Pyreaux

There was a series of property crimes targeting meetinghouses in the Salt Lake Valley. Fremont Avenue Failed Rock Siege At a meetinghouse on Fremont Avenue in Salt Lake City, vandals used heavy river rocks and masonry debris found near the site in a "siege" attempt. They first targeted the main entry doors, throwing large rocks in an attempt to shatter the reinforced glass. That failed, they moved to the side of the building and threw rocks at higher-level windows, successfully breaking several. Despite the broken glass, the vandals failed to gain entry to the building. However, the damage to the custom-tempered glass used in modern meetinghouses was estimated at several thousand dollars. The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) and local analysts have looked closely at these cases. SLCPD Public Information Officer Brent Wilking noted that it is currently being treated as vandalism/criminal mischief rather than a hate crime. Its thought to be a failed attempt at burglary (looking for electronics or food) rather than religious hatred, especially since the vandals gave up once they realized they couldn't easily climb through the broken windows. Gephardt Daily - LDS Church meetinghouse vandalized in Salt Lake City West Valley City drive-by Rock Bandits The next building reported shattered windows on the side facing the street. Unlike the other, this one appeared to be a "drive-by" rock throwing, as the rocks were smaller and the damage was less concentrated on the entry points. West Valley City (WVC) police have monitored a rash of rock-related incidents involving multiple LDS Churches and cars in the three cities for nearly three weeks. Police said altogether, 11 LDS chapels and nearly 50 cars were hit. The take center along 1300 West in West Jordan was also hit. Unified Police Department said four people were arrested over the weekend in connection with the crimes. They are working with both the Sandy and West Jordan Police Departments on potentially bringing charges. Police have not yet released information regarding a possible motive or the identities of those involved. KSL - Police catch 'rock bandits' after LDS chapel vandalism around Salt Lake County The Magna Fire Extinguisher Dusting The "big" vandalism story in that specific region, it is the Magna meetinghouse (near West Valley). This was far more severe than the rock attacks. Vandals sprayed fire extinguishers throughout the building. The corrosive dust destroyed the organ, caked the hallways, and ruined the carpets. Bathrooms were damaged, including broken mirrors and sinks, classrooms, the chapel area and a piano were also damaged as the vandals apparently used whatever they could find to bash anything and break stuff. $60,000 in damages. Nothing was reported as stolen from the building. It being investigated by several agencies including the Metro Gang Unit because of the graffiti that was found inside. Detectives are also searching for any surveillance video from businesses or residents that may have recorded the vandal or vandal KSL - Vandals cause at least $60K in damage to Magna church In early January 2026, a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cedar Hills, Utah, was targeted in a significant act of vandalism. Reported by local news outlets KSL, Deseret News, and Mid-Utah Radio. Ceder Hill, Utah gets Tagged According to reports from the American Fork Police Department, which oversees Cedar Hills, the perpetrators entered the building around January 9–10, with police reports surfacing on January 12, 2026. Nearly every chair and couch in the foyer and common areas was either overturned or physically broken. Including bending the metal chairs. They didn't go in the chapel. "Scribbles" and graffiti were spray-painted across classroom tables and several chalkboards. The vandals targeted the building's infrastructure by ripping benches, hitting walls and using them to knock thermostats off the walls and destroying them. Lieutenant Josh Christensen of the American Fork Police estimated the cost of the damage to be at least $2,000, which is just a preliminary figure to repair surfaces and furniture. No arrests have been made. Police have been reviewing nearby residential surveillance footage to identify any suspicious vehicles or individuals in the area during the Friday night timeframe. The incident follows a broader trend of vandalism against Church property in Utah, police have not yet categorized the Cedar Hills incident as a hate crime, as no specific derogatory messages were left behind, only "scribbles". No photos are available, it seems due to the investigation. Mid-Utah Radio, "Police: LDS Cedar Hills meetinghouse vandalized," January 12, 2026. American Fork Police Department, Case File 2026-CH-0042 (January incident report). My Commentary on Culpability The FBI have noted a "clustering" effect or serial nature of these crimes. Because the Church Arson Prevention Act gives federal authorities jurisdiction over the "intentional defacement or destruction of religious real property," the FBI tracks whether these clusters are coordinated by a group or are simply unorganized "copycat" crimes. Among the theories put forward by security analysts, like at ASIS International and The Family Research Council, drawn from other local incidents noted that local vandals often use "talking points" found in online forums. Church vandalism often spikes in direct correlation with "hot-button" online trends. In several incidents across the Salt Lake Valley and the Pacific Northwest, meetinghouses and temples have been tagged with phrases like "Tax the Rich," "Billion Dollar Cult," or "Build Housing, Not Temples." These phrases are not from news sources; they are direct talking points from social media platforms like X and Reddit about its financial holdings. The "Predators Welcome" Spree in Sandy and Draper, Utah, regarded the Church’s internal abuse reporting. The 2022 Supreme Court Rowe v. Wade decision, LDS buildings were targeted with "Jane's Revenge" slogans, a name and talking point that originated entirely in online spaces. It tells investigators that certain perpetrators are likely someone deeply immersed in specific online communities. The "Permission Structure" is a psychological term used to describe how constant negative online discourse regarding the Church’s financial holdings or the abuse help line controversy can lower the moral barrier for criminal acts. So, Vandals may not see their actions as "hate crimes" but as a form of social justice or activism. They believe they are punching up against a powerful institution. The buildings are assets, not churches, where the vandals explicitly leave online talking points as their manifesto. While most online posters enjoy plausible deniability, they are more culpable than many realize. When influencer demonizes a group, they don't give a direct order, they "load the gun" by making violence feel statistically inevitable. This stochastic terrorism remains legally insulated because they never provide a specific time, place, or person for the attack. They essentially benefit from indirect incitement. "Disinformation loads the gun, but hate speech pulls the trigger" (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

