Job 42 5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job saw God with his physical eyes proving God has a physical body of flesh and bones just as we learn from Doctrine and Covenants.

In August 2025, Phoenix home prices were down 1.1% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $445K. On average, homes in Phoenix sell after 64 days on the market compared to 52 days last year. There were 1,271 homes sold in August this year, up from 1,182 last year.

Elder Woodruff’s second mission to the Fox Islands seems to have been filled with greater opposition, antagonism, and persecution than his first. He would later write that nearly all residents on the islands who had attended his meetings had taken sides, for or against his message.[75] On Christmas Day, Elder Woodruff preached in the Deep Hollow schoolhouse to a large congregation. His journal entry on that occasion reads: “My soul was vex’d with the wicked procedings of Mr Towl a school teacher in rejecting my testimony.”[76] Three days later he engaged in a conversation with Mr. Douglass, the Methodist priest, who requested that Wilford “work miracles to make him believe” and railed against him.[77] Wilford told Douglass that he was “a wicked and adulterous man, and predicted that the curse of God would rest upon him, and that his wickedness would be made manifest in the eyes of the people.” Reflecting years later, Woodruff wrote: “While visiting these Islands several years afterwards I learned that the prediction had really been fulfilled, and that he [Douglass] was serving out a fourteen years’ term of imprisonment for a beastly crime.”[78] He closed his journal for the year 1837 by declaring: “The solemnities of Eternity is resting upon the People. The word of God is like a sharp two edged sword in the hearts of men. I am now Preaching & Baptizing almost daily. O may the Lord roll on his work amid the Islands of the sea and give me a rich harvest of Souls.”

Helaman 6 3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. 4 O how foolish⁠, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!

Number 15 23 And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 24 The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. In Number 13, Moses sent 12 spies to scout the land of Canaan. They found a cluster of grapes, put it on a pole and had 2 people carry the pole because it was heavy and brought it back to Moses with the news.

The answer to the simplest questions and to the most complex problems is always the same. The answer is Jesus Christ. Every solution is found in Him. Jesus Christ is the creator of innumerable inhabited worlds, if someone knows what he is doing, Jesus Christ does. He suffered for all of our sins and pains, he appeared to Joseph Smith, he is the answer to every question or problem we face in life.

so we’ve basically gotten it figured out that the Book of Mormon occured in Mesoamerica, then?

Just letting everyone know: Wendy’s now charges $.70 for sauce after the first 2 free ones.

thoughts on sabbath day observance? Exodus 20 20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. 21 Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. Exodus 23 12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. Is it ok to work on the sabbath if you are experiencing very tough financial times?

25 So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages⁠, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.

If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make himself visible—I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another.

In order to be a true follower of Christ you have to be willing to take some beatings. The Prophet Jeremiah was turtured and persecuted. Joseph Smith was beat, thrown in jail, murdered. Abinadi was burned at the stake Moroni was forced into hiding because all his community apostatized.

This teaches us that human strength is so small and arm so tiny, while God’s arm is all powerful and can do anything, powerful verse. Job 41 9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

Alma 29 10 then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me. The Lord is so merciful towards the children of men.

John 4:24 JST For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Generally, Protestants have a misunderstanding of John 4:24. Thanks to modern revelation from God through the Prophet Joseph Smith we have additional clarification that this verse is not teaching that God is a spirit, it is teaching that God hath promised his Spirit. Thus we can maintain the understanding that God has a body of flesh and bones, he is not a spirit.

“I confess that I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict the Scripture. If a man wishes to marry more than one wife he should be asked whether he is satisfied in his conscience that he may do so in accordance with the word of God. In such a case the civil authority has nothing to do in the matter."

🎤 Verse 1 Yo, the wise man steady with the plan in his hand, Built his foundation on the solid rock stand, Storms came crashin’, and the rain poured down, But the house stood tall, couldn’t knock it to the ground. 🎤 Hook Built on the rock, yeah, the rock don’t stop, When the winds blow heavy and the raindrops drop, House stay strong, the foundation won’t flop, ‘Cause the wise man’s faith put him right on top. 🎤 Verse 2 Foolish man thought that the sand was enough, Looked real smooth but the base ain’t tough, Waves rolled in and the winds got rough, And the house came down—man, life got tough. 🎤 Bridge So listen up, build your life on the stone, On Christ the rock, you ain’t standin’ alone, Storms gon’ come, but the truth’s well known— With a firm foundation you can call that home. 🎤 Hook (repeat) Built the rock, yeah, the rock don’t stop, When the winds blow heavy and the raindrops drop, House stay strong, the foundation won’t flop, ‘Cause the wise man’s faith put him right on top.

Jacob 1 13 Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites; nevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites. 2 Nephi 4 11 And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto Sam, saying: Blessed art thou, and thy seed; for thou shalt inherit the land like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days. One question is why are the “Samites” not mentioned in Jacob if Sam also receives the promise that his posterity will be numbered as the stars in the heavens?

Jaron 1 13 And it came to pass that two hundred and thirty and eight years had passed away—after the manner of wars, and contentions⁠, and dissensions, for the space of much of the time.

Here are some of the Ancient American civilizations that existed in or near Mesoamerica during the Book of Mormon times. Olmec (c. 1500–400 BC, Mesoamerica) Often called the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica. Known for massive stone heads and early city-building. Their timeline overlaps with the Book of Mormon’s earliest periods. Maya (c. 2000 BC–AD 1500, Mesoamerica) Famous for pyramids, advanced calendars, writing, astronomy, and massive city-states like Tikal, Palenque, and Chichén Itzá. Their Classic period (AD 250–900) was long after the Book of Mormon ends, but early Maya groups existed during it. Zapotec (c. 700 BC–AD 1521, Oaxaca, Mexico) Builders of Monte Albán, one of the first major cities in the Americas, with writing and calendar systems developing alongside the Maya. Teotihuacán (c. 100 BC–AD 550, Central Mexico) Huge urban center with pyramids of the Sun and Moon. It rose toward the end of the Book of Mormon timeline. Toltec (c. AD 900–1150, Central Mexico) Later than the Book of Mormon, but influential in Mesoamerican culture and mythology. Aztec (c. AD 1300–1521, Central Mexico) Much later, but famous as the dominant empire when Europeans arrived.

