Vernor's Ginger Ale

The following is not my statement or post, but I found it so wonderful that I wanted to post it to my personal thread (which is in some ways also a thread of my ponderings on culture, tradition and other ideas related to the culture of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
This is originally from @Vernor's Ginger Ale
I think this is a great post and of interest to me that I may want to do further study upon at a later date.

Political Power and Physical Nation:
The nation of Israel would never have been accepted by the world without the restoration. While the world points to the Balfour Declaration and to UN Resolution 181, as well as the events following it (like the US support) as the mechanism of the formation of the State of Israel, the Lord's time table is much longer.  As Latter-day Saints, we point to the Dedication of Palestine for the Return of the Jews.
The nation of Israel was not formed by man's hand, but by the Hand of God, through the power of the priesthood held by His appointed servants.  No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he who is called of God as was Aaron, by a living prophet of God like Moses.
Spiritual Gathering:
The spiritual gathering is about temple work and about family lines coming together.  While we have individuals from each of the houses of Israel, the gathering was to be en masse.  And for the smaller houses, even the establishment of the nation of Israel cannot really be thought of as fulfilling that.  So, this is at some future date.
What we do know is that the spiritual gathering is not merely gathering as a political nation, but as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.  How many Jews in Israel can claim faith in Jesus as the Messiah?  Very few.
We in the Church have been primarily gathering those of the House of Ephraim.  When the reeds have formed a wall against the wind, the remaining houses will gather, not in the Old Jerusalem, but in the New Jerusalem established by His Church and Kingdom on earth.  And that ain't the UN.

https://thirdhour.org/blog/faith/angels-in-stone-married-baptized-same-day/
Looks like it was published just today. Kandyce and Bob Ciarrocchi (now there's an awesome Italian name!) sound like wonderful people. I'm so happy for them! I hope I and my family can keep some of this pure enthusiasm in our religious lives every day.

Well that escalated quickly.
I may actually default on my mortgage.  But the laws of the state prevent foreclosure for just just a couple of months.  And given the circumstances, banks will tend to be more lenient.
I have seen the bishop for a storehouse order.  He mentioned that there has been a run on the storehouse.  Some are using it as food storage or to maintain a luxury diet or something like that.  I told him my circumstance and my analysis.  He was satisfied that I needed some help.  He was pleased to hear that I had sufficient savings under other circumstances.  So, we'll see.

Well that escalated quickly.
I may actually default on my mortgage.  But the laws of the state prevent foreclosure for just just a couple of months.  And given the circumstances, banks will tend to be more lenient.
I have seen the bishop for a storehouse order.  He mentioned that there has been a run on the storehouse.  Some are using it as food storage or to maintain a luxury diet or something like that.  I told him my circumstance and my analysis.  He was satisfied that I needed some help.  He was pleased to hear that I had sufficient savings under other circumstances.  So, we'll see.

Well that escalated quickly.
I may actually default on my mortgage.  But the laws of the state prevent foreclosure for just just a couple of months.  And given the circumstances, banks will tend to be more lenient.
I have seen the bishop for a storehouse order.  He mentioned that there has been a run on the storehouse.  Some are using it as food storage or to maintain a luxury diet or something like that.  I told him my circumstance and my analysis.  He was satisfied that I needed some help.  He was pleased to hear that I had sufficient savings under other circumstances.  So, we'll see.

Well that escalated quickly.
I may actually default on my mortgage.  But the laws of the state prevent foreclosure for just just a couple of months.  And given the circumstances, banks will tend to be more lenient.
I have seen the bishop for a storehouse order.  He mentioned that there has been a run on the storehouse.  Some are using it as food storage or to maintain a luxury diet or something like that.  I told him my circumstance and my analysis.  He was satisfied that I needed some help.  He was pleased to hear that I had sufficient savings under other circumstances.  So, we'll see.