That’s not how the Unit Banking System works. You're partially right about the bank, but wrong about the check. The clerk doesn't just "choose a category", the software literally locks the funds in the category. In the LCR system, Tithing and Fast Offerings are in completely different universes. It cannot co-mingle because the local ward doesn't actually hold the money. Salt Lake only release it when the software confirms it's for the right category. I absolutely know. While the Church does not release full, line-item audited financial statements to the public to know 100%. I know because it would be dumb. Like a Bishop and a Clerk (unpaid volunteers with day jobs) would actively conspire to commit accounting fraud, know how to bypass the software locks, and lie to a stake auditor, all just to move money from a "charity" bucket to a "building" bucket, to pay for a party? Yeah, right. I know the Church built rigorous, software-locked barriers to prevent co-mingling. The computer literally won't let a clerk pull Fast Offering money for a Ward Party. If a ward’s Fast Offering balance is low, the system doesn't just dip into the Youth Budget or the Tithing funds. The Bishop actually has to request a "transfer" or "replenishment" from the Stake, which draws from the Stake’s surplus Fast Offerings. Every six months, an outside auditor from another ward sits down and cross-references every single receipt with the specific category used. If Fast Offering money was used to buy a basketball hoop for the gym, the Bishop gets flagged for a policy violation. The Church maintains a "Waterproof Bulkhead" policy. Fast Offerings are never sent to the general investment arm (Ensign Peak). They stay in the Welfare and Humanitarian Services stream. Even at the highest levels of the Church, these are reported as separate lines in the financial summaries. The Church employs a massive department of professional auditors whose sole job is to ensure funds aren't co-mingled. Because co-mingling restricted funds (like Fast Offerings) with unrestricted funds (like Tithing) is an accounting nightmare that can jeopardize tax-exempt status in many countries. Also, because the Church Auditing Department is staffed by credentialed professionals (CPAs) whose careers depend on their licenses. If they signed off on co-mingled funds, shifting "restricted" humanitarian money into "unrestricted" business or building accounts, they would be violating the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants code of ethics. Why risk losing their licenses to help a wealthy organization save a few dollars? It's a terrible trade. Intentionally co-mingling welfare funds would be providing the government with a kill switch for their tax-exempt status. Just like at the ward level, the top level uses a "Council" system. No single person, not even the Prophet, has the checkbook in their desk. The people deciding where the money goes are physically and departmentally separate from the people who actually move the money and the people who audit the moves. To co-mingle at this level, you would need a conspiracy involving dozens of high-level professionals and leaders. There is also a very specific personality type drawn to Church employment, these are people who will all have a psychological barrier to borrowing from the Poor Fund to pay for a Temple. Ensign Peak whistleblowers prove that even at the highest levels of the investment arm, people talk. I may not know 100%, I do know there are hundreds of IT developers, database managers, and senior accountants who build and maintain the software that tracks these specific dollars, that know. In a group of 1,000 professional accountants, the odds that zero of them would leak a document showing Charity Funds used for Shopping Mall are basically zero. Cynicism is not always intelligence when you think everything is a deep conspiracy and you ignore the much more boring reality.

