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Yes, that's what I was referring to. The chart shows where to stop, not where to start, nor what we're reading. So, this is what the chart means: Dec 18 Mormon 1-2 Monday Dec 19 Mormon 3-5 Tuesday Dec 20 Mormon 6-7 Wednesday Dec 21 Mormon 8-9 Thursday Dec 22 Ether 1-2 Friday Dec 23 Ether 3-4 Saturday Dec 24 Ether 5-7 Sunday It's been that way from the start. That's how the website I used generated it.

No, the chapter shown for the day is what you read up through. So today is Mormon 1 and 2. Tomorrow is Mormon 3-5, Wednesday is 6-7, etc.

I would think that if someone were to tweet, for example: "Today in my [subject] class, Professor [name] said, Blah blah blah blah." And that were all they tweeted - with no commentary, no agreement or disagreement - how could anyone complain that they had done something offensive - doxxing or mob-forming or whatever? (As long as the professor actually said what is quoted.) Then the professors would be "outed", but in a way that no one could (rightly) call foul.

If they don't give her the maximum on all those counts, whoever is responsible for not giving the max should have to serve the difference! This woman should never be free again. (Neither of them.)

I predict that between now and whenever the Lord comes again, people will leave the Church over right wing politics, left wing politics, to keep their jobs or their bank accounts, to keep their favorite sins, because the persecution is more than they can bear, because they are deceived, and for every other reason they can think of. The only people who will stay will be the truly humble followers of Jesus Christ who are willing to give up everything for his name's sake. I encourage everyone to get on the truly humble follower of Jesus Christ bandwagon and brace themselves to lose all for his name's sake. (Then, if they don't have to lose all, hooray! If they do lose all, hooray!)

If nothing else, it would initiate a potentially interesting discussion. Were I going to do that, and I'm the sort of person who just might, I would go armed with the Family Proclamation and having dug up those scriptures (particularly from the New Testament) about leaders who aren't doing their duty. My guess is that it would result in your temple recommend not being renewed - assuming the Bishop and Stake President support the ideas in question - that's not entirely clear to me. (Really, nothing about this situation is entirely clear to me. I'm not in favor of members "kicking people out of the Church" just because they suffer from sins, temptations, and weaknesses we don't like; but I'm also not in favor of tolerating or staying silent when members teach, promote, or "celebrate" things that are contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.)

It would appear that this variation between wards is increasing. While there can be ways in which this is good, obviously there are ways in which it can be very, very bad. I expect we'll see both more variation (for some) and more unity (for others). I have yet to be in a ward or branch that wasn't fundamentally exactly like all the others (and that includes 4 US states and Moscow, Russia - English-speaking branch).

Tuesdays are busy days for me, so I'm going to read Mormon 3 today and 4-5 tomorrow: Mormon 3 v1: When you learn something from scripture, put it into action in your life! v2: The Lord wants you to come back, no matter how far you may have gone from him. v9-10: Just don't do these things! Be humble and grateful. v15: You only get so many chances. Don't waste them!

And today, we start the book of Mormon in the Book of Mormon... Mormon 1 Mormon is 11 through 15 through most of this chapter! I suppose the lesson here for all of us is that it's possible to be righteous despite living in the middle of a very wicked society - so wicked that the Lord has basically given up trying to turn the people from their wickedness (v13-14, v16-17, 2:19). @old - perhaps there might be some comfort and guidance here for you? (If nothing else, if you are not studying from the Book of Mormon every day, I encourage you to try it and see if the Lord doesn't bless your family for it.) v19: I don't know why the footnotes don't link it, but I think the prophecy of Abinadi would have to be from Mosiah 11:20-25, and Samuel the Lamanite prophesied in Helaman 13-15 - similar "repent or be destroyed" language, but also cursed their riches to become "slippery" (in chapter 13). Mormon's mention of these here should teach us that prophecies can be fulfilled multiple times, and can apply many generations after they're given. Mormon 2 Even with a righteous leader, the Lord will not support a wicked people. v8: Don't wait until you're surrounded by blood and carnage (literal, spiritual, or figurative) before you repent! But if you have waited that long, repent! v1:4, 2:17 - it would appear that neither Ammaron nor Mormon knew, initially, that the Lord would have Mormon abridge the plates. Ammaron's instructions and Mormon's initial action were both simply to add to the record what Mormon had experienced. v18: "these plates" are plates Mormon made (see footnote). I suspect he made them after making his initial historical entry. v23: The things for which one can justly fight have not changed. I can imagine Mormon, when he went to this hill, intensely studying the plates of Nephi, and being so impressed by Captain Moroni that he decided to name his (Mormon's) son after him (Captain Moroni). v26: Don't be left to yourself. Stay true to the Lord, so that you can have his strength and support. v27: (And earlier verses) Note that Mormon sorrows for the wickedness of his people. We don't see him getting angry or indignant or similar self-focused reactions. (Not saying Mormon was perfect, heaven knows; but the important lesson here is that we should try to curb our own selfish reactions to the wickedness of others and focus on selfless reactions - mourning, and if possible, encouraging repentance and righteous choices.) (See 3:12)