Let's put it to bed. it is my OPINION that paying someone mortgage is not a good usage of church funds. As I have previously stated I am not nor want to be a Bishop and have to make these very difficult decisions. I do know that missing a mortgage payment will not make you homeless. I think this defines clearly that it is not a short term shelter problem if a member fails to meet this particular financial obligation
Let's use your example. A recent widow who uses all of her liquid funds to pay for a funeral instead of paying her mortgage. You can't be serious with this can you? Who would be so fiscally irresponsible? The poor little old widow was a fool with her money and now you want to trust her with the Lords?
Like many here I have held those positions as previously stated.  I have seen these items paid and when "asked" offered my opinion/counsel. Sometimes taken sometimes not. Never once have I voiced an unsolicited opinion as a ward clerk or finance clerk at the end of the day the Bishop should heed his own counsel and do as the spirit dictates.
As a stake auditor I often had very frank discussions with bishops and clerks about the handling of fast offerings. 
 

Correct. It depends.
It depends on how the Bishop, who holds the keys and is the judge (like you mentioned), decides to define short-term shelter.
Short-term "rent" shelter? Short-term "mortgage" shelter? If there is a distinction between shelters, great, what is it? If there is a policy, official doctrine, that excludes a mortgage payment, as a short-term option please provide it and lets put this debate to rest.

Perhaps it is easy to envision a flashy member who needs help paying their mortgage to maintain a lifestyle vs. a recent widow who just used the rest of her liquid funds to pay for a funeral. All the canned goods at the Bishop's store house isn't going to pay her mortgage this month.
Like @NeuroTypical, many of us have been clerks and auditors before and our findings tend to harmonize with those Bishops that have met the short-term needs of a member by paying a mortgage payment.

The short answer is it depends. 
I can foresee a circumstance where paying someones rent MIGHT rise to the level of good usage of fast offerings. 
To be clear I am not a judge in Israel nor to I want to be. 
Questions might be asked. 
1. When did you know you weren't going to make rent?
2. Have you depleted your savings (because we should all have a savings account for this kind of thing). 
3. Have you asked for help from friends and family?
4. Have you asked for govt. assistance?
5. What bills did you pay that precluded you from paying rent?
6. Are you gainfully employed?
      a. Maybe you can't afford to live where you live?
      b. Maybe you are under employed?
     c. Have you taken a second job?
7. Do you track your monthly expenses? see question 5
8. What steps are you taking to prevent this from occurring again?
I am sure there are others but then it is for the Bishop to decide knowing that he is the steward of the funds that his ward doles out (better him than me). 
 

That is not what it is for. Your bishop should not be making house payments for anyone. What happens when you miss a house payment in the USA? NOTHING you are not kicked out. Sure the bank is breathing down your neck but that is not your bishops problem.  As Bishop my first question would be what bill did you pay that impeded with your ability to make your mortgage? Same for health insurance. If someone came to me and said they needed help with a health insurance bill I'd have the same issue. If you need help making an insurance payment you obviously can't afford that insurance and need to find a different plan.
"The bishop provides basic life-sustaining necessities. He does not provide assistance to maintain an affluent living standard."
"Members who are temporarily unable to provide for themselves may need to alter their standard of living until they are self-reliant. They should not rely on Church welfare to insure them against temporary hardship or to allow them to continue their present standard of living without interruption."
 

Prayers for you, friend.  New or old doesn't matter here.  We're a community.
Okay... the positive side here is - you have the internet.  There are many ways to make some money to tide you over until all these things calm down.  I will give you a few ideas: 
1.)  In my State, kids are switching to a home school program for a month starting on Monday.  Not all kids are tech-savvy or self-motivated and many of them have parents that still has to go to work.  You can offer your services to mentor them at this time.
2.)  You can scrounge around your attic for anything that has value and post it everywhere - Swip-swap, Craigslist, etc. etc.  Some guy sold an old army soldier figurine for $800 this way.
Here's 20 more:
 

*hugs* and prayers for you @Verner's Ginger ale. 

I know I'm new and no one here would care much.  But I felt I had to vent somewhere...
 
