Traveler

Matt. 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
I don't see why righteous Abel would not have been resurrected by now. If their time is anything like our time the gospel should have already been preached to everyone of that dispensation. I would think his work was done.

I am of the opinion that few things of this life are as they appear.  I had a younger brother that grew up mostly after I had left home (and moved far away from my family).  I only knew him while he was a child.  He died in an accident a few months after he returned home from his mission.  His death was particularly hard on my parents. 
During my younger brother’s funeral, I had an experience that is somewhat difficult to explain.  My brother came to me and communicated with me – it was a profound spiritual experience for me.  I learned that our mortal existence has what I would best describe as presets.  One of the major presets is the time of our death.  On rare occasions there can be an extension or contraction concerning our time of death pending on circumstances. 
Many sorrowed for my brother thinking that his time on earth had been shortened.  I learned that his time had been extended to serve a mission.  I inquired why my brother came to me rather than my parents or other family members.  I learned that the reason was because our parents and other family members were too stricken with grief and my brother could not connect with them.  I was to let them know that my brother was blessed to fulfill a mission.  Also, that he was about a good work and would not be denied any blessings and should not be mourned for dying young.   It took several years for my parents to be comforted.
Like the song “Come Come Ye Saints”, And if we die before our journey {seems} through – Happy Day, all is well.
 
The Traveler

I am of the opinion that few things of this life are as they appear.  I had a younger brother that grew up mostly after I had left home (and moved far away from my family).  I only knew him while he was a child.  He died in an accident a few months after he returned home from his mission.  His death was particularly hard on my parents. 
During my younger brother’s funeral, I had an experience that is somewhat difficult to explain.  My brother came to me and communicated with me – it was a profound spiritual experience for me.  I learned that our mortal existence has what I would best describe as presets.  One of the major presets is the time of our death.  On rare occasions there can be an extension or contraction concerning our time of death pending on circumstances. 
Many sorrowed for my brother thinking that his time on earth had been shortened.  I learned that his time had been extended to serve a mission.  I inquired why my brother came to me rather than my parents or other family members.  I learned that the reason was because our parents and other family members were too stricken with grief and my brother could not connect with them.  I was to let them know that my brother was blessed to fulfill a mission.  Also, that he was about a good work and would not be denied any blessings and should not be mourned for dying young.   It took several years for my parents to be comforted.
Like the song “Come Come Ye Saints”, And if we die before our journey {seems} through – Happy Day, all is well.
 
The Traveler

I am of the opinion that few things of this life are as they appear.  I had a younger brother that grew up mostly after I had left home (and moved far away from my family).  I only knew him while he was a child.  He died in an accident a few months after he returned home from his mission.  His death was particularly hard on my parents. 
During my younger brother’s funeral, I had an experience that is somewhat difficult to explain.  My brother came to me and communicated with me – it was a profound spiritual experience for me.  I learned that our mortal existence has what I would best describe as presets.  One of the major presets is the time of our death.  On rare occasions there can be an extension or contraction concerning our time of death pending on circumstances. 
Many sorrowed for my brother thinking that his time on earth had been shortened.  I learned that his time had been extended to serve a mission.  I inquired why my brother came to me rather than my parents or other family members.  I learned that the reason was because our parents and other family members were too stricken with grief and my brother could not connect with them.  I was to let them know that my brother was blessed to fulfill a mission.  Also, that he was about a good work and would not be denied any blessings and should not be mourned for dying young.   It took several years for my parents to be comforted.
Like the song “Come Come Ye Saints”, And if we die before our journey {seems} through – Happy Day, all is well.
 
The Traveler

I am of the opinion that few things of this life are as they appear.  I had a younger brother that grew up mostly after I had left home (and moved far away from my family).  I only knew him while he was a child.  He died in an accident a few months after he returned home from his mission.  His death was particularly hard on my parents. 
During my younger brother’s funeral, I had an experience that is somewhat difficult to explain.  My brother came to me and communicated with me – it was a profound spiritual experience for me.  I learned that our mortal existence has what I would best describe as presets.  One of the major presets is the time of our death.  On rare occasions there can be an extension or contraction concerning our time of death pending on circumstances. 
Many sorrowed for my brother thinking that his time on earth had been shortened.  I learned that his time had been extended to serve a mission.  I inquired why my brother came to me rather than my parents or other family members.  I learned that the reason was because our parents and other family members were too stricken with grief and my brother could not connect with them.  I was to let them know that my brother was blessed to fulfill a mission.  Also, that he was about a good work and would not be denied any blessings and should not be mourned for dying young.   It took several years for my parents to be comforted.
Like the song “Come Come Ye Saints”, And if we die before our journey {seems} through – Happy Day, all is well.
 