@old, I'm sorry the Stake in your area appears to have gone so far astray. I hope the Area Presidency are able to bring it back into line with what it should be. I'm glad you've been able to find relief elsewhere, but I hope you realize that there's no more salvation in an Orthodox parish as there is in an LDS ward gone astray - possibly less: the Orthodox parish cannot maintain your temple recommend to allow you to worship there. Its sacrament has no power or authority. And I am of the opinion that even if those administering the sacrament in your ward are unworthy, only they will be condemned for it, not those who worthily partake. I don't know what counsel to give you except to move if you can. Not every ward or stake in the Church is how you describe. I would not let a ward-gone-off-the-rails kick me out of the Church. My God bless and guide your family.

3 Nephi 29 The Lord keeps his promises. Be true to the Lord. v7: Don't do things for "gain" - not for money, not for the respect of the folks in your Sunday School class, not to impress your companions with your "gospel knowledge", etc. Do what you do because you love God and his truth and want to share it with others in all humility. 3 Nephi 30 Amen! Come to Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, get adopted into the House of Israel. We have cookies - at 7pm, in the cultural hall (aka: gym)! 4 Nephi 1 v15: Plead for the love of God to dwell in your heart. v17: View yourself and those around you as children of God. Let there be no manner of -ites in your heart, even if the world disagrees. v24: Beware of the desire for costly clothes and jewelry. v20, 26: Society may form themselves into -ites and classes, but you don't have to follow society. You don't have to treat people differently just because society thinks people should be treated differently. v31: When society seeks to kill the righteous only because their righteousness makes society look bad, then you know that society is close to destruction. I would say we're one step away from this today (with so many on social media proposing murder as a means of dealing with people who resist wickedness). v34: At least some of the time, the Lord expects us to humbly take such abuse. (I suppose we each have to figure out where the line is between long-suffering and righteous self-defense.) v36-38: I wonder if they really divided on ancestral lines, or if they just used these names. Or perhaps there was so much inter-marrying that everyone could claim whichever ancestral line they wanted... Sad that large groups can't be content with peace and prosperity. Don't be a large group - choose to live in peace, love your enemies, stay true to the Savior.

And yet, being from Nazareth was one of the reasons people rejected him. How strange. Perhaps this prophecy wasn't well known.

As far as I know, there is no cure for blindness today, and even a cochlear implant isn't the same as a cure for being deaf. Pretty sure what happens in hospitals pales compared to some of what Christ did. Per the journal of Oliver Hunnington (Huntington? - not sure), which journal is in the Church archives, 16 Feb 1895 entry, the following were the names of the three disciples who were translated (this came from an Institute teacher and was spoken in class and seemed that many know it): Jeremiah Zedekiah Kumenonhi Is not disputation simply one of the ways in which pride is made manifest?

Just made tomorrow's thread (today's for @askandanswer):

Please see the Book of Mormon Reading Group thread for details (and discussion of 1 Nephi 1 - 5). Our goal is to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I'll make a new post before each Monday so that it's ready to go - weeks go from Monday to Sunday for our purposes. This week's schedule: Dec 18 Mormon 2 Monday Dec 19 Mormon 5 Tuesday Dec 20 Mormon 7 Wednesday Dec 21 Mormon 9 Thursday Dec 22 Ether 2 Friday Dec 23 Ether 4 Saturday Dec 24 Ether 7 Sunday Last Week: Book of Mormon Reading Group: 11 Dec - 17 Dec 2023 (3 Nephi 14 - 4 Nephi 1) Thread Index

I'm reasonably certain that every religion and every story the world has ever known devolved from truth. Those of us fortunate to have either work we love, or a productive hobby we love (whether quilting or woodworking or carving or painting or whatever), know that work can be rest if you love the work. And those of us unfortunate enough to have to do work (generally to earn a living) which we don't (fully) love know that sometimes you need rest from that work. I have read (I think from one of the prophets) that our spirit will still crave those things which our body loved (whether that's cigarettes or chocolate cake) and that we will have to overcome that (either in the body or (more difficult) as a spirit, or even, I think, in the resurrection - that latter may have been Brigham Young). Or perhaps the majority of the Jews supported the scribes, Pharisees, and other leaders who spoke for them. Of course, "by the Jews" isn't necessarily the same as "by all the Jews".

That's the part that stopped me dead. Really, you guys are so stupid that you need nine such committees, and we let you carry guns!? :SMH: Pretty sure we're gonna need more than 12...