I was working for one company and I got about the sweetest deal I could ask for from another company: company, clientele, co-workers, pay, benefits, commute, atmosphere, etc.  Everything I could ask for.
I had put in my notice to my old.  And that was enough that they booted me out early to make room for others they wanted to keep during a sudden downturn.  I was ok with that.  I had some reserves.  I just considered it a vacation.  I was looking forward to the new company.
Then, the HR lady called me and told me that they couldn't onboard me to the company because of social distancing protocols that the company had set up.  They figure it will be at least another month.
One month would be fine.  As I said, I have some savings.  But I had just used up much of my savings to pay for a new HVAC unit because the old one was completely broken.  If it drags out to two, then I'll be looking at bouncing checks and missing a mortgage payment, credit card payments, etc.
One benefit is that I can spend more time goofing off on the internet... 😎... But I really don't like simply not working.  I'm always busy with something.  But there's simply nothing to do.  Almost all businesses are closed around here.  And I don't have the money for it anyway.  I can't get supplies at Home Depot to do some house projects I was looking forward to doing because I have bills to pay.
I just heard that Trump signed some bill for mortgage companies to play nice.  I'm still trying to get a hold of my mortgage holder for their take on it and what that means for me.  Unfortunately, this has apparently affected a LOT of people.  And it finally hit home for me.
The positive side is that the new company still wants to hire me.  They just can't get me through the process.  I wish there were some way I could get through this.  But it looks like money (or the lack of it) will kill me sooner than any virus will.

I know I'm new and no one here would care much.  But I felt I had to vent somewhere...
 
I was working for one company and I got about the sweetest deal I could ask for from another company: company, clientele, co-workers, pay, benefits, commute, atmosphere, etc.  Everything I could ask for.
I had put in my notice to my old.  And that was enough that they booted me out early to make room for others they wanted to keep during a sudden downturn.  I was ok with that.  I had some reserves.  I just considered it a vacation.  I was looking forward to the new company.
Then, the HR lady called me and told me that they couldn't onboard me to the company because of social distancing protocols that the company had set up.  They figure it will be at least another month.
One month would be fine.  As I said, I have some savings.  But I had just used up much of my savings to pay for a new HVAC unit because the old one was completely broken.  If it drags out to two, then I'll be looking at bouncing checks and missing a mortgage payment, credit card payments, etc.
One benefit is that I can spend more time goofing off on the internet... 😎... But I really don't like simply not working.  I'm always busy with something.  But there's simply nothing to do.  Almost all businesses are closed around here.  And I don't have the money for it anyway.  I can't get supplies at Home Depot to do some house projects I was looking forward to doing because I have bills to pay.
I just heard that Trump signed some bill for mortgage companies to play nice.  I'm still trying to get a hold of my mortgage holder for their take on it and what that means for me.  Unfortunately, this has apparently affected a LOT of people.  And it finally hit home for me.
The positive side is that the new company still wants to hire me.  They just can't get me through the process.  I wish there were some way I could get through this.  But it looks like money (or the lack of it) will kill me sooner than any virus will.

This assumes that plural marriage is a "higher" law than the monogamous marriages we observe today.  I see it as simply "different".  Not higher.  Not lower.  The Lord would PREFER to have monogamous marriages.  But only command when there is a specific exception that He knows is applicable.  (See Jacob 2.)  So, it would be more plausible to consider monogamous marriage as a higher law -- if one were to compare.
Consider this:  Is there any commandment that people don't break?  Only the really serious ones do average people not break on an almost daily basis.  I think a large percentage of people get out of this life without ever having murdered anyone, for example.  Does that mean that the Lord should take away the commandment to stop coveting?  Bearing false witness?  Worshiping the temporal gods that we see in modern culture?  Disrespect our parents? (Who here was never an angry teenager?).
So, should the Lord take away all those commandments because we're not ready for such a law?  How many so called faithful members of the Church drink their occasional beer or wine?  I've, unfortunately, come across far too many.  So, why not remove that covenant since that isn't even an eternal commandment, as it appears to only be for this dispensation anyway.  And a LOT of people have a problem with it.

Wow!  I'd never heard of that Youtube channel.  That was useful.  Thank you.

Your son is lying to you.
You said yourself he has lost his testimony.
He doesn’t care about the theological propriety of what you’re doing; he’s trying to manipulate you into staying single because that’s how he thinks he keeps some semblance of his mother alive.