One of the few sources of blood that is caffeine free? *Researching* Oh no, I was joking! But it looks it might really be why... There are 2 theories on the internet. The most grounded explanation involves Epstein’s obsession with eugenics and life extension. Epstein reportedly consulted with scientists about young blood transfusions (parabiosis) to slow aging. A 2025 study published in Haematologica found that caffeine can actually degrade the quality of stored red blood cells, making transfusions less effective. Because members traditionally avoid coffee and tea, they represent one of the largest demographics of "clean" donors with low caffeine and nicotine metabolites in their systems. To a billionaire obsessed with biological optimization, "Mormon blood" would be seen as a premium, high-purity product. The other theory is Blood Atonement. There is no evidence in the millions of pages of documents that blood was used for blood rituals. But it seems Blood Atonement remains a favorite among for conspiracy theorists. When Epstein's name, linked to high-level "elite" debauchery got mentioned alongside "Mormonism," internet forums quickly latched on to it, suggesting a ritualistic connection that the evidence doesn't support. *Finding some good sources* Haematologica in September 2025. Researchers analyzed over 13,000 donors and found that caffeine isn't a harmless stimulant; it actually alters the biology of red blood cells (RBCs). Caffeine inhibits specific enzymes (G6PD) that protect blood cells from oxidative stress. This makes the blood fragile during the 42 days it sits in a blood bank. When people received transfusions with high caffeine levels, their hemoglobin didn't rise as much as it should have. The cells were breaking down (hemolysis) faster. https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/study-reveals-caffeine-may-undermine-blood-transfusion-effectiveness The desire of LDS Control Groups. In medical research, if you want to study the effects of a substance that 75–80% of the population uses (like caffeine), you need a clean control group. The LDS population is one of the only large, reliable demographics in the Western world where you can find "pristine" blood samples at scale. https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/religion-context/case-studies/technology/mormons-genetics-digitized-data

The Bishop is instructed to use these only for things like food, housing, medical bills, and essential utilities for those in need. When you donate a Fast Offering, that money is technically available for your local Bishop to help people in your own ward area first. If a wealthy ward collects more than it needs, the surplus isn't "co-mingled" with the building fund. Instead, it is sent to the Stake, then to Church Headquarters, to be redistributed to wards in poorer areas, or used for global humanitarian aid. The "Legal Disclaimer" is mostly a legal safeguard to prevent lawsuits if a specific fund is overfilled and the money needs to be shifted. No matter how much, Church leaders and the General Handbook emphasize that they do not co-mingle Fast Offerings with general funds in practice. It is kept a distinct "welfare" resource, it won't be used to pay the electric bill.

If I recall, unlike the US Social Security, the Church funds don't co-mingle. Fast Offerings can't be used for anything else.