The Traveler

Can I make a big end-of-days prediction, too? I'll start off with the idea that the right and left sides of the eagle are the political right and left of the United States - that vision was given specifically for people in the modern day, and the people who were around at the time were not intended to understand. Also, when the proud and they that do wickedly will burn, it's going to be because of global warming. I haven't worked out the rest of the details yet.

Tomorrow Jan 22 is the Inauguration

Perhaps, in the sense that a myocardial infarction and a coronary occlusion are two separate and notably different things. But they involve the same area, produce the same outcome, and wreak havoc in pretty much the same way, so their differences don't seem to make a difference.

Those are two separate and notably different things.

I am studying the Book of Mormon based on a particular Egyptian concept.  There is an Egyptian g-d called Khepri that is represented by a dung beetle.  Generally, this is a representation of the rising or morning sun.  Also, creation or the renewal of life (including resurrection).   In the most general sense Kheper could stand for divinely inspired change or happening.  Perhaps the most accurate translation into English would be, “And it came to pass”.
As I map out all the phrases, “And it came to pass”, I am linking it to the change that occurred and the results or consequences.  This gives significant insight to how G-d influences those that keep His commandments as well as those that spurn Him and His commandments.  Perhaps this is just a little thing to consider but it brings a strong witness (evidence) of the divinity of the Book of Mormon to me – especially considering that none of this was known when Joseph Smith brought froth this much needed scripture for the latter-days.  This offen bit of criticism of the Book of Mormon has, over time, become a strong witness (evidence) of its authenticity.
 
The Traveler

There must be a single character to represent Khepri.
I always mused that since the phrase was used so many times in the BoM that there must be a single character in reformed Egyptian that corresponds with the phrase “And it came to pass”.

Greetings and welcome @Looking for help :  I am a retired scientist and engineer from the field of industrial automation, robotics and artificial intelligence.  I am dyslectic and have difficulty understanding anything to be real that is not logical and the result of logic.  As a scientist, I do not find any logic to support believe in anything being random – only that random is an arrogant excuse for not understanding the cause – this includes quantum physics.
Our universe is hostile to life as we know it here on earth and as, yet we have not found any possibility for intelligent life (as we know it) to exist anywhere else – let alone evolve.   There is a second law of thermodynamics that asserts that complex orders – especially evolving from singularity is a scientific impossibility.  I would submit that the only possibility to the simplistic uniform order of our complex universe is the result of intelligent cause.   That the complexity of the simplistic order of our solar system resulting in life on earth is as much evidence of intelligence as finding a working clock in the middle of a barren desert.
Even if we suppose that there is no G-d and that intelligent life is the evolutionary result of some random chance – science dictates two important principles.  Anything that can or does happen can be engineered to happen.  In other words, anything that can happen by some chance can be intelligently duplicated and caused to happen.  The second principle is that if intelligent life can evolve – that intelligent life can evolve to eventually intelligently duplicate anything that has happened.  This means that even if there is no G-d one must accept that if evolution is possible - it is inevitable that intelligence would evolve the capabilities of G-d.  Thus, by the principle of Occam’s razor G-d must exist because science and evolution demands it as a possibility.
As a covenant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – I have come to the conclusion (as an explanation of why) that only in the LDS teaching do we find sufficient explanation for why in life.  That there was a pre-existence (first estate) where each individual human life on planet earth was planned and that there is an estate beyond death where all things are reconciled.  Otherwise, there is no reason to believe in intelligence, justice, liberty or freedom unless there is a pre-existence and an existence after death.  There is no reason to believe in any purpose, logic, science, coincidence, hope or reason for concern for global warming, politics, education, love or knowledge unliess intelligence is trancendent. 
There is no logic to birth as a beginning of intelligence or death as an end of intelligence.
 
The Traveler

I am studying the Book of Mormon based on a particular Egyptian concept.  There is an Egyptian g-d called Khepri that is represented by a dung beetle.  Generally, this is a representation of the rising or morning sun.  Also, creation or the renewal of life (including resurrection).   In the most general sense Kheper could stand for divinely inspired change or happening.  Perhaps the most accurate translation into English would be, “And it came to pass”.
As I map out all the phrases, “And it came to pass”, I am linking it to the change that occurred and the results or consequences.  This gives significant insight to how G-d influences those that keep His commandments as well as those that spurn Him and His commandments.  Perhaps this is just a little thing to consider but it brings a strong witness (evidence) of the divinity of the Book of Mormon to me – especially considering that none of this was known when Joseph Smith brought froth this much needed scripture for the latter-days.  This offen bit of criticism of the Book of Mormon has, over time, become a strong witness (evidence) of its authenticity.
 
