Calm

CFR, I put up stats, where are yours supporting your claims? And yet I put up research demonstrating my claims and thus my conclusions, while you responded by waving them away as if nonexistent. I do not appear to be the one drawing conclusions without establishing a foundation.

Editing is screwed up….anyone else having slowed down loading up times and lack of saving response? AI isn’t helping as white, male names are generally preferred. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/gender-race-and-intersectional-bias-in-ai-resume-screening-via-language-model-retrieval/

And yet male graduates are still getting paid more, though the gap is smaller than it used to be, for comparable jobs while pay is typically lower for female dominated majors, etc. Asian Americans are less likely to be accepted than comparable whites: https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.04449? And male applicants are at times favored over females: https://www.ivycoach.com/press/best-colleges/heres-what-students-should-know-about-gender-inequity-in-selective-college-admissions/ And it seems one of the main reason white males don’t go to or finish college is because they don’t see a need to do so for the job they want. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/08/whats-behind-the-growing-gap-between-men-and-women-in-college-completion/ Males also have an advantage in being automatically higher rated in the male dominated, higher paying jobs (studies of identical resumes given male or female names). Women have an advantage for lower paying, female dominated fields. https://isps.yale.edu/research/publications/isps23-18?utm_source=chatgpt.com Added: this doesn’t break it down by sex, but whites pretty much tie with Asians for the lowest unemployment rates at 3.6 and 3.5%. https://www.statista.com/statistics/237917/us-unemployment-rate-by-race-and-ethnicity/ This set of stats have white men and women fluctuating on who has the lower rate, so it seems on average to be quite close. Also have Asians doing the same. So again, white males are in the groups with lowest unemployment rates on average. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm When white males are no longer dominant in numbers in the highest paid salary groups and have higher unemployment stats than other groups, I think I will find such concerns better founded. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/02/women-have-gained-ground-in-the-nations-highest-paying-occupations-but-still-lag-behind-men/ Having said that, we should be making sure our kids, both male and female, have better life skills taught—which include learning how to study effectively so they can best make use of educational opportunities as well as critical thinking skills that can serve them in their education and nonacademic life—in public funded school imo if the purpose is to turn them into producing, functional, independent citizens. That requires investment not only in research to find the best teaching methods for all involved, whatever neurodiversity they might have regardless of ethnicity, religion, sex, etc., but also kids’ health (which translates for me to moving school to start no earlier than 9 as well as providing nutritious meals, especially for those who don’t get them at home for whatever reason, making physical activity part of every school day, and basic checkups and don’t forget maternal healthcare prenatally and early years so babies and preschoolers maximize their health as well….early preventative health care means less costly healthcare as they age). Invest early to reap the financial and social benefits of a citizenship that can work well and wants to.

I was hoping you were going to say the spiritual blaze in the Conference Center last weekend.

In a row? Did I miss something last weekend or is my brain already asleep even if my eyes and fingers are moving?

He is definitely pitching the fear angle. From FB, 5 hrs ago… Then there is a clip of different countries decades ago showing western dressed women and today showing them with Muslim head coverings, etc. So it’s not only pedophiles running deep state, but radical Islam determined to take over America he’s situating himself as fighting against.

OUR used the Sound of Freedom movie in their promos even though they had no connection to it, iirc. He may still have a contract with them or they just may be reluctant to lose his name, but he’s not promoting them that I can (quickly) see. Google pulls up only their website for a search on their name and “Tim Ballard” in the last month. OTOH, for the last month there are over ten pages of “Tim Ballard foundation”, most possibly from TB’s instagram. My guess is he has moved on to something he has more personal control over and doesn’t have to share the donations with others’ projects or pockets. Since he sees Trump as a great example, he may be channeling Trump when choosing the name for his foundation.

Having problems editing, so new post…think the pictures made the page too cumbersome… Have found a criticism of Alabama’s law….fear it could lead to victims having life sentences https://reason.com/2024/05/06/alabamas-new-sex-trafficking-law-could-mean-life-in-prison-for-trafficking-victims/?nab=0

Google didn’t find anything under a federal bill with that name…unless buried in all the references to Alabama…but it’s AI kindly provided this summary:

Do we know what the actual bill was besides free advertising for the movie and Ballard? It appears to have been made into law in one state, Alabama, but the press release just says first degree trafficking a minor has the penalty of a mandatory life sentence. I don’t see the Church trying to stop that. https://governor.alabama.gov/newsroom/2024/04/governor-ivey-signs-sound-of-freedom-act-making-alabamas-anti-human-trafficking-law-toughest-in-the-nation/ https://www.alreporter.com/2024/01/22/sound-of-freedom-act-would-automatically-sentence-child-traffickers-to-life-in-prison/

Are you sure it’s not under the Tim Ballard Foundation? There appears to be pushing that rather then SPEAR on his social media page.

If this is true (and given its history, I need to see credible sources confirming this), then I applaud the change.

Not knowing the languages, I must rely on AI and according to it, there is no independently verified reports of any actual rescue operations or attempts by Ballard’s organization (perhaps AI misunderstood and they hadn’t been run yet), just the publicity stunts/documentation of the humanitarian disaster happening there (which has value if portrayed accurately).