It's from their "neighbor", and signed? I never seen the church use QR codes, though I'm not well up to date on everything done now days.

There are risks but supposedly mitigated by the co-factors like K2 and Magnesium. I'm not a doctor.

I'm not a doctor, ask a doctor before taking supplements. I don't know whether your regular doctor will agree. There are certain supplements that will have certain holistic effects for which medicines are poor substitutes, and there are good and bad versions of just about every supplement sold. As a white person who doesn't get enough sun on your face (because UK weather only has sunshine once a year) do not take Calcium supplements, it's bad for the heart. Get Calcium from food. And take Vitamin D to increase Calcium absorption. Cholecalciferol (D3) is the form your body naturally produces from sunlight. It is significantly more effective than D2. Also, it shouldn't be taken at all without Vitamin K2 (specifically the MK-7 form) as the extra Calcium can end up in your arteries or kidneys (causing kidney stones) instead of your bones and teeth. The daily dose (the minimum) of D is 800, new data suggests 10,000 IU with roughly 100–200 mcg of K2 for every 5,000–10,000 IU of D3. Magnesium Glycinate 400mg at Night Magnesium Citrate is a cheap rock sold as "Magnesium" that you'll likely not ingest it and may give you a laxative effect. Magnesium Glycinate is highly "bioavailable" (easily absorbed) and is much gentler on the stomach than Magnesium Oxide or Citrate. It will help you sleep so its recommended to take at night. Vitamin B1 Benfotiamine 150 – 300 mg B1 Thiamine is the common water-soluble version, meaning it flushes out of your system quickly. Benfotiamine is fat-soluble, allowing it to penetrate membranes. Vitamin C 1000 mg Staying away from Ascorbic Acid (synthetic from corn) and instead Whole Food Complex Vitamin C (derived from Acerola Cherry, Camu Camu, or Rose Hips). These include bioflavonoids, Vitamin P, and copper-containing enzymes (tyrosinase). It should help with collagen synthesis, vital for your skin and joints. Use 1,000 mg, but split it into two doses with a meal. Vitamin E Tocotrienols 50 – 200 mg Cheap Vitamin E supplements are Tocopherols. Doctors recommend Tocotrienols because they are significantly more potent antioxidants (50x stronger/longer) for skin and hair. Vitamin B7 Biotin for hair and skin, 5,000 – 10,000 mcg Take the Biotin and Benfotiamine and Vitamin C in the morning (they can be energizing). Always take your Vitamin E, D3 and K2 together, as they are all fat-soluble. Take at your largest meal. Take the Magnesium Glycinate in the evening.

The real question is, what did Epstein's clients need the pints of Mormon blood for?

I don't see a drought as always deliberate. It doesn't seem like everything in nature is all a micromanaged act of God’s will that we shouldn't interfere with. The universe and the weather might just be "doing its thing" within a set of natural laws, and God leaves room for human intervention to influence the outcome. There is no predestiny. There is no fixed fate. Prayer and fasting become active variables in an open system. The future isn't a pre-written script, then communal fasting could be a way to tap into what allows God to intervene without violating our agency. It’s not about "changing His mind," but about providing an opening for Him to act where He otherwise wouldn't. Your view could be seen as fatalistic. If we believe God only acts when His "will" dictates it regardless of us, why pray at all? Why pray for the sick? Why pray for safety? I say our desires and efforts, even if misguided, could actually matter in the final equation of what happens on Earth. Prayer and fasting aren't about trying to 'force' God to change a pre-set plan. Instead, they are ways we participate in the living plan. God might be waiting for us to exercise our agency and faith together before intervening in the natural order. "Ye have not, because ye ask not." (James 4:2)

I lean right, I have hope it can lead to a greater good, but I worry for the collateral damage, and people in church are at the bottom of my list.