The Traveler

I am studying the Book of Mormon based on a particular Egyptian concept.  There is an Egyptian g-d called Khepri that is represented by a dung beetle.  Generally, this is a representation of the rising or morning sun.  Also, creation or the renewal of life (including resurrection).   In the most general sense Kheper could stand for divinely inspired change or happening.  Perhaps the most accurate translation into English would be, “And it came to pass”.
As I map out all the phrases, “And it came to pass”, I am linking it to the change that occurred and the results or consequences.  This gives significant insight to how G-d influences those that keep His commandments as well as those that spurn Him and His commandments.  Perhaps this is just a little thing to consider but it brings a strong witness (evidence) of the divinity of the Book of Mormon to me – especially considering that none of this was known when Joseph Smith brought froth this much needed scripture for the latter-days.  This offen bit of criticism of the Book of Mormon has, over time, become a strong witness (evidence) of its authenticity.
 
The Traveler

I overpaid taxes.
Refund coming!

We meet our exchange student in about two hours. He is the fourth one we have hosted, for two weeks, from China. It’s an amazing experience! 

I totally agree. Pauline Kael, the film critic for The New Yorker, once said, “I don’t know how Nixon won. I don’t know a single person who voted for him.” She wasn’t kidding. 
 
Nixon carried 49 states. 

In general, the more narrow someone's existence is, the harder it can be for them to imagine any other way of life. 
For example, a few years ago there was a to-do on Twitter because someone with a degree of prominence claimed that they could never see themselves living anywhere other than their major coastal city... because they legitimately believed that bodegas only existed inside of that city. They legitimately refused to believe it when people said that bodegas and larger convenience stores existed across much of the United States, and that if this was their only objection to traveling then it wasn't much of an objection. 
Technology, travel, and population patterns are, metaphorically speaking, shrinking the world in the sense that people have more opportunities to interact with others outside of their own group. This is something we all need to take advantage of as we prepare the Earth for the Second Coming. 

I've heard stories my whole life of folks who went and served in areas full of crime or addiction or poverty or some type of horrible lack.  The folks telling the stories seem to have something in common: They never knew how much love they could have for folks who live so differently.
Cool beans @mikbone!

Figured we needed a positive thread.  
 
My son freakin loves his mission.  When he got called to Farmington NM I sighed. 
I hate NM.  Got like 3 speeding tickets going thru a 30 mile stretch (NE corner of the state) back and forth from Texas and BYU during undergrad.  Total speed trap 65 MPH on Texas side and 55 in MN - and no one lives along the road, its totally abandoned other than dirt, weeds, scrub trees and cops dispensing citations!
Anyway, he has been in the Zuni Pueblo for 3-4 months and absolutely loves it.  Lots of service (mostly chopping firewood).  Confiscating alcohol from the members and the occasional dime bad of cocaine.  Had to explain that we don’t take possession of illegal substances.  And teaching the gospel.  
His letters are great.  And his attitude is spot on.  The ward Sunday attendance has gone from < 10 to over 40.
Once again the Lord knows best.

I believe (or at least I want to believe) that many begin with good, honest intentions of following God. When they find that their position gives them power and the ability to satiate carnal appetites, they veer off the way, step by step, until they are intentionally deceiving and manipulating people for sex, money, luxury, and fame.
This is priestcraft, among the greatest of perversions, and is not completely unknown in LDS circles. I do believe it's uncommon for Latter-day Saints to stray to that extent, but I have been acquainted with several who appeared to take entirely too much pleasure—dare I say pride?—in their own fame (or notoriety).

Welcome, @Maytoday!
Only one website matters, the Church's official one.  Whatever you find elsewhere may or may not be correct or consistent with what the Church teaches.
The 13 Articles of Faith might be a good place to start with what we believe - they were written by Joseph Smith, through whom the Church of Jesus Christ was restored.
As @Grunt said, the Book of Mormon is another good starting point (and, there's an app for that ).
What's to argue?  We believe what we believe.  We believe it because it is revealed by God through prophets and apostles.  Whether you understand it or see reason or logic in it won't matter - we believe what we believe.  People have been trying since the 1800s to "argue" us out of our beliefs - doesn't work.  So what is there to argue about?  If you don't understand what we're saying, OK, we'll try to explain it in different terms.  If you don't believe the things we believe, that's your right and choice, but there's still nothing to argue about.
How exactly is a religious document "proven true"?  How do you prove that Jesus Christ is the son of God?  How do you prove that he atoned for our sins and was resurrected?  How do you prove that God is real?  You can find our beliefs in our scriptures.  Every April and October, the leaders of our Church expound on what you find in said scriptures - helping us to apply these things in our lives - in a meeting we call "General Conference".  But you're not going to find us citing a creed or whatever.
If you want to take a deep dive into early Church history, you could try the Joseph Smith Papers website.
Other than all that, it might be best if you just start with whatever simple question you might have, and we'll have a go at answering.
I will say that in my experience, this Third Hour forum is the one place on the internet where you will find faithful members of the Church who support the leaders of the Church (as opposed to many other forums where you'll find a mixture of that, wolves in sheep's clothing, people who want to destroy the Church, and heaven knows who else).
Finally, perhaps @prisonchaplain can give you some tips on engaging with latter-day saints.   (Should he have time and notice this.)