Just watched two instagrams…his language is full of Biblical references. Seems he’s doubling down on the religious themes. But maybe you weren’t equating “church” with “religion”. I am not sure my curiosity will be strong enough to review much of his stuff since there is a lot of distaste watching his stuff***, but I am very curious to see if Book of Mormon language is still as prevalent or LDS flavoured language. *** I believe he’s actually hurting victims more than helping them by creating his fantasies using the very real tragedies of trafficked kids and others and diverting funds from more effective responses than the flashy, hero making stunts focused on him like desperately needed aftercare as well as likely (previously at least) and even pulling kids into the trafficking system who weren’t there before by demanding younger victims when offered older ones. Cheated by using AI to summarize what Ballard is doing in Israel: In response to verifying what he claims he is doing through local sources:

Interesting choice of headgear: It’s from an instagram where he’s talking about a mysterious voice that inserts itself into a video recorded in the upper room. I wonder if he’s coming up with other signs or “miracles” as he labels it, showing Christ has his back. Here’s another one…

Given the withdrawal of support by Glen Beck and others and the now publicly confirmed excommunication, my guess is he’s decided it will be easier to achieve his desires if he focuses his scamming on EVs and Fundamentalists and so is tailoring his narrative to what catches their attention and sympathy the most. He’s been very popular with them in the past due to his pitching himself as the ultimate foe of child sex traffickers, etc. Turning the LDS Church into an institution controlled ultimately by satanic forces and his enemy and portraying Utah as a hotbed of satanic abuse while placing himself being uplifted in scenes in the Holy Land (great place to pitch for his personally led crusades) appeals to a certain type of Fundamentalist Christian. While there are LDS who follow this pattern type, he needs numbers for what he likely wants to do—get into national politics and big money (basing these on what he has said and done in the past) and those numbers can be most likely found among a different, much, much larger denomination.

Or whatever alleged rescue events he went on were staged events and so had little risk. Where’s the glory? From what he said, my guess is he is still hoping to recover his credibility somehow and get back on his dream track of money, power, and fame. He has most likely lost the chance of becoming a senator for Utah or anywhere else in his current state, though given others’ behavior such hasn’t kept them forever out of the halls of power. But to beat the rep of sexual predator, he needs to have more “sizzle” to drown out the accusations. And that means him in front of the camera on rescues.

Or because he keeps denying how he betrayed Pres Ballard’s friendship and broke the rules by making claims Pres Ballard was backing Tim Ballard’s financial schemes…unless something has changed. Same old same old…. “which he specifies as satanic ritual abuse of children happening in Utah” Unfortunately part of the market he has tapped into will lap this up.

Not sure what you mean by this.

All of our apostles have been ordained as prophets, seers, and revelators. Even when President Nelson was alive, there were 15 prophets leading the Church. President Nelson was the senior apostle in that sense, the leader of the leaders. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/the-lord-calls-his-prophets?lang=eng ”Having to explain the succession process early in the missionary lessons would be an interesting twist on teaching.” Missionaries should be challenged every now and then (as if learning the lessons, often in a new language, living in a new location and possibly culture, abiding by a rigorous and repetitive schedule, being required to be sociable even when it’s difficult to do so, and learning to endure the 24/7 company of someone you didn’t choose as a companion and may or may not be that compatible with isn’t enough of a challenge).

Our physical bodies have a beginning, but no end in your view, yes?

I don’t know why you think parents who adopt their children are not “literal” fathers and mothers, especially given we can become adopted children of Christ and there is nothing in the scriptures that somehow diminishes that status of being children of Christ as not as real or as valuable as the status of being children of God. Also we don’t know if the adoption process in eternity is similar or completely different than what we do here on earth, I don’t think assumptions like it is not as deep and intimate of a connection should be made. Do we not believe that with God all things are possible? Why put limits on him he has not placed himself? We believe there is a fundamental spiritual change when we become the adopted children of Christ, why wouldn’t that be part of adoption by Father and Mother. Perhaps adoption spiritual means them sharing a part of their spirit elements with us so we are materially changed into beings of greater agency and ability to use our basic eternal nature, thus inheriting their attributes and destinies. And just as when God forgives, purifies and sanctifies us through our repentance and acceptance of Christ’s atonement we become as if we had never erred or sin, why not with spirit adoption we become as if we were never not the sons and daughters of God? How more literal of parenthood could you get? Btw, I like the tripartite idea better, but have no problem if it has something’s wrong. My guess is either description isn’t close to reality because we can’t comprehend what actually occurs.

It is, however, an LDS teaching. And probably the current dominant interpretation of revelation about the preexisting forms of humanity. I know there are some though who see it as a two stage (so far) rather than a three stage process, with intelligences being interchangeable with spirits. My memory is they point to Joseph Smith using the terms interchangeably and the language of scripture suggests we were adopted by God and thus became his spirit children, but it’s been awhile since the last time I saw this type of discussion, so I may have misremembered. However, the tripartite version seems to be the much more popular, taught in Primary to RS/PH. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-harold-b-lee/chapter-2?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual-2017/chapter-36-doctrine-and-covenants-93?lang=eng Otoh, right above this quote is commentary that shows the ambiguity because “spirit” gets applied to “intelligence” rather than a separate ‘material’. Does that mean intelligences are similar to atoms that put together are physical bodies? It is “intelligence” that is the refined, more pure spirit matter? If so, then hasn’t God formed our eternal personalities, etc by choosing what intelligence building blocks he used to organize us? If so, are we really that independent as actors? Or is something else being suggested here? Here’s another that uses intelligence and spirit interchangeably, that suggests our spirits are eternal (and thus being begotten by God means adopted): Here is a nonChurch website and therefore nonofficial discussion about the tripartite model, including how it developed. https://bycommonconsent.com/2009/04/15/tripartite-existentialism/

Women can have a huge impact on others as mothers, but so can men as fathers. For example your father (sorry if this is too personal, you seem comfortable discussing your family, but if I have misread you, I want to remove anything that is problematic) had a massive impact on you by what he didn’t do…protect you from the abuse of your mother.

Are they in the 24th Ward? It’s listed as Portuguese. I don’t see a Spanish speaking ward here. Springville has a Spanish speaking ward. As does Spanish Fork