In these times, you might need to tolerate some spectacle over heart. Predator: Badlands was decent. Or I could guide you into some random exotic B-movies and cult classics. Start throwing stuff at you. Special (2006) A low-budget gem is part humorous superhero movie and part psychological tragedy. Les Franken, played with sincerity by Michael Rapaport, is given an experimental antidepressant trial drug called Spec-7, designed to inhibit the part of the brain that processes self-doubt. Now Les is starting to believe in himself, even enough to become a vigilante hero. Michael Rapaport is often known for playing loud or aggressive characters, this has to be the best performance of his career here. He plays it very vulnerable. It's a sharp satire of culture and the pharmaceutical industry’s quest to medicate away the human experience.

I always saw it as a ban for official use in titles and publications, not a hard ban of for members or the public, just a call to resist it, especially the term "Mormon Church" and resist naming things it, if you claim to be faithful. Now I am thinking it may have much to do with how in just a few years, the Church is "policing" the trademark. And so it well could go after members and non-members using it. RIP Mormon Stories.

I wrote all of it, but from assorted sources, and poor sources. That paper detail is floating around social media circles and some creators, it looks like it came from the exmormon reddit. It was portrayed to me (though not stated by police) as a local report, but its hearsay. So, I've removed it from the OP. https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1p8dp1g/lds_missionary_attacked_in_tahiti_and_thrown_over/

https://www.ldsdaily.com/world/missionary-survives-three-story-fall-after-attack-in-tahiti/ https://www.moronichannel.org/newsroom/christian-missionary-surviving-three-story-fall-in-tahiti-flown-home-for-recovery/ Attempted Murder of a Missionary November 17, 2025, in Faa'a, Tahiti, is a high-profile case. The story of Elder Wesley Vgardson in Tahiti. For those who haven’t heard, he was attacked at 1:00 a.m. after investigating breaking glass, they hit him with a rock, and literally threw him off a three-story balcony, falling roughly 30 feet onto concrete. The fact that he survived with no broken bones is being hailed as a miracle, and rightfully so. But it opened up a conversation about the safety of our Elders and Sisters. Many returned missionaries can testify to being robbed at gunpoint or threatened with weapons is nearly an alarmingly common rite of passage in certain missions. Motive? While local police are still investigating the motive, whether it was some sort of drug-fueled crime and robbery, the intruder did not simply try to rob the apartment; they waited for the missionary to open the door, immediately incapacitated him, and then threw him over the railing and fled. Valgardson’s companion, who was inside, was not physically harmed, suggesting the attacker may have fled right after the primary assault. Local Tahitian News (Polynésie La 1ère) Local reports in French Polynesia have focused on the "brutality" and "senselessness" of the attack. Commenters in Tahiti have specifically pointed to a spiritual dimension, with one resident writing, "We will be hated because we do good."

You keep throwing out irrelevant Ex-Mormon tropes, every fantasy guess about their motives is unverified. The idea that bishops manipulate data to get more money for their wards is harder than it sounds. Ward budgets are not calculated by membership numbers, its calculated based on Sacrament Meeting attendance and youth class attendance. The ward clerk submits a report every quarter. In theory, a Bishop could theoretically intercept it and round up the numbers, but the Church performs regular audits. Most wards only receive a few thousand dollars a year. If a Bishop "fudged" the attendance numbers by 20%, he might only gain an extra $400 for the year. To risk a disciplinary council for lying on a record far outweighs the tiny gain. You think you have "zero value" to the ward, but as the proverbial temporarily separated spouse, they are indeed hoping you'll come back, baby. Which is a serious possibility because many in fact do. A formal excommunication is a significant spiritual and social action, they must be 100% certain you actually want it. They aren't holding your "identity" hostage, they are holding their own internal record until they are legally satisfied that you are asking to delete it. You've spent more time complaining about your identity than the time you could have taken to fix it. Quit these tangents and stick to the obvious. Keeping inactives on the rolls allows the Church to claim a "total membership" of 17+ million, which projects strength and stability to the world, even if 60% of those people never show up. You simply hate it and wish they didn't for personal reasons. You aren't here to complain about the Baptist churches notorious for keeping zombie rolls. Nor the Catholic Church which officially reports roughly 1.3 billion members. No resignations allowed. To the Vatican you are a Catholic forever. Ex-Mormons are technically "fudging" their numbers. Self-declared Ex-Mormons narrative is nearly always statistically incomplete. In the US, about 54% of people raised LDS still identify as LDS, even though weekly attendance is estimated closer to 30%. That gap consists of millions of inactive Mormons who aren't Ex-Mormon. They might skip church, but they still believe in the "truth" of the Church and would be offended if you called them an "Ex-Mormon." Many people who leave in their 20s return in their 30s. A real Ex-Mormon is a very specific kind of loss, the only way to be certain about their identity is with a resignation.