Interesting.  Though I'm always leery when people place dates.

Greetings and welcome @Looking for help :  I am a retired scientist and engineer from the field of industrial automation, robotics and artificial intelligence.  I am dyslectic and have difficulty understanding anything to be real that is not logical and the result of logic.  As a scientist, I do not find any logic to support believe in anything being random – only that random is an arrogant excuse for not understanding the cause – this includes quantum physics.
Our universe is hostile to life as we know it here on earth and as, yet we have not found any possibility for intelligent life (as we know it) to exist anywhere else – let alone evolve.   There is a second law of thermodynamics that asserts that complex orders – especially evolving from singularity is a scientific impossibility.  I would submit that the only possibility to the simplistic uniform order of our complex universe is the result of intelligent cause.   That the complexity of the simplistic order of our solar system resulting in life on earth is as much evidence of intelligence as finding a working clock in the middle of a barren desert.
Even if we suppose that there is no G-d and that intelligent life is the evolutionary result of some random chance – science dictates two important principles.  Anything that can or does happen can be engineered to happen.  In other words, anything that can happen by some chance can be intelligently duplicated and caused to happen.  The second principle is that if intelligent life can evolve – that intelligent life can evolve to eventually intelligently duplicate anything that has happened.  This means that even if there is no G-d one must accept that if evolution is possible - it is inevitable that intelligence would evolve the capabilities of G-d.  Thus, by the principle of Occam’s razor G-d must exist because science and evolution demands it as a possibility.
As a covenant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – I have come to the conclusion (as an explanation of why) that only in the LDS teaching do we find sufficient explanation for why in life.  That there was a pre-existence (first estate) where each individual human life on planet earth was planned and that there is an estate beyond death where all things are reconciled.  Otherwise, there is no reason to believe in intelligence, justice, liberty or freedom unless there is a pre-existence and an existence after death.  There is no reason to believe in any purpose, logic, science, coincidence, hope or reason for concern for global warming, politics, education, love or knowledge unliess intelligence is trancendent. 
There is no logic to birth as a beginning of intelligence or death as an end of intelligence.
 
The Traveler

Greetings and welcome @Looking for help :  I am a retired scientist and engineer from the field of industrial automation, robotics and artificial intelligence.  I am dyslectic and have difficulty understanding anything to be real that is not logical and the result of logic.  As a scientist, I do not find any logic to support believe in anything being random – only that random is an arrogant excuse for not understanding the cause – this includes quantum physics.
Our universe is hostile to life as we know it here on earth and as, yet we have not found any possibility for intelligent life (as we know it) to exist anywhere else – let alone evolve.   There is a second law of thermodynamics that asserts that complex orders – especially evolving from singularity is a scientific impossibility.  I would submit that the only possibility to the simplistic uniform order of our complex universe is the result of intelligent cause.   That the complexity of the simplistic order of our solar system resulting in life on earth is as much evidence of intelligence as finding a working clock in the middle of a barren desert.
Even if we suppose that there is no G-d and that intelligent life is the evolutionary result of some random chance – science dictates two important principles.  Anything that can or does happen can be engineered to happen.  In other words, anything that can happen by some chance can be intelligently duplicated and caused to happen.  The second principle is that if intelligent life can evolve – that intelligent life can evolve to eventually intelligently duplicate anything that has happened.  This means that even if there is no G-d one must accept that if evolution is possible - it is inevitable that intelligence would evolve the capabilities of G-d.  Thus, by the principle of Occam’s razor G-d must exist because science and evolution demands it as a possibility.
As a covenant member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – I have come to the conclusion (as an explanation of why) that only in the LDS teaching do we find sufficient explanation for why in life.  That there was a pre-existence (first estate) where each individual human life on planet earth was planned and that there is an estate beyond death where all things are reconciled.  Otherwise, there is no reason to believe in intelligence, justice, liberty or freedom unless there is a pre-existence and an existence after death.  There is no reason to believe in any purpose, logic, science, coincidence, hope or reason for concern for global warming, politics, education, love or knowledge unliess intelligence is trancendent. 
There is no logic to birth as a beginning of intelligence or death as an end of intelligence.
 
The Traveler