blackstrap

Imagine if God were to intervene to prevent every possible evil in the world. We would end up in individual bubbles protected from all interactions. I think God does intervene but very minimally and most subtly. Then again , maybe we just think we are here a la The Matrix. 🙄

Thought experiment : If money and resources were unlimited and there were absolutely no consequences for your actions and words, what would you do ? It is frightening for me to accept that there have , on occasion , been thoughts that would, if it were possible, shame the devil himself. Where do these come from ? Genetics ? , spirit material ? , my original intelligence ? the environment ?

My siblings and I are adopted from different families, so technically I'm not even related to the people I'm related to.🥴

Setting aside the fairness issue, can we name Nephi's wife, or Laman's or Alma's or Moroni's or Mormon's ? I suggest a couple of reasons for the lack of females spoken of : 1. They wanted a massive wall built to protect the women from a wicked world 2. They were wary if not afraid of the considerable power that women have over men and their desires. 3. Literacy and record keeping were taught only to the males of elite families so there was little chance for the writings of women as was true of most ancient societies. Of course ,as a man, my opinions are often flawed. 😶

I think God delegates .

I am of that generation that were told that ' men don't cry ' . If I saw a man cry then I assumed there was something seriously wrong. On the other hand there was one gentleman who cried every time he bore his testimony which was nearly every month. It seemed not genuine after a while. We still have a box of tissues at the pulpit just in case. I am told " there is no crying in baseball " . Anywhere else is OK.

I was thinking about my parents and their parents and so on and happened upon this . The lives of our ancestors were mostly a hard scrabble in an unforgiving world. Gratitude and praise to them all.

It has ever been thus. I am reading a biography of O.P. Rockwell. At that time the vast majority of newspapers and articles were anti- Mormon and printed all kinds of " rumors" and accusations against Brigham, Rockwell and the Saints, so much so that the government sent an army to put down the "rebellion" . We have a very long way to go before we get that much persecution now . In reading this book I am amazed at just how tough the people of those times were.

The world's current population is about 8 billion. It is estimated that about 100 billion people have lived on the earth so far. That more than chews up the other 2/3 s.

An unfortunate choice of words. That said, if you have participated in baptisms and confirmations in the temple you understand speed and efficiency. Let's do the math. Assume 100 people per session and 16 sessions per day ,300 days per year in 500 temples. = 24 million names done per year. That means it would take 333 years just to do the current world population. Hopefully there will be ways to streamline the process. ( Sorry Calm, I nerded out )🤕

It's a conspiracy I tell you, all in an attempt to get the members to live the Law of Christ instead of the rule defined Law of Moses. It may have started with the fazing out of the Seventies and making every member a missionary.

Yes, the goal posts on wheels approach never results in controversy.🙄

I am curious to know just how routine such exemptions are. Once or twice over 10 years or consistently on a yearly basis ? I am not discounting the anti Mormon bias in the least. The building height is just the biggest club currently and it would require a substantial redesign to come close to meeting the zone rules. Changing the lighting output and orientation would be much less of a problem. Hindsight being what it is , had the original design come in at a bit less height than the Methodist exemption, a lot of wind likely would have been taken out of the opponent's sails.

Has the town considered a compromise of a 150 ft steeple? The proposed temple had a 173 ft. steeple. Just an extra 23 ft. If next year the Southern Baptists ask for a 196 ft. tower ( not that they would ) should the town say "sure, it is just an extra 23 ft. ? When would the ' camel ' be totally inside the tent, when there was a plan to build a 600 ft. tower a la the Seattle Space Needle? I think the Church would have been on much firmer ground had the design been with a total of 145 ft. to begin with.

I have not heard of the use of rods for revelation, but where I live we still use " water witches " to find wells. It is , however, a dying skill.

I wonder if all this was discussed with the town before the Church bought the land . Did the Church just assume that exemptions would be granted even if the spire was nearly 200 ft tall ? At what point would all agree that the town would be justified in saying ," this far and no further " ?

Is OF considered social media ? Asking for a friend . 😏 ( ducks for cover )

Hugh B. Brown . Happy to have had him as a short term honorary Canuck !

Could be. I have wondered why there was Samuel the Lamanite.

I don't disagree. I do find it interesting that even the very morally corrupt have boundaries they believe humanity should not cross.

Criminals in prison have a code. They regard one particular kind of sin as the lowest of the low, and will exact revenge with no remorse.

If only we could go back in time and do some ' head slapping ' to Britain and others who were deciding the Israel situation. 🙄

I'm not familiar with scripture that specifies why the world unites against Israel. It could be irrational hatred or righteous indignation. Either way, the situation supposedly triggers the arrival of Christ.

For a second there I thought I was experiencing ' deja vu ' . There will have to be some serious negotiations with current land holders, no?

We are only 6 years away from the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Church. As far as I know Christ has not returned yet. In the early days of the Church most members were certain the the Second Coming was right around the corner and that they were likely to see it . If you had told them that in 200 years we would still be looking forward to that event they would have had a deep dent in their faith. The book by BRM , Mormon Doctrine , outlined about 55 " signs of the times ". Some had been fulfilled already, some likely soon, and many others yet to come . Personally, I am in no rush to see the destructions prophesied , but recognize the hair trigger for such that we live with now.