I had some idea about their charity operations and how they do medical supplies. I know they did similar things, like donate millions to the Red Cross and I also know it was also mostly in-kind donations and equipment. I've known what "in-kind" donations were since Prop 8. But I had not heard of Globus. To break it down. First, I read the OP, and like everyone else, it raised a lot of questions. So, my ASD/ADHD kicks in, and I now must find out everything. What are we reading? Is it anti-LDS or anti-Islam propaganda? Why would the church do that? I want to explore all possible angles not answered by the OP. Are LDS foolishly falling for fake charities, do they just love terrorism, are they forced to do it for protection or is it a payoff or bribe? You can get search engines and AI to find you links and search results. I've mastered some search engine tricks, like to cut most junk, I use quotation marks to find key phases not just words "[phrase]". I include a plus sign in front of all words the result must have +[key word]. Though Google may have actually retired the plus sign for required words. They replaced it with the quotation marks. So, they do not show me results that use synonyms, or only some words. I only want these exact words, and words must appear in that specific order. Put a minus sign to exclude words -[unwanted words]. I find my old forum posts adding site:[URL]. This forces the search engine to only show results from here. AI is stupid, you need to ask the right things and maybe a few times, then ask for the sources, then check everything it says. Once I have facts, I have some skills in condensing larger bits of information and conveying it.

Good find. Well, the report relies on Form 990 tax filings, which are public records. This Globus Relief nonprofit does indeed partner with Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) and Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA). However, the $119 million figure largely consists of "in-kind" donations. Mostly they are just distributing surplus medical supplies (bandages, syringes, equipment) not cash or anything used in terrorism. Globus Relief is not an official arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is run by prominent LDS members and often coordinates with the Church's humanitarian efforts. The LDS Church and Globus Relief often works with Islamic Relief because it has one of the largest "last-mile" delivery networks in the Middle East and Africa, allowing medical supplies to reach places like Gaza where other Western charities struggle to operate. If they want to save lives in a war zone, they have to work with the organizations that are actually there on the ground. It is true that the U.S. State Department in 2020 and several European governments like Germany and Netherlands have raised alarms about Islamic Relief centered on anti-Semitic social media posts by top IRW leaders and alleged historical ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. Whether Islamic Relief is an extremist organization seems to greatly depend on whether one believes the charity’s humanitarian work can be separate from the political or personal views of its board members. The authors of the article seem to view any cooperation with these groups that they link to the Brotherhood as "funding extremism." Islamic Relief has undergone audits by firms like KPMG that found no evidence of funds being diverted to terror. The article seems highly slanted, but it is based on real tax data. It frames medical supplies as "support for extremists", and I'm not sure it is.

Always deflecting. Instead of responding to any point, you pivot to a new trope. It's a total Red Herring. If you move on, you concede, people are officially part of the record until they take the step to resign. That is agency. Whether the Church will purge lost people's records when they are 110 has nothing to do with your attempt to "speak for" everyone alive who hasn't bothered to remove their name from the records. A person has 'absolutely' chosen to stay on the records, and whether or not some may simply not care enough to resign, you don't get to 'claim' them for your movement or speak for their experience. You don't own their narrative just because they stopped attending.