Alma 34 41 But that ye have patience⁠, and bear with those afflictions⁠, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions.

Alma 9 11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe. Thanks to the mercy of God for sustain life from moment to moment. Without his mercy no life could even breathe, eat, or drink.

Mosiah 27 11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud⁠; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood; Mosiah has many good stories one of which is when Alma and Mosiah establish the true church of Jesus Christ in the land and there begins to be much peace and properings. It is not long until the sons of Mosiah begin to heed the devil and lose belief in the church. They begin attacking and persecuting the church, and then an angel appears and asks them why they are doing this and they are stunned.

Mosiah 27 11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud⁠; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood; Mosiah has many good stories one of which is when Alma and Mosiah establish the true church of Jesus Christ in the land and there begins to be much peace and properings. It is not long until the sons of Mosiah begin to heed the devil and lose belief in the church. They begin attacking and persecuting the church, and then an angel appears and asks them why they are doing this and they are stunned.

Job 7 12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? 13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; 14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: 15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. 16 I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

Nehemiah 1 5 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

Job Chapter 1 Job is a perfect upright man in Uz. He has lots of stuff. Chapter 2 He loses even more stuff until he has basically nothing left Chapter 3 He curses the day he was born and wishes he never could have been born. 4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

Leviticus 16 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. 23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place⁠, and shall leave them there: 24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place⁠, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. 32 And the priest⁠, whom he shall anoint⁠, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the restored gospel, the prophecies, revelations, convictions, remarks, claims, principles, authorities, teachings, doctrines, foretellings, truths, philosophies, messages, instructions, witnesses, guidances, insights, scriptures, are completely, guaranteed, fully, wholely, and honestly true and correct. The gospel of Jesus Christ contained in the Book of Mormon is thoroughly and comprehensively the same gospel taught by Jesus Christ himself and his humble followers in the Old Testament, New Testament, Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith History, Jesus Christ, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New Testament, appeared in the ancient americas after performing the infinite and eternal atonement and showed the prints in his hands and feet to the multitudes (3 Nephi 11:14-15). He came down to earth, was born in a lowly stable, walked and grew with man, taught principles of truth and righteousness, performed miracles, and eventually performed a ministry which involving the very son of god himself taking on the sins, pains, afflictions, sicknesses of all humanity, suffering an incomprehensible pain. Doing this, he descended below all things so that he could understand exactly what his spirit children go through in every circumstance (Alma 7:11). Under direction of the father, he created the whole earth with all the plants, trees, animals, lakes, oceans. He created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. They were in a state of ending contentment until they partook of the fruit of the tree of good and evil and were cast down to earth where we all are currently living. (Genesis 2:17) Not only has Jesus Christ created and authored the world upon which we are currently living, he has created other worlds, innumerable worlds, more worlds than a human can count. By the power of Jesus Christ, many worlds have come and gone, and many now stand.

!pip install -q kokoro>=0.9.2 soundfile

!pip install -q moviepy

!apt-get -qq -y install espeak-ng > /dev/null 2>&1

!pip install moviepy==2.0.0.dev2

!pip install -U openai-whisper

!pip install –upgrade diffusers transformers accelerate torch bitsandbytes scipy safetensors xformers

!apt install imagemagick

!cat /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml | sed ’s/none/read,write/g’> /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml

