mikegriffith

I lost a lot of respect for Napolitano when I found out that he voted for Gary Johnson. To this day, he still won't admit that he was wrong. Anyway, Napolitano's criticisms of Kavanaugh range from invalid to questionable. He repeats the myth that Kavanaugh endorsed the Obamacare individual mandate. Here are two good articles on Kavanaugh's record, both of which tackle the claim that Kavanaugh upheld the individual mandate: https://thefederalist.com/2018/07/03/brett-kavanaugh-said-obamacare-unprecedented-unlawful/ https://www.heritage.org/courts/commentary/trump-hits-another-home-run-supreme-court-pick-brett-kavanaugh

I just dearly hope that Glen Beck's fans learned a valuable lesson: never trust Beck's judgment on presidential candidates again. Beck's attacks on Trump during the campaign were so outrageous that they would have been funny if they had not been so serious and misleading. We can all thank our lucky stars that more people did not make the misguided decision to vote for Gary Johnson or Evan McMullin. If they had, we would have President Hillary and a 5-4 liberal majority on the Supreme Court--and would be facing a 6-3 liberal majority in the near future.

Eve did not "follow evil" knowingly. She was deceived into doing so. Once she realized her mistake, she repented and strove to keep the commandments to the best her ability.

Read the accounts of people who have spoken with deceased prophets, or read the accounts of people who have experienced near-death experiences and have spent time in heaven. They all report that heaven is not the least bit boring but that it is wonderful, glorious, thrilling, and satisfying.

No one knows where or how the first God began, but he surely was not the product of evolution. Evolution is an abjectly illogical, silly theory. If the first God came via evolution, where did the matter and energy come from that were used in the supposed evolutionary process? "It was just there" is not an answer. Even if one believes that Jesus Christ is the one and only God, then, according to the New Testament, God was born on a planet, grew up from infancy to manhood, grew in wisdom and stature, suffered death by crucifixion, spent three days in the spirit world as a spirit, and arose from the dead three days later in an immortal body.

Although everyone's path to gaining a testimony is not the same, gaining a testimony must eventually involve feeling the "burning of the bosom" described in the New Testament and in the Doctrine and Covenants. There is no adequate way to describe how it feels to someone who has not felt it. It is a lot like trying to describe how salt tastes to someone who has never tasted salt or any spice close to salt. But, if I had to try to describe it, I would say that it is a warm feeling inside you that causes you to feel a great sense of peace and joy, and sometimes it will be accompanied by intelligence communicated to your mind.

The fate of those who heard the gospel but who rejected it will depend on whether or not they really understood what they were rejecting when they rejected it. If two missionaries knock on your door and offer to share a message with you, and you decline the offer, that doesn't mean you have blown your chance to accept the gospel, unless you somehow knew from previous study and/or discussion what you were rejecting. As for progressing from one kingdom to another, if it is possible--and there are a number of early, and a few modern, GA statements that suggest it is--it would likely be a very long and painful process. But, why take the risk? Why not just repent in this life?

The fact that she is now suing the Church over this matter tells me a great deal about her. These things happened decades ago. The man is now 85 years old. Here is the Church's full statement on the matter: https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/statement-former-mission-president-alleged-abuse-joseph-l-bishop-march-2018

I do not think that Jesus uttered any false prophecies. Rather, I think the wording of the prophecies was changed during the course of numerous translations over time. It is also entirely possible that some of the Lord's disciples misinterpreted his statements.

It's been playing in our local theater for over a week now.

This is a wise policy. It provides protection against false accusations. In our ward, if two adults are not available to teach a Primary class, the teacher must leave the door partially open.

Those who are determined to disbelieve in the restored gospel will not care what evidence is found to confirm the Book of Mormon and/or the Book of Abraham. Laman and Lemuel saw an angel and felt the power of God. Some of those who deserted Jesus saw him raise the dead and heal the blind and lame. There is enough evidence right now to prove that no one in Joseph Smith's day could have written the Book of Mormon. There is ancient information in the book that simply was not available in Joseph's day. When I persuaded one evangelical pastor of this fact, he theorized that Satan revealed that information to Joseph Smith to fool people into believing the book was inspired.

I would bet very good money that cases of abuse in the MTC have been extremely rare.

The Old Testament laws on slavery were the most enlightened and humane in the Middle East at the time. As for the New Testament, Paul strongly hinted to Philemon that he wanted him to free Onesimus, and the NT commands slaveholders to treat their slaves kindly and humanely. If the NT authors had overtly called for an end to slavery, the Church would have faced the full wrath of the Roman Empire for advocating "dangerous" and "radical" views that would directly impact the Roman economy.

I think the Mesoamerica model is the only one that fits the BOM's internal geography, not to mention its culture, warfare patterns, etc.