the ten tribes are lost. How do you believe the Book of Mormon helps to make the lost 10 tribes now found instead of still being lost? Long before the arrival of the Mormon Church, Jews and Christians have been waiting and praying for God's promise to regather all the tribes into the lands of inheritance (which is Israel, not America). One does not have to visit the Holy Land and make a prayer on that soil to have an special effect. Likewise, one does not have to be specifically baptized in the Jordan River as opposed to some other river in another country to have the same effect.

What does the underlined statement mean exactly? https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2020/04/the-future-of-the-church-preparing-the-world-for-the-saviors-second-coming?lang=eng "The Book of Mormon declares the doctrine of the gathering (see, for example, 1 Nephi 10:14). It causes people to learn about Jesus Christ, to believe His gospel, and to join His Church. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur." During our Catholic upbringing, my wife and I also believe the Bible too causes people to learn about Jesus Christ, to believe His gospel, and to join His Church. As for the underlined statement above, I found these links showing many biblical passages which discuss the gathering and/or grafting. Hope you can provide clarity. https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Gathering-Israel http://www.bibleresearch.org/prophecybook2/b2w18.html https://www.gotquestions.org/olive-tree-Bible.html https://www.gotquestions.org/all-Israel-saved.html https://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-church.html http://www.evidenceunseen.com/articles/prophecy/the-regathering-of-israel/ https://endtimestruth.com/israel/the-regathering-of-israel/ https://int.icej.org/susans-blog/what-does-bible-have-say-about-return-jews-their-homeland https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/CGG/ID/3683/Regathering-of-Israel.htm http://doctorwoodhead.com/israel-the-barometer-of-bible-prophecy-and-their-the-re-gathering-2/ Jonah

From a biblical perspective, they did not listen to what was commanded of them. But I was wondering if there are LDS-only truths or principles revealed to the Latter-day Saints (not mentioned in the Bible or Book of Mormon) before they (the Latter-day Saints) were ready to accept and practice them?

Are there other examples of the Lord revealing a truth or principle before his children were ready to accept and practice?

Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence repeated on national tv for quite some time that the risk of contracting the corona virus was very low. Maybe their understanding of microbiology has changed in the last week.

Do pre-mortal spirits (who are waiting to be born on Earth) have spirit bodies in the image of the body of their Heavenly Parents? In Doctrine and Covenants 129:8, does the devil have a spirit hand but not a spirit body? Jonah

I don't know how authentic the Joseph Smith papers are, but one section reveals the angel's name was Nephi. https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-circa-1841-draft-draft-3/20#full-transcript

Congress made a tactical mistake not to seek those subpoenas. They knew that Trump and company would stall this in the court for years so they rushed it. There is a current outstanding court case for former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify. It may get resolved in 2 or 3 years. Seeing that Trump was entering in his fourth year as President and is most likely to win a second term, they should have let this go through the courts and then try the impeachment some time in 2022 or 2023. Maybe it doesn't matter. Truth continues to trickle out as more emails were released in December or January. Trump's next battle is to try to stop Bolton's book. Good luck with that. But even if the book is suppressed, he'll be on the road doing many talking tours. I lost track of all the Trump associates who are in jail or who will still yet go to jail in the future. The Republicans have seemed to admit that what he did was wrong and inappropriate but not worthy of removal and that seems to infuriate Trump; who still thinks it was a perfect call. Even after being acquitted, he is still lashing out on twitter. And now being emboldened by the recent acquittal, he has fired Colonel Vindman. The purge now begins. Hopefully Romney is not the next victim.

Trump is the only innocent person I ever saw who prevented testimony from key first-hand witnesses in an attempt to support his case. You figure Mulvaney, Pompeo, Giuliani, and those in Office of Management and Budget would voluntarily come to the aid of a President under fire (in the Senate, House, or on FoxNews). At least some Republicans spoke on record that they viewed the President's actions as wrong or inappropriate. The cat still has McConnell's tongue as he remains silent 🙂

Lehi says in 2 Nephi 1:24 - "Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness". Does this mean there was no cloud by day and fire by night provided by God during their travel in the wilderness and that hunting by weapons was the only provision of food after the supplies that they took with them out of Jerusalem were exhausted?

I think you meant "Interesting. I've just never seen a Catholic say Mass was less than anything-- including in my intensive study of those beliefs" Not sure how to address that except to say that there are various degrees of beliefs in the church in my opinion; but I never really committed a poll; just based on some personal discussion with my Catholic parishioners.

My dad is a Catholic from birth. Unfortunately he doesn't really believe in Christ's resurrection 😞 I keep telling him that there would be no church without His resurrection. Only the Holy Spirit can convert him.

imo, yes. Another way that I see it is that private worship gives Christians a chance to spend time alone with God. If I understand correctly, Joseph Smith went into the woods to prayer out loud but by himself. If he actually saw God, it was quite a blessing. Would he have received the same blessing in a communal prayer? I don't know. Were any others in his era praying to know which church to join or if all churches were wrong? I don't know that either.

I would say a personal prayer in private would bring a bring blessing than a public communal prayer.

I saw "2 Hour Book of Mormon: A Book of Mormon Primer" on Amazon.

Hi Anatess, we can agree to disagree; as we have different opinions. A personal prayer or alms is private in nature. I don't observe a designated fast day sanctioned by the Catholic church. I don't see the early disciples fasting on a monthly basis. The spirit of the law in regards to fasting, imo, expands to non-food-eating activities.

Sorry about that. Will try to do better.

Trying to explain the Trinity is too difficult. I have a hard time comprehending that God has always existed.

I do hear that complaint ... that we we are cannibals because we are actually eating the body of Christ (as opposed to the priest who drinks the blood and eats the body). I differ in that i view John 6:54-56 as spiritual; the Jews took it as literally.

I'll combine #1 and #3 - I can understand our various church teachings on public announcements, but in my opinion, I think a personal fast has more blessings. I don't like to advertise my alms. In regards to #2, I don't like to criticize what people consider solemn. In my church, the music is very liturgical ... quite somber compared to what I see from the evangelicals. In regards to #4, I feel corporate prayer is important, as long as it doesn't follow the pattern given by Christ in Luke 18:11-14 and Matthew 6:5-6. Cheers