I expect it depends on what "die" means. The three disciples are promised they won't "taste death" but will be changed from mortal (though translated) to immortal (resurrected) in the twinkling of an eye. Does that mean they won't die? I don't know. Can you be resurrected without dying first? Perhaps they'll die and be resurrected in said twinkling. Perhaps that will be fast enough that they don't "taste death". Whatever the case, we believe John and the three disciples were translated - changed to a mortal form that doesn't suffer (as described in 3 Nephi 28). As to John 21:23: What does it mean that John will "tarry till [Christ] come[s]"? And how could he do that unless translated? But this verse reads to me like John was correcting the rumor - perhaps people thought that "should not die" meant he would remain as he was for eternity - that wasn't possible. Perhaps it was something that wasn't supposed to be talked about. I also note the link to Luke 9:26-27: v26 = Second Coming. v27: some standing there won't die until the Second Coming. We know of John. Whether there were any others (not the others of the 12, that's pretty clear), we don't know. Anywho, we believe that John, like these three disciples (commonly called "the three Nephites") was translated into a state as described in 3 Nephi 28 and that they minister among mortals unknown to said mortals.

With everything I keep hearing, if I had a kid, I certainly wouldn't send them to BYU.

People who complain about global warming have clearly not read the Revelation of John (or 3rd Nephi) recently enough. Obviously, if the earth is going to be turned into a sea of glass, it's gonna need to get a lot hotter! No need to worry about global warming, just repent! 3 Nephi 27 v1: How sad to be one of those who wasn't there, who only found out later what they missed. v2: Our world is so thing-oriented that when I read, "What will ye that I shall give unto you?" I subconsciously think "What physical thing will ye...." God has much better to give than things. Clearly, I need to work harder to get Babylon's programming out of my brain. Meanwhile, the fact that Christ asks them what they want intrigues me. My imagination first came up with this scenario: The disciples are praying to God, asking about the name of the Church. God says to Jesus, "Your Nephite disciples are asking obvious questions again. Go set them straight." (Without revealing what was prayed for.) The problem here, of course, is that at this point, Christ should know everything, so even if they didn't say in their prayer what they want, he should know anyway. Yet, he still asks them to speak their request. No idea why that caught my attention, but it did. One (related) conclusion I have come to (years past) is that although God already knows everything, he still wants us to talk to him. That's gotta be a special kind of love. Me, I'd get impatient: "Yeah, yeah, I already know all that, get on with it..." v3: Clearly these people are prospering again, because only prosperous people have time to argue about the name of the church. v5-7, 9: This lesson isn't just for naming the church, nor for church leaders. All of us are to do everything in the name of Christ. Take his name upon you and then act as if you were him, or at least representing him, all the time. Talk about "always remember him". If we could manage to do this, we would sin a lot less. A good topic to ponder during the Sacrament would be, "What am I doing that cannot be done in Christ's name?" v7: "...that he will bless the church for my sake." There's an interesting idea. I doubt I've ever heard a prayer making that request. Perhaps I'll start doing this. And it can go two ways - bless the church, not because the church is worthy in and of themselves, but because Christ is worthy and it's his church; or, bless the church because as the church is blessed, so too is Christ blessed. v13-21: Believe in Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, be faithful and endure to the end, do the things Christ did. v23-26: I don't think it's only the prophets who are to write the things they have seen and heard. We are to do that, too. I tend to think that when we are judged out of these books, it will be a comparison between what we did and what the scriptures we had taught us to do. E.g. the restored Church will not be judged by how well they kept the law of Moses; and those under the law of Moses will not be judged by how well they followed the teachings in the Doctrine & Covenants. (And yes, for the record, I'm quite confident God uses a fountain pen for writing in his books. ) v27: Strive to be like Christ. v30: There are people in heaven who want you to come back. Give them reason to rejoice! v32: Don't be the fourth generation. Don't trade Christ for "stuff". 3 Nephi 28 v2-3: Apparently 72 is "the age of man". v6-10, 37-39: Parts of this sound great, but can you imaging 2000+ years of dealing with mortals being wicked? It would take a strong person not to fall into complete depression or not to start to hate people, etc. These three, and John, truly love the Lord and the rest of us. v9-10: How to have as much joy as possible: v13-16: The things of heaven are too much for this world. Respect sacred things. v19-22: Would make good scenes for a fantasy adventure story. v27-29, 32: Take note - these three disciples of Christ are among us, somewhere. v32: "a great and marvelous work wrought by them" - I wonder if this has reference to the restoration, or if to something else, yet to come. v34: Receive and hearken to Christ's words.

Splitting hairs. Whatever you intended, if you didn't know it, your words sounded like, "go find another church". If you didn't intend to say that, just know that that's how it read and consider that going forward. If you did, sorry, but you were in the wrong to do so.

And in case we need a second witness (not that we should, but) the parable of the wheat and tares, and this from the Lord in D&C 86: The prophet will tell us when the harvest is fully ripe. In the meantime, we should not be trying to kick people out, but to help them stay in.

Does not in any way take precedence over the Book of Mormon verses that I quoted - quite the opposite.

D'oh! (I can be dense - it's "my one weakness" .)

I'll bet God can. I'd say it's a big talking head, except it's also got legs and is walking, so maybe not... Maybe it's Henry, freed from his container... (Hint, hint.)