from kokoro import KPipeline from IPython.display import display, Audio import soundfile as sf import torch import os import pandas as pd from moviepy.editor import * from google.colab import drive import whisper from gtts import gTTS from pathlib import Path drive.mount(’/content/drive’) os.makedirs(‘audio’, exist_ok=True) os.makedirs(‘images’, exist_ok=True) audio_file = “finance_tip.mp3” texts = [ “The Ultimate Financial Freedom Formula: Your complete roadmap to financial independence starts here.”, “Step 1: Calculate Your Net Worth - Know exactly where you stand financially by listing all assets and debts.”, “Step 2: Create a Zero-Based Budget - Every dollar gets assigned a purpose before you spend it.”, “Step 3: Build Your Emergency Fund - Save 3 to 6 months of expenses in a high-yield savings account.”, “Step 4: Eliminate High-Interest Debt - Pay off credit cards and personal loans using the debt avalanche method.”, “Step 5: Maximize Employer 401k Match - This is free money that can double your retirement contributions instantly.”, “Step 6: Open a Roth IRA - Invest up to $7,000 annually in tax-free growth for your future self.”, “Step 7: Increase Your Income - Develop new skills, negotiate raises, or start a side business.”, “Step 8: Automate Your Savings - Set up automatic transfers to remove the temptation to spend.”, “Step 9: Invest in Index Funds - Low-cost, diversified funds that track the entire stock market.”, “Step 10: Reduce Monthly Expenses - Cancel unused subscriptions and negotiate better rates on utilities.”, “Step 11: Build Multiple Income Streams - Rental property, dividends, or passive business income.”, “Step 12: Optimize Your Tax Strategy - Use tax-advantaged accounts and understand deductions.”, “Step 13: Protect Your Assets - Get adequate insurance coverage for health, disability, and life.”, “Step 14: Create Investment Goals - Define your target retirement number using the 25x rule.”, “Step 15: Rebalance Your Portfolio - Maintain your desired asset allocation through regular adjustments.”, “Step 16: Avoid Lifestyle Inflation - Keep expenses low even as your income grows over time.”, “Step 17: Track Your Progress - Review your net worth and investment performance monthly.”, “Step 18: Learn Continuously - Read books, take courses, and stay informed about personal finance.”, “Step 19: Consider Real Estate - Explore REITs or rental properties for diversification.”, “Step 20: Plan for Healthcare Costs - Factor in medical expenses for early retirement scenarios.”, “Step 21: Optimize Your Credit Score - Maintain excellent credit for better loan terms and opportunities.”, “Step 22: Create a Will and Estate Plan - Protect your wealth for your beneficiaries.”, “Step 23: Consider Tax-Loss Harvesting - Offset gains with losses to minimize tax burden.”, “Step 24: Build Your Financial Knowledge - Understanding compound interest is your superpower.”, “Step 25: Stay Disciplined and Consistent - Small actions over decades create extraordinary wealth.”, “Congratulations! You now have the complete blueprint for achieving financial independence and retiring early.” ] images = [f’drive/MyDrive/images/image{i+1}.png’ for i in range(len(texts))] audio_files = [f’drive/MyDrive/audio/audio{i+1}.mp3’ for i in range(len(texts))] videos = [] def create_video(image_file, audio_file): audio = AudioFileClip(audio_file) image_clip = ImageClip(image_file).resize(width=1280).set_duration(audio.duration) return image_clip.set_audio(audio).set_fps(24) def generate_audio_files(): for i, text in enumerate(texts): audio_file = audio_files[i] if not Path(audio_file).exists(): # Only create if doesn’t exist print(f"Creating audio {i+1}/{len(texts)}: {audio_file}") tts = gTTS(text=text, lang=‘en’, slow=False) tts.save(audio_file) else: print(f"Audio file {audio_file} already exists, skipping…") def create_video_segments(): for i, (text, image, audio_file) in enumerate(zip(texts, images, audio_files)): print(f"Processing segment {i+1}/{len(texts)}") if Path(image).exists() and Path(audio_file).exists(): videos.append(create_video(image, audio_file)) else: print(f"Warning: Missing files for segment {i+1}") if not Path(image).exists(): print(f" - Missing image: {image}") if not Path(audio_file).exists(): print(f" - Missing audio: {audio_file}") def main(): “““Main function to orchestrate video creation””” generate_audio_files() create_video_segments() if videos: final_clip = concatenate_videoclips(videos) print(“Writing final video file…”) final_clip.write_videofile( “finance_vid.mp4”, fps=24, codec=‘libx264’, audio_codec=‘libmp3lame’, verbose=True, logger=‘bar’ ) print(“Video creation complete!”) print(f"Final video saved as: finance_vid.mp4") final_clip.close() for video in videos: video.close() else: print(“No video segments created. Please check your image and audio files.”) if name == “main”: main()

Absolutely! Here’s a clean, **Facebook-postable summary** you can copy and paste directly:

📖 Scriptures of the Restoration – Quick Summary: 📘 Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Ancient prophets in the Americas testify of Christ. Christ visits the Americas after His resurrection. A powerful witness of the Savior and His gospel. 📕 Doctrine & Covenants: Modern-day revelations to prophets. Teaches about priesthood, temples, the Second Coming, missionary work, and how Christ leads His Church today. 📗 Pearl of Great Price: Includes:

• Book of Moses – Expanded creation story and early prophets
• Book of Abraham – Premortal life and God’s plan
• Joseph Smith—Matthew – Clarifies Christ’s prophecies
• Joseph Smith—History – Joseph’s firsthand account of the First Vision
• Articles of Faith – Core beliefs of the Church 📙 Joseph Smith Translation (JST): Inspired corrections and additions to the Bible. Helps restore lost or unclear doctrine. 📜 Joseph Smith—History: Joseph’s personal story: seeking truth, seeing God the Father and Jesus Christ, and the Restoration of the Gospel. 📖 Old Testament: From Creation to prophets like Isaiah. Teaches covenants, commandments, and prophecies of Christ. 📖 New Testament: Life, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His apostles testify of Him and establish His Church.

No matter which book you study, the message is clear: Jesus is the Christ, and His gospel has been restored in our day. 💙 #BookOfMormon #DoctrineAndCovenants #PearlOfGreatPrice #Restoration #JesusChrist

Let me know if you want a version styled for Instagram or a graphic template too!

this is what i told chatgpt ok what is the best way to make money with my current situation and skills? name: porter age: 24 about 6 ft tall skills: python, javascript, i have and can run a lawn mower, i am currently living in north colorado springs my parents allow me to live here for free and allow me to eat their food. i can run a weed wacker i can lift a decent amount of weight i weigh about 164lbs i have a laptop my parents allow me to drive their 2017 hyundai sonata i have about $1000 of cash right now I also have a 2013 minicooper with 136k miles, and a 2006 f150 with 260 miles, but the engine was rebuilt 160k miles ago, but both vehicles are in phoenix at my grandparents house i am single no girlfriend, i have an instagram profile, facebook, snapchat, youtube, i also have a john deere l110 riding lawn mower that cranks, but no start i have diagnosed a few of the components. and this is the response Thanks, Porter — now that I have the full picture, here’s your best money-making plan based on your exact assets, skills, and location:

💰 Porter’s Path to $2,000+/Month (Starting Immediately)

✅ PHASE 1: Fast Cash with What You Already Have (0–2 Weeks)

1. Launch “Porter’s Yard Service” (North Colorado Springs)

Use:

• John Deere (once fixed)
• Push mower + weed wacker
• Sonata to transport gear

💸 Prices:

Just 3 yards/day = $150/day = $750/week

📢 Where to Post:

• Facebook Marketplace
• Local groups like “Colorado Springs Yard Work”
• Nextdoor, Craigslist
• Flyers at gas stations or local hardware stores

🛠 Fix the John Deere:

You already diagnosed it — likely fuel solenoid or carburetor issue. Spend <$100 to get it running and use it to speed up large yards or flip it for ~$500+.

