TheTanakas

I see your point after you provided the other materials.

For priests who were instructed to enter plural marriage in Doctrine and Covenants 132:61, was the mandate to only marry virgins a principle carried over from Old Testament teachings? "And he shall take a wife in her virginity ... but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife" (Leviticus 21:13-14, KJV). "They shall not take as wife a widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests" (Ezekiel 44:22, NKJV)

Not sure.

@longview One may reasonably ask to where this city will return. Joseph Young Sr. notes that “Joseph Smith said . . . in the hearing of some of the saints still surviving, that the City of Enoch would again take its place in the identical spot from which it had been detached, now forming that chasm of the earth, filled with water, called the Gulf of Mexico” (12; see also Widtsoe 365). https://rsc.byu.edu/book-mormon-fourth-nephi-through-moroni-zion-destruction/zion-zion-zion-keys-understanding-ether-13

Maybe because he does not begin his walk with God even though he was ordained forty years earlier.

Seth was 69 years old when Adam ordained him (Doctrine and Covenants 107:42). He is about 517 years old when Enoch is ordained at 25 years of age. It's unimaginable that Seth would not be blessed by Adam between the ages of 69 and 517, whereas Enoch only has to wait 40 years for his blessing. Jared, father of Enoch, was ordained by Adam when Jared was 162 years old. No mention is made when he received his blessing. I'd go with Seth being the first to be ordained and blessed by Adam. For some reason, Enoch does not walk for God for forty years after being ordained.

Why the 40 year gap before Enoch is blessed by Adam? According to D&C 107:49, Enoch does not walk with God until after he is blessed, at age 65. "Enoch was twenty-five years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam; and he was sixty-five and Adam blessed him. And he saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually; and he walked with God three hundred and sixty-five years, making him four hundred and thirty years old when he was translated".

How will the physical cities merge?

Does the returned city of Enoch in the future (Moses 7:63) suspend itself (hover) above the future New Jerusalem that will be built in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri prior to the Second Coming?

Can someone clarify this section. "And after that Zion was taken up into heaven, Enoch beheld, and lo, all the nations of the earth were before him" (Moses 7:23). Enoch is apparently in heaven and beholds all the nations of the earth from above. "And there came generation upon generation; and Enoch was high and lifted up, even in the bosom of the Father, and of the Son of Man; and behold, the power of Satan was upon all the face of the earth. And he saw angels descending out of heaven; and he heard a loud voice saying: Wo, wo be unto the inhabitants of the earth. And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced. And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion" (24-27). Is there a large gap of time between when Zion was caught up (verse 23) and when the Holy Ghost fell on many and they too were caught up into Zion (verse 27), which had already been caught up earlier?

I don't understand why the church even got involved and taught birth control methods (using condoms for example) was sinful.

It's a softer tone than throwing previous leaders under the bus.

It's proper to correct false teachings.

Not my judgment, but those in these teachings: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strongly encourages married couples to have children. It is against birth control ... We seriously regret that there should exist a sentiment or feeling among any members of the Church to curtail the birth of their children". "Where husband and wife enjoy health and vigor and are free from impurities that would be entailed upon their posterity, it is contrary to the teachings of the Church artificially to curtail or prevent the birth of children. We believe that those who practice birth control will reap disappointment by and by" (May 1971 Ensign).

On what basis do you believe the conversation between Satan and God is a poetic rendition instead of actual one? Were the limits the Lord put on Satan to test Job also poetic?

Do you have a reference for that change?

Last week's Come Follow Me dealt with Job chapters 1-3; 12-13. "The opening chapters of Job emphasize, in a poetic way, Satan’s role as our adversary or accuser; they don’t describe an actual interaction between God and Satan." Job 42:7 says God spoke to both Job and Eliphaz. Was this also poetic?

Birth control is a sin according to what I quoted before.

See section 38.6.4 of the April 2022 General Handbook. Present day prophets have specifically removed the mention of the curses and teach "It should be left between the couple and the Lord. Church members should not judge one another in this matter". God still punishes those who break His commandments. But the number of children to have should not be small as per President Kimball. "The Church cannot approve nor condone the measures which so greatly limit the family" (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 328–29). (mentioned in Eternal Marriage Student Manual Religion 234 and 235). "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strongly encourages married couples to have children. It is against birth control ... We seriously regret that there should exist a sentiment or feeling among any members of the Church to curtail the birth of their children". "Where husband and wife enjoy health and vigor and are free from impurities that would be entailed upon their posterity, it is contrary to the teachings of the Church artificially to curtail or prevent the birth of children. We believe that those who practice birth control will reap disappointment by and by" (May 1971 Ensign). "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth" (Guide to the Scriptures, Birth Control). “The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force" (The Family: Proclamation to the World).

Trump posted an AI video depicting himself as a king dropping sludge on protesters.

Maybe a matter of time before it's taken down? https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2049208884280062270

I came across an interesting and compelling documentary about Sally Chase and the other seer stones connected to Joseph Smith’s history. The Chases are also mentioned in a church article, which adds some other context. I hadn’t realized how significant September 22 is in this history.

The article at Catholic.com ends with "The Church doesn't just change doctrine like that, so pray a Hail Mary and ask our Lady for peace". Maybe the title has changed, but her role seems intact. https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/mary-mother-jesus-and-all-believers-not-co-redeemer-vatican-says https://www.americamagazine.org/vatican-dispatch/2025/11/04/vatican-mary-redemptrix-mediatrix-doctrine/ https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/is-mary-still-mediatrix-of-graces