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FWIW, I have no idea what things @Carborendum doesn't feel like trying to clarify, but I disagree that it can't be done or that there's no point in doing it - unless he wants to go beyond the points raised or feels like he can't explain it without things we don't generally talk about publicly. Anywho, it seems like the other replies have pretty much address the issues raised - unless you still have questions about them, @Jamie123.

Awwww. He's so cuuute!

Glad to! How about a loaf of zucchini bread? It's my specialty.

I hope the social media police don't come pounding on your door at 3am to drag you away to prison, and set a violent criminal free to make room for you. I've been hearing awful things about the speech police and about Muslims doing some pretty awful things in some neighborhoods. If you need to escape, I'm sure the denizens of ThirdHour will help you out! (For however long we remain free - with luck, for another 2-4 years...)

President Nelson, October 2021 GC, "The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation" Sister Bingham repeated this in April 2022, "Covenants with God Strengthen, Protect, and Prepare us for Eternal Glory". I don't remember it being explicitly said before President Nelson, but I know from my own experience that attitudes were different (no longer "only if going on a mission or getting married") back in the late 90s when I started preparing for my own endowment.

That was the case 3 decades ago and before. IMO, that's about the time it started to change, but maybe a little earlier or later, perhaps depending on region. In the past decade, Church leaders have explicitly said this was not the case and encouraged all adult members to prepare for and receive their endowment. Absolutely not true. I was endowed a few years before I had any prospect of marriage. Also, see above. I don't know how or why it became the norm not to be endowed until you were preparing for a mission or marriage, but those days are long past. i. Yeah, OK, but there are plenty of blessings to be had regardless of marital status. And I don't think I've ever been to an endowment session in my life where there weren't a lot more women present than men - often with the "extra" women sitting on the men's side - in separate rows, at the back (just to separate the women from the men somehow while still allowing all who wished to attend). ii. Smack those men. Way to show confidence in a sister's ability to remain faithful. Way to show confidence in repentance and grace. I'm gonna go look for that GC talk I remember encouraging everyone to get endowed...

I couldn't find the talk, so maybe my memory is wrong. But I found it in the institute manual - scroll down to John 2:4.

This was in a general conference talk. I don't have time this morning - have to go visit family - it's a holiday here... But you can look up the verse where this is recorded, go to the Scripture Citation Index, and see what talks are linked to this verse - that might find it for you. If not, and no one else has already responded, I'll look at this again after today.... Note: the answer is that it was a term of respect.

Welcome to ThirdHour, @WhiteRose74!

Same reason they call Trump a Nazi.

Well, you could watch the source I linked... I'm not totally comfortable copying it here, but I guess since I included the source... This is their own transcript of the video:

A lot of Hebrew names seem that way, too. I like the idea that someone (whether MM or Ether or Moroni) left out the name of the brother of Jared as a literary foil to what was happening at the tower of Babel (that's what was in the IG video, along with other stuff and an explanation of that theory).

Screaming is much easier to notice than whispers.

Note that it doesn't have to be the general populace who slide down the slope, nor the people who are in favor because their love one is or has experienced intense suffering. Look at the issue of the doctors in Canada, using it as an excuse. There are rumors that they will assist anyone with suicide, without even trying to get them to undergo therapy. Some people will always stay on the "limited and careful use" side, while others will push the boundaries for their own perverse reasons, and for whatever reason, people follow along without care.

That. If you want to know where this will go, look to Canada. If you want to know where uncontrolled immigration will go, look to California (pff - or the UK, for that matter). A huge problem with legalizing (or normalizing) "assisted death" is the "slippery slope" that everyone likes to dismiss as "oh that would never happen". And look at attitudes toward abortion - these days, folks want post-birth abortion (as if that weren't a logical impossibility). The closer one gets to accepting the taking of a life, for any reason, the easier it will be to add "acceptable reasons" to the list. I find it ironic that the same countries that are in a hurry to help folks end their lives are so opposed to the death penalty. To my knowledge, the only reasons God has ever accepted for taking the life of another person are self-defense and corporal punishment, and even those come with some pretty strict rules around them.

FWIW, here's what I related in a previous life and a different thread. I still don't have the full source, just what this comment says: The eBook is $15 from Amazon and $10 from Deseret Book. No idea whether the text around the paragraph I have would explain further. Ha! I went to this BYU link and followed it to download this "Word Cruncher" app, and downloaded the books into said app. I wonder what other books I can get in this app! And prior to my photocopy of the Mahonri paragraph, is the Moriancumer paragraph: And here's the paragraph about Mahonri: FWIW.

For the win!

Did you read the OT before anyone told you anything about it? Or did you first hear (likely as a child) about the violent or vengeful God of the OT, and then read it for yourself? I submit that we hear it first, and read it second (after all, the OT isn't likely to be on a child's list of "things to read next"), and this attitude has become the prevailing view. I submit that this "priming of the pump" causes us to blame God for things in the OT that God had no part in. I believe it causes us to pass by the mercy, generosity, etc. without notice. I am not saying that God's wrath and justice are never on display in the OT, I'm saying that once the pump has been primed, we notice that to exclusion of all else, and attribute to that things which have other origins.

This video on Instagram (you shouldn't need the app or an account if you open the link in a web browser) from the ScripturePlus rep is really useful and has a new explanation I like.

Adam and Eve in the garden would have had Terrestrial bodies (in theory), and when they fell, their bodies would have become Telestial. (The descending sequence is: Celestial - Terrestrial - Telestial - perdition. Yes, hard to remember since this planet is often referred to as "terrestrial".) In the resurrection, only those in the Celestial kingdom will be able to have children (potentially only those in its highest degree - that's hard to say either way).

Well, now we want a link to go see for ourselves.

This. Go read the Old Testament. Look for a God of love, patience, and mercy - He is there for all the world to see. I believe seeing a "vengeful" God happens because people hear that claim before they themselves ever read the Old Testament. That was my view until I read Hugh Nibley claiming that the God of the OT was a merciful God. So I went to read again, and found such love and beautiful promises that I have completely changed my view. Is there violence? Sure, when wicked people do violent things, and when the wrath of God is invoked by a very, very wicked people. But it's clear that God wishes to be otherwise and it takes a lot to call out his justice. Also, check out the hymn "How Firm a Foundation" - full of such gentle and beautiful promises - it's almost word for word from the Old Testament. Pay attention to the sacrifices and how, once given, they are emphasized as "holy" - this is the source for why our tithes and offerings are holy (and if you've ever been in a position to decide how they're spent, then you should have been trained on just how sacred those funds are and how careful we should be about their use - my OT reading really emphasized that for me).

OK, I finally stopped long enough to notice your joke. Very good. We should write to Merriam-Webster - or something.

Thanks to @Vort's reply, I re-read the whole thread today... I really like this hymn. And if the bass is stronger (can't say I recall), that would be another reason for me to like it - I like music with a strong bass. I love this hymn. (And it's easy to play on the flute.) Perhaps I'll make a Christmas special post - after Thanksgiving.