✅ PHASE 2: Build Your Digital Hustle (1–4 Weeks)

Use your Python + JS skills to freelance and eventually launch a digital product.

1. Freelance on Upwork + Fiverr

Create gigs for:

• 🧠 Web scraping (real estate, product prices, lead gen)
• ⚙️ Browser automation bots (Selenium, Puppeteer)
• 💬 LinkedIn message bots or form filler tools Start small: $20–$50 gigs → get reviews → scale

2. Use Social Media for Leads

• Post videos of your bots/scripts working
• Example: “I built a tool that scrapes Zillow listings into a spreadsheet in 20 seconds”
• Post on Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts

✅ PHASE 3: Monetize Your Content and Story (1–3 Months)

You’re a relatable character:

• 24, rebuilding financially
• Fixing mowers
• Doing hard work while coding
• No rent = freedom to experiment

📹 YouTube Channel Ideas:

Name: Porter Builds His Life Post 1–2 videos/week:

• Fixing the John Deere (tutorial + vlog)
• Coding bot tutorials
• Mowing client yards
• “A Day in My Life Trying to Get Rich”

Monetization:

• YouTube ads (later)
• Affiliate links (tools, software)
• Sell your own scripts
• Build a course on web scraping or automation

✅ PHASE 4: Bring the F-150 to Colorado (Optional but High ROI)

Once you make ~$1500–$2000:

• Retrieve the F-150 from Phoenix
• Use it for:
  • Junk hauling jobs
  • Facebook “moving help” gigs
  • Snow plowing in winter (buy plow later)
  • Towing your mower

This unlocks higher-ticket jobs ($100–$300/job)

💡 Final Tips for You:

🧠 Summary

Let me know what you’d like help with:

• Writing Upwork gig descriptions?
• Diagnosing the mower?
• Making a flyer?
• Naming your brand or YouTube? Pick a place to start, and let’s get it moving.

this is what i told chatgpt and this is the response “ok what is the best way to make money with my current situation and skills? name: porter age: 24 about 6 ft tall skills: python, javascript, i have and can run a lawn mower, i am currently living in north colorado springs my parents allow me to live here for free and allow me to eat their food. i can run a weed wacker i can lift a decent amount of weight i weigh about 164lbs i have a laptop my parents allow me to drive their 2017 hyundai sonata i have about $1000 of cash right now I also have a 2013 minicooper with 136k miles i am single no girlfriend, i have an instagram profile, facebook, snapchat, youtube, i also have a john deere l110 riding lawn mower that cranks, but no start i have diagnosed a few of the components.” Awesome, Porter — thanks for the update. With your skills, tools, location, and current financial cushion, you are in a prime position to make real money fast, while laying the foundation for long-term independence.

🚀 The Best Way for You to Make Money (Right Now + Long Term)

Let’s combine everything you have into a 3-part plan:

🟩 PHASE 1: Fast Cash with What You Already Own (0–2 weeks)

🧰 Start a Local Yard & Hauling Service

You already have:

• A push mower
• A weed wacker
• A (diagnosable/fixable) riding mower
• A car (and a Mini if needed for backup)
• Strength and time 💵 Potential: $300–$1000/week with just 2–3 jobs per day.

👉 Action Steps:

1. Fix the John Deere mower – even if you spend $100, you’ll profit it back in 1–2 jobs.
2. Make a flyer:
   • “💥 AFFORDABLE Yard Cleanup + Mowing in North Springs!”
   • Services: Mowing, Edging, Weed Pulling, Trash Hauling
   • Price: Start at $40 small yards, $75+ large
3. Post ads:
   • Facebook Marketplace, Local Buy/Sell Groups
   • Craigslist → Services → “Farm & Garden” + “Labor”
   • Nextdoor app 🔧 Upsell Ideas:

• Clean up trash in yards
• Pet poop removal
• Weed spraying
• Power washing (later, if you reinvest in gear)

🟨 PHASE 2: Freelancing & Automation (Weeks 1–4)

🧠 Use Your Python & JS to Earn Online

Start building a portfolio and getting freelance gigs with:

💼 1. Web Scraping Services

Offer:

• Real estate data extraction
• Leads for small businesses
• Product price trackers Start with:
• Upwork (freelancer marketplace)
• Fiverr (create “I will automate…” gigs)
• IndieHackers or Reddit r/forhire

⚙️ 2. Useful Tools You Can Build/Sell:

• LinkedIn message bot
• Facebook profile scraper
• Website form filler/auto DM tool
• Discord/Telegram community tools 💡 These can be flipped into:
• Monthly SaaS
• One-off downloadable scripts
• YouTube content

🟦 PHASE 3: Build a Long-Term Asset (1–6 months)

This is where you leverage your skills + story into scalable, possibly passive income.

🎥 Option A: YouTube Channel – “Young Hustler in Colorado Springs”

• Show your journey: fixing lawn mowers, coding bots, doing yard jobs
• People love transparency + learning from real hustle
• Add tutorials (e.g. “How to build a scraping bot” or “Diagnosing a John Deere that won’t start”) Use your:
• Coding skills ✅
• Lawn gear ✅
• Honest personality ✅ Start with shorts, then add longform.

🧩 Everything Ties Together:

💡 30-Day Action Plan for Porter

Want Help Building Any of This?