See the bold.  Do you really not know how you should react to that? 
He blames the Church for telling him it is wrong to push the boundaries as far as possible.  Get those wheels as close to the edge of the cliff as possible.

See the bold.  Do you really not know how you should react to that? 
He blames the Church for telling him it is wrong to push the boundaries as far as possible.  Get those wheels as close to the edge of the cliff as possible.

See the bold.  Do you really not know how you should react to that? 
He blames the Church for telling him it is wrong to push the boundaries as far as possible.  Get those wheels as close to the edge of the cliff as possible.

I think you are drawing an unattested correlation. Lehi did indeed promise his little son Joseph that his (Joseph's) seed would be preserved, and Lehi did indeed use his little son's name (Joseph) to talk about their ancestor, Joseph, and about a future prophet who would restore much precious truth to Lehi's (and little Joseph's) seed. But Lehi doesn't say anywhere that the future Joseph will arise from little Joseph's Lehite lineage. I can see why you might draw that inference—but it is an inference, not stated or implied in Lehi's words. I believe it's an untrue inference.

Before I comment, I need to say that you have some good points.  But for the sake of accuracy, I need to point out the bad ones.  This is not only bad math, but it is misrepresenting the numbers and context of the market for those presidencies.
First, Your numbers are based on linear growth. Investments are calculated on an exponential annualized growth rate.  My numbers shown here are based on exponential growth rate.
Second, Let's make sure we're comparing apples to apples.  Best presidents to Best presidents and worst to worst.  Reagan beats out Clinton. 

Third, you're only looking at discrete points rather than overall patterns.  Take a look at the patterns.  The individual points you've chosen seems reasonable on the surface (inauguration day).  But looking at overall patterns and proper context shows that you're not being fair to the presidents.

While there is no doubt that the economy is tremendously impacted by the president's leadership and economic policies, it is not the only thing.  When certain events occur (like this past week's acitvity) we have to give credit where credit is due. 
When taking this all into account, Bush 2 and Obama were about dead even.  Carter was the worst.  Notice that even with all the advantages that Obama had, he only beat out Trump by 1%.
While we can agree that Trump's DJIA numbers are not as high as Clinton's, the other economic indicators are much better (unemployment, employment, GDP, inflation rates, etc.)  And, let's not forget that while I'll admit that Clinton did a pretty good job from an economic policy stand point, he also had a couple aces that the others did not have -- introducing the Roth IRA and the income tax on Social Security benefits -- both of which greatly changed the economy for the last several years of his presidency.
One note:  the slopes of the lines are not dependable since the y-axis is logarithmic.  But flat lines are flat lines.

Before I comment, I need to say that you have some good points.  But for the sake of accuracy, I need to point out the bad ones.  This is not only bad math, but it is misrepresenting the numbers and context of the market for those presidencies.
First, Your numbers are based on linear growth. Investments are calculated on an exponential annualized growth rate.  My numbers shown here are based on exponential growth rate.
Second, Let's make sure we're comparing apples to apples.  Best presidents to Best presidents and worst to worst.  Reagan beats out Clinton. 

Third, you're only looking at discrete points rather than overall patterns.  Take a look at the patterns.  The individual points you've chosen seems reasonable on the surface (inauguration day).  But looking at overall patterns and proper context shows that you're not being fair to the presidents.

While there is no doubt that the economy is tremendously impacted by the president's leadership and economic policies, it is not the only thing.  When certain events occur (like this past week's acitvity) we have to give credit where credit is due. 
When taking this all into account, Bush 2 and Obama were about dead even.  Carter was the worst.  Notice that even with all the advantages that Obama had, he only beat out Trump by 1%.
While we can agree that Trump's DJIA numbers are not as high as Clinton's, the other economic indicators are much better (unemployment, employment, GDP, inflation rates, etc.)  And, let's not forget that while I'll admit that Clinton did a pretty good job from an economic policy stand point, he also had a couple aces that the others did not have -- introducing the Roth IRA and the income tax on Social Security benefits -- both of which greatly changed the economy for the last several years of his presidency.
One note:  the slopes of the lines are not dependable since the y-axis is logarithmic.  But flat lines are flat lines.