Worked fine all day today.

I was here since 2006, I was at Whyprophets.com forum before it closed and we all migrated over here. I don't remember seeing John, but I also was gone for the last 10 years. Uninteresting? Because it actually sounds like I said something that touched a nerve. You ignored any specific argument and instead just attacked my character, and many who know what honest communications look like, that is usually a sign you don’t have a strong counter-argument to the data you were presented with. If my observations are 'uninteresting,' I’d be 'interested' to hear your take on what will happen when current slowed subscriber growth gets compounded with the soon end of their branding deception. I think it's set to implode. Do you agree? You didn't say. Are you saying the reason you find the branding deception so 'uninteresting' is because you've seen this deception for 25 years? I use various tools to help organize data clearly, but the observations themselves all are mine. Screaming "AI!" when a post is well-structured, uses headers and to "Do better!" is a cliche often used when someone doesn't have a specific critique, but wants to claim moral superiority.

Yes they can, your identity is part of a record. Until the record changes, you are "ours." The Church is the sole owner of an administrative identity. If they don't resign, the Church will keep them. You can't speak for them no matter how much hyperbole you cram into your posts.

Yes, the child is "on the hook" because of a choice their parents facilitated. You're pretending this isn't just like every religion that inducts children before they can give "informed consent" (Circumcision, Infant Baptism, etc). Just like how parents "hook" their kids into an education system or a healthcare plan before the child understands it. Once they have autonomy, they are on the hook to resign and you have zero say whether they are ex-Mormon until they do. Period.

Every time a bot visits the site, the code asks the database for a connection. The hosting provider set a hard limit on how many of these can exist at once. Bots often open connections and then hang, leaving the connection open. These zombie processes stay in the database until they time out (which can take minutes or even hours). ThIs is the price of reopening the signups. The bots are flooding the database with thousands of registration attempts, this keeps the connection open longer, causing them to pile up until we hit the limit. Even if you blocked the bots, many might still be hitting the signup URL. If your site isn't "caching" these pages, every single hit, even a blocked one, might be triggering a database check. Since it's tolerable now, we have a window to fix it before it gets worse. Kill Sleepy Processes: Check the MySQL process list (using the command SHOW PROCESSLIST;) and manually kill any connections that have been in "Sleep" mode for a long time. Optimize the Tables: Run an OPTIMIZE TABLE command on the users and sessions tables. This clears out the "overhead" left behind by the deleted spam accounts. Check "Persistent Connections": Ensure the forum software isn't using "pconnect" (persistent connections). This is a setting that keeps connections open even after a page finishes loading. Great for speed, but deadly during a bot attack. Implement a "Waiting Room" or CAPTCHA: If the lag is specifically on the signup page, adding a Cloudflare "Turnstile" or a heavy CAPTCHA can stop the bots from reaching the database in the first place.

The times change. In Malachi’s time, the promised "windows of heaven" and "rebuking the devourer," he was talking to a drought-stricken, locust-plagued agrarian society. The promised of rain is the currency of life. They believe this "sacrifice" is what unlocks the "miracle" of survival in impossible circumstances. But we don't live in a grain-based theocracy. These promises are not necessarily rain for us non-farmers, nor money per se. Thus, in context of President Nelson’s 2018 promise in Kenya wasn't necessarily that the GDP of Kenya would rise. He argued that tithing changes people, which will eventually change the nation. If your most cynical point is that the system won't work on a continental scale, it will start. Be patient, poverty is broken over generations. We're trying to "solve" it by creating, albeit slowly, a tithing-paying middle class that builds its own businesses, while giving them a community and an identity more valuable than money. Not only will we feed Africans within our reach but offer a system that empowers Africans to feed themselves. But the "buy-in" is indeed the tithe.