I can:

• Write your flyer
• Write Upwork proposals
• Script out your YouTube channel
• Debug your mower
• Help launch a scraping tool for resale Just say what you want to start with 👇

Job 3 11 Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

The Peoria, Arizona real estate market in May 2025 is experiencing a rise in home prices and a slight increase in the time it takes for homes to sell, indicating a seller’s market. The median sale price is $542,000, up 3.1% year-over-year, while homes are spending an average of 52 days on the market, compared to 43 days last year. Here’s a more detailed look: Key Trends: Price Growth: Median home prices in Peoria have increased by 3.1% compared to the previous year, reaching $542,000. Days on Market: Homes are staying on the market longer, with an average of 52 days compared to 43 days last year. Sales Volume: The number of homes sold has decreased compared to the previous year, with 244 homes sold in May 2025 compared to 285 in May of the previous year. Seller’s Market: With rising prices and increased time on the market, Peoria is currently considered a seller’s market, according to Rocket Homes. Price per Bedroom: Homes with different numbers of bedrooms show varying price trends. For example, 1-bedroom homes saw a -7.3% decrease, while 2-bedroom homes increased by 5.1%. Neighborhood Insights: High-end neighborhoods like The Meadows, Florenza, and Pleasant Valley feature median listing prices well above $676,000, according to Zillow. More affordable areas can be found in neighborhoods like Alta Vista Estates and Ironwood, with median listing prices around $478,602 and $520,793 respectively, according to Zillow. Market Outlook: Positive Forecast: Experts predict a continued steady increase in home prices in Peoria, according to the Arizona Living Group. Sustainable Growth: The projected price increases are expected to be at a more sustainable rate, avoiding the rapid spikes seen in some previous years, according to the Arizona Living Group.

John W. Welch: One of the most amazing facts about the Book of Mormon is that it took Joseph Smith only about sixty-five working days to translate a book that, in the current edition, is 531 pages long. Historical details about the time it took to translate the book are remarkably well preserved, and they are corroborated by the independently consistent statements of numerous witnesses. Neal A. Maxwell: One marvel is the very rapidity with which Joseph was translating—at an estimated average rate of eight of our printed pages per day! The total translation time was about sixty-five working days.[3] By comparison, one able LDS translator in Japan, surrounded by reference books, language dictionaries, and translator colleagues ready to help if needed, indicated that he considered an output of one careful, final page a day to be productive. And he is retranslating from earlier Japanese to modern Japanese! More than fifty able English scholars labored for seven years, using previous translations, to produce the King James Version of the Bible, averaging about one precious page per day. The Prophet Joseph Smith would sometimes produce ten pages per day! Neal A. Maxwell: A second marvel of the Book of Mormon translation process is that from what we know, rarely would Joseph go back, review, or revise what had already been done. There was a steady flow in the translation. The Prophet’s dictating resulted—just as the compositor, John H. Gilbert, remembered—in no paragraphing. Emma Smith said of the inspired process: “After meals, or after interruptions, [Joseph] would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him."[6] One who has dictated and been interrupted must usually resume by inquiring, “Now, where were we?” Not so with the Prophet! If one were manufacturing a text, he would constantly need to cross-check himself, to edit, and to revise for consistency. Had the Prophet dictated and revised extensively, there would be more evidence of it. But there was no need to revise divinely supplied text. Whatever the details of the translation process, we are discussing a process that was truly astonishing! John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone: Among the many amazing facts about the Book of Mormon is how little time it took for Joseph Smith to translate it. Recent research has shown more clearly than ever before that the Book of Mormon as we now have it was translated in a stunningly short amount of time. There was no time for outside research, rewriting, or polishing. Many contemporaneous historical documents sustain and validate the accuracy of Joseph Smith’s account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon….. [A] span of no more than sixty-five to seventy-five total days was likely involved in translating the Book of Mormon as we now have it, for an overall average of about seven to eight pages per day, conservatively estimated. At such a pace, only about a week could have been taken to translate all of 1 Nephi; a day and half for King Benjamin’s speech. Moreover, Joseph and Oliver could not spend all of that time concentrating on the translation. They also took time to eat, to sleep, to seek employment (once, to work for money when supplies ran out), to receive the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, to make at least one (and possibly two) trips to Colesville thirty miles away, to convert and baptize Hyrum and Samuel Smith (who came to Harmony at that time), to receive and record thirteen revelations that are now sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, to move on buckboard from Harmony to Fayette, to acquire the Book of Mormon copyright, to preach a few days and baptize several people near Fayette, to experience manifestations with the Three and Eight Witnesses, and to begin making arrangements for the Book of Mormon’s publication.— Oliver Cowdery: These were days never to be forgotten-to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated, with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history, or record, called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ Joseph Smith III interviewed his mother Emma shortly before her death: Question. Mother, what is your belief about the authenticity, or origin, of the Book of Mormon? Answer. My belief is that the Book of Mormon is of divine authenticity - I have not the slightest doubt of it. I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the writing of the manuscripts unless he was inspired; for, when acting as his scribe, your father would dictate to me hour after hour; and when returning after meals, or after interruptions, he could at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him. This was a usual thing for him to do. It would have been improbable that a learned man could do this; and, for one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it was simply impossible.

If you remove quotes from the Bible, the Book of Mormon has about 258k words, compared to 184k words in the New Testament, and 77k in the Quran and the first Harry Potter novel. If Joseph just wanted a simple “sign” to fool his followers, why would he write so much and risk critics finding errors? Due to many historical accounts, we know the Book of Mormon was translated over a span of 85 days, or about 65 days of full time work. That pace is about 2 months of full time translating. At the average ballpoint pen writing speed of 13 words per minute, it would take about 6 hours per day[2] to just write the words with a pen, and slower with quill and ink, with no time to invent new plot points. If he were lying in his journals and to his friends about his whereabouts to make his story look consistent for future generations, the math of his pace was right on. The LDS scholar Hugh Nibley challenged his students at Brigham Young University to write an entire book of scripture in a semester. Nobody succeeded. Various computerized analysis of the Book of Mormon produces a U.S. reading grade level of 8-17.5, despite his limited education[3]. “Word Pattern” studies show the Book of Mormon had many authors, none of which match Joseph’s writing style, or any of his associates. There are 175 new characters/groups, 125 locations, dozens of stories and doctrines Joseph Smith had to keep straight. [4] Yet there is not one witness that he took any notes, or had an editor, or used a mound of reference books from the library.[5] Paper was very expensive in the 1820s, drafts would have been very costly and difficult to hide. All we have is the original text dictated without punctuation to a scribe onto paper which could not be erased or edited with software. His wife Emma recalled: “He had neither manuscript nor book to read from. … If he had had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me.”[6] But there is more. These arguments account only for the book’s historical content. The real issues still remain: how did Joseph produce a book that radiates with the Spirit, and where did he get such profound doctrine, much of which clarifies or contradicts the Christian beliefs of his time? For example, the Book of Mormon teaches, contrary to most Christian beliefs, that the Fall of Adam was a positive step forward. It reveals the covenants made at baptism, which are not addressed in the Bible. In addition, one might ask: where did Joseph get the powerful insight that because of Christ’s Atonement, He can not only cleanse us but also perfect us? Where did he get the stunning sermon on faith in Alma 32? Or King Benjamin’s sermon on the Savior’s Atonement, perhaps the most remarkable sermon on this subject in all scripture? Or the allegory of the olive tree with all its complexity and doctrinal richness? When I read this allegory, I have to map it out to follow its intricacies. Are we now supposed to believe that Joseph Smith just dictated these sermons off the top of his head with no notes whatsoever? He would have had to con several people to keep his secret to the grave. He had 3 scribes who wrote as he translated, and he got 3 witnesses and 8 witnesses to say they saw the plates of gold. A few of these 11 left the church, but none ever denied. There have been 100 million copies printed, and 16 million living members of the church who have been inspired by it. Millions will tell you they directly asked God if it was true, and their prayer was answered. There have been hundreds of articles and books written about the historical and cultural details Joseph Smith “accidentally” got right. For instance, the Book of Mormon accurately and in great detail describes earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, olive culture, guerrilla and traditional warfare, building ships, travel across oceans, Hebrew and Egyptian naming and grammatical styles, chiasmus, and geography of the Middle East and the Americas. Is there any other book of this length, written this quickly, written by a writing rookie, with such spiritual depth, with so many consistent characters, stories, locations and doctrines, with so many copies printed, and written by only 1 writer? Either Joseph Smith was a literary genius, or he was telling the truth.

Doctrine and Covenants 121 10 Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job. Job 4 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? 3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. 5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence⁠, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? 7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent⁠? or where were the righteous cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. Job 13 4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. Job 16 2 I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.

Job 31 6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity⁠. Job asks that he receives a just judgement from God so that if he is wicked, which he firmly believes he is not, then he will receive the proper punishment. The entire chapter of 31 is Job freely welcoming punishment for any sin or wrong he has committed. He is trying to justify his righteousness and show to all that he is not wicked. And in 32 Elihu responds angrily. Elihu did not like how Job is calling himself righteous. He wants Job to call God righteous and especially in the sense of what God has allowed to happen to Job. Elihu wants to say that God has punished Job for wickedness This is why he is unhappy with Job’s claims of justifying his own behavior in being righteous.

CHAPTER 13 Job testifies of his confidence in the Lord and says, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him, and He also will be my salvation. 1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it. 2 What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you. 3 Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. 4 But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. 5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom. 6 Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. 7 Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? 8 Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? 9 Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? 10 He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. 11 Shall not his excellency make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? 12 Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. 13 Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. 14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? 15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. 16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. 17 Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. 18 Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified⁠. 19 Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost. 20 Only do not two things unto me: then will I not hide myself from thee. 21 Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid. 22 Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me. 23 How many are mine iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin. 24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy? 25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? 26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. 27 Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. 28 And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth eaten.

Another property I went to mow the lawn and what do you know?? The grass was so patchy and dying… I sent this picture to my dad he says sure enough the grass is dying how could this be? Apparently the grass was not getting enough water… I looked around and there was indeed a sprinkler system installed, so why was the grass not being properly watered? I took a closer look inside the garage and the irrigation control was set to run station 1 each day at 6 am. Then I took a closer look at the grass and noticed there were patches of green near each sprinkler head. So I turned on station 1 manually and boom the sprinklers were turning on, but the heads were not coming up all the way so I looked in the sprinkler box and discovered…. One of the valves was partially closed… the valve for station 1. So all I did was slightly rotate it counter clockwise and boom the pressure went back up to normal and the sprinkler heads shot up and started covering the entire lawn. What a victory. ✌️

Doctrine and Covenants 132 55 But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him an hundred-fold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds.

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“‘I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it.’” He continues: “‘I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there. “‘Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.⁠’” (⁠Relief Society Magazine, Jan. 1948, p. 8.) Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God.

Several verses in the Book of Mormon contain geographical descriptions. 1 Nephi 18 22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land. 23 And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land. You sent I am looking for some clues as to whether Lehi’s family sailed accross the Atlantic ocean or the Pacific ocean. I am looking at 1 Nephi 18:22-23, and I am having a difficult time extracting clues on the matter. It may also be worth considering the number of days or months that it would typically take to travel from the Arabian peninsula through either the Pacific Ocean, or south of Africa through the Atlantic Ocean. The text says the “had sailed for the space of many days” I am curious how many days Nephi would consider “many days”

Ezekiel 17 8 It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. has a correlation to Jacob 5 25 And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought forth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others. because both mention a “good spot” of soil where the a seed was planted so that it could produce good fruit.

Jacob 5 11 And the Lord of the vineyard caused that it should be digged about, and pruned, and nourished, saying unto his servant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree; wherefore, that perhaps I might preserve the roots thereof that they perish not, that I might preserve them unto myself, I have done this thing. Jacob 5 teaches an allegory of what the Lord is willing to do to save his people. He works with his servants to soften the ground of the branches and tree roots so that they can take up deeper root and grow more. It says, “it grieveth me that I should lose this tree” This is how Jesus Christ feels about every single one of his spirit children. It “grieveth” Jesus Christ the thought of him losing any of his children and so he does whatever he can to save them. Unfortunately, despite even Jesus Christ’s best efforts, sometimes his spirit children use their agency to choose not to repent. We see this in the example of Cain and Able. Cain decided to follow Satan, while Able decided to serve the Lord. And so Satan told Cain to kill Able, which he did and it was a serious sin. It is alwaus so important to not follow Satan and instead to follow Jesus Christ.

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1 Nephi 15 25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things. I feel like Nephi, very desirous for the welfare of your souls. My anxiety is great for the souls of all of you, that you will hearken to the words of the Lord. I exhort you with all the energies of my soul that you will heed the word of God and keep his commandments in all things.

The curse remained upon them because Cain cut off the lives [sic] of Abel, to prevent him and his posterity getting ascendency over Cain and his generations, and to get the lead himself, his own offering was not being accepted of God, while Abel’s was. But the Lord cursed Cain’s seed with blackness and prohibited them the priesthood, that Abel and his progeny might yet come forward, and have their dominion, place, and blessings in their proper relationship with Cain and his race in the world to come

Doctrine and covenants 127 2 And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye for yourselves. God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.

Several references to tithing are found in the scriptures. The same reference is included in Malachi 3 8 ¶ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. and in 3 Nephi 24 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Both references include a promise from the Lord that if we pay tithing, he will “open the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive.” This is quite a powerful promise. That means if we pay tithing we will be blessed with a blessing so big, we won’t even be able to receive it. We see an occasion where Abraham is blessed with such a blessing that the Lord promises: Genesis 7 11 ¶ In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. Robert D. Hales said, “tithing is a test of faith with eternal blessings.” and also said, “Tithing develops and tests our faith. By sacrificing to the Lord what we may think we need or want for ourselves, we learn to rely on Him.” Elder Hales also told us that some of the blessings of tithing are temporal, others are spiritual. We also see another reference when Jacob covenants to pay tithing. Genesis 28 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. I know that the Lord blesses us with a blessings so big we don’t even have room enough to receive it when we pay tithing and I am so thankful for the opportunity to do that. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/.../tithing-a-test-of…

1 Kings 22 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. This is important because Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they never made it because they were broken at Ezion-geber. 2 Nephi 12:16 And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. There may be a slight connection between the 2 verses. 1 Kings 22 uses “Tharshish” and 2 Nephi uses “Tarshish”

2 Nephi 29 3 And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible. Here is a prophecy from the Book of Mormon that the Lord’s words will “hiss forth” in our day and many people will say we have a Bible, so we have enough. We already have the Bible, why do we need anything more? This prophecy is clearly coming to pass before our eyes when many voices shout that we already have the Bible, so why do we need the Book of Mormon? The combination of the Book of Mormon and the JST of the Bible and other revelations by Joseph Smith result in a large sum of truths and doctrines that have either been added to the Bible or corrected errors in the Bible that occured as the Bible was mis translated over the course of hundreds of years. Many important truths related to salvation were lost and then restored in clarity and boldness through Joseph Smith. Prophet Joseph Smith said in 1832, “From sundry revelations which have been received, it was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors” Bart Ehrman, an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina wrote, that there are 5,366 copies of the original New Testament texts that have survived over time. With the exception of the smallest fragments, no two of these copies are exactly alike. The number of differences must be in the hundreds of thousands. Scribes sometimes even changed them to align better with their own theology.

2 Thessalonians 2 3 Let no man deceive you by any means; for there shall come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2 Thessalonians teaches us that Jesus Christ’s original church was prophecies to fall away before the 2nd coming. This is why it is so important for the church to be restored again starting in 1820. It would not have been possible for a 22 year old farm boy with limited education to produce a complex 530 literary masterpiece with Hebraic structures, consistent geography, varying author styles.

Brigham Young “How many Gods there are, I do not know. But there never was a time when there were not Gods and worlds, and when men were not passing through the same ordeals [mortality] that we are now passing through. That course has been from all eternity, and it is and will be to all eternity.”

Where do you guys think the river sidon is? verse_title,scripture_text Alma 43:51,“Now, the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than double the number of the Nephites; nevertheless, they were driven insomuch that they were gathered together in one body in the valley, upon the bank by the river Sidon.” Alma 43:53,“Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of the river Sidon, and the armies of Moroni on the west of the river Sidon, that they were encircled about by the Nephites, they were struck with terror.” Alma 43:41,“And it came to pass that Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in the valley, on the other side of the river Sidon, and began to fall upon them and to slay them.” Alma 43:40,“And they were pursued by Lehi and his men; and they were driven by Lehi into the waters of Sidon, and they crossed the waters of Sidon. And Lehi retained his armies upon the bank of the river Sidon that they should not cross.” Alma 43:39,“And it came to pass that the Lamanites became frightened, because of the great destruction among them, even until they began to flee towards the river Sidon.” Alma 43:35,“And as the Lamanites had passed the hill Riplah, and came into the valley, and began to cross the river Sidon, the army which was concealed on the south of the hill, which was led by a man whose name was Lehi, and he led his army forth and encircled the Lamanites about on the east in their rear.” Alma 43:32,“And the remainder he concealed in the west valley, on the west of the river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti.” Alma 43:27,“And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be secreted in the valley which was near the bank of the river Sidon, which was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness.” Alma 43:22,“Behold, now it came to pass that they durst not come against the Nephites in the borders of Jershon; therefore they departed out of the land of Antionum into the wilderness, and took their journey round about in the wilderness, away by the head of the river Sidon, that they might come into the land of Manti and take possession of the land; for they did not suppose that the armies of Moroni would know whither they had gone.” Alma 49:16,“And behold, Moroni had appointed Lehi to be chief captain over the men of that city; and it was that same Lehi who fought with the Lamanites in the valley on the east of the river Sidon.” Alma 50:11,“And thus he cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanites in the east wilderness, yea, and also on the west, fortifying the line between the Nephites and the Lamanites, between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Nephi, from the west sea, running by the head of the river Sidon–the Nephites possessing all the land northward, yea, even all the land which was northward of the land Bountiful, according to their pleasure.” Alma 16:7,“And it came to pass that Zoram and his sons crossed over the river Sidon, with their armies, and marched away beyond the borders of Manti into the south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river Sidon.” Alma 16:6,“And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And Alma returned and said unto them: Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti. And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.” Alma 3:3,“And now as many of the Lamanites and the Amlicites who had been slain upon the bank of the river Sidon were cast into the waters of Sidon; and behold their bones are in the depths of the sea, and they are many.” Alma 2:35,“And it came to pass that when they had all crossed the river Sidon that the Lamanites and the Amlicites began to flee before them, notwithstanding they were so numerous that they could not be numbered.” Alma 2:34,“And thus he cleared the ground, or rather the bank, which was on the west of the river Sidon, throwing the bodies of the Lamanites who had been slain into the waters of Sidon, that thereby his people might have room to cross and contend with the Lamanites and the Amlicites on the west side of the river Sidon.” Alma 2:27,“And behold, as they were crossing the river Sidon, the Lamanites and the Amlicites, being as numerous almost, as it were, as the sands of the sea, came upon them to destroy them.” Alma 2:15,“And it came to pass that the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the river Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla, and there they began to make war with the Nephites.” Alma 6:7,“And now it came to pass that when Alma had made these regulations he departed from them, yea, from the church which was in the city of Zarahemla, and went over upon the east of the river Sidon, into the valley of Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the city of Gideon, which was in the valley that was called Gideon, being called after the man who was slain by the hand of Nehor with the sword.” Alma 8:3,“And it came to pass in the commencement of the tenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, that Alma departed from thence and took his journey over into the land of Melek, on the west of the river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness.” Alma 22:29,“And also there were many Lamanites on the east by the seashore, whither the Nephites had driven them. And thus the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the Lamanites; nevertheless the Nephites had taken possession of all the northern parts of the land bordering on the wilderness, at the head of the river Sidon, from the east to the west, round about on the wilderness side; on the north, even until they came to the land which they called Bountiful.” Alma 22:27,“And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land, who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea, on the east and on the west, and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore, and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti, by the head of the river Sidon, running from the east towards the west–and thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites divided.” here is every verse in the Book of Mormon that mentions the phrase ‘river sidon’

When Joseph Smith was 17 years old, he was praying for forgiveness and the angel Moroni from ancient times appeared to him miraculously. He taught Joseph things about what he was supposed to do. I often ponder this event. Moroni has always been an important role model for me because he is very righteous. He is constantly finding ways to prepare for the attacks from his enemies and fortify his people and develop their strongholds. He is a glorified being whose countenance is bright and powerful. I’m sure even just being in his presence was powerful for Joseph Smith. I hope I can continue to be more like Moroni and also more like Jesus Christ. Alma 48 17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

from the mid-1800s until 1978—the Church did not ordain men of black African descent to its priesthood or allow black men or women to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances. During the first two decades of the Church’s existence, a few black men were ordained to the priesthood. One of these men, Elijah Able, also participated in temple ceremonies in Kirtland, Ohio, and was later baptized as proxy for deceased relatives in Nauvoo, Illinois. There is no reliable evidence that any black men were denied the priesthood during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. In 1852 President Brigham Young publicly announced that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood, though thereafter black people continued to join the Church through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Following the death of Brigham Young, subsequent Church Presidents restricted black members from receiving the temple endowment or being married in the temple. Over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church.

Doctrine and Covenants 35 13 Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit; if we obey christ and his doctrine we will “thresh the nations by the power of his Spirit” powerful!

Credit card debt is at an all time high in America at $1.211 trillion. The 10 states with the highest average credit card debt amounts in Q3 of 2024 are: Connecticut $9,323 District of Columbia $9,209 California $9,191 New Jersey $9,112 Florida $9.094 Alaska $9,040 Maryland $8,830 New York $8,810 Hawaii $8,798 Massachusetts $8,685 Mississippi has the only balance below $5,000 at $4,918 Wyoming has the fastest growing credit card debt https://www.lendingtree.com/.../credit-card-debt-statistics/

“You don’t know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it. I don’t blame any one for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I would not have believed it myself.”

• Joseph Smith

every verse in the New Testament that contains the word ‘saved’ [‘Matthew 19:25’, ‘Matthew 27:42’, ‘Matthew 24:13’, ‘Matthew 24:22’, ‘Matthew 10:22’, ‘Mark 10:26’, ‘Mark 16:16’, ‘Mark 15:31’, ‘Mark 13:13’, ‘Mark 13:20’, ‘Luke 18:42’, ‘Luke 18:26’, ‘Luke 13:23’, ‘Luke 23:35’, ‘Luke 1:71’, ‘Luke 7:50’, ‘Luke 8:12’, ‘John 10:9’, ‘John 5:34’, ‘John 3:17’, ‘Acts 15:1’, ‘Acts 15:11’, ‘Acts 16:30’, ‘Acts 16:31’, ‘Acts 27:20’, ‘Acts 27:31’, ‘Acts 2:21’, ‘Acts 4:12’, ‘Acts 2:47’, ‘Acts 11:14’, ‘Romans 11:26’, ‘Romans 10:13’, ‘Romans 10:9’, ‘Romans 10:1’, ‘Romans 9:27’, ‘Romans 8:24’, ‘Romans 5:10’, ‘Romans 5:9’, ‘1 Corinthians 10:33’, ‘1 Corinthians 15:2’, ‘1 Corinthians 3:15’, ‘1 Corinthians 5:5’, ‘1 Corinthians 1:18’, ‘2 Corinthians 2:15’, ‘Ephesians 2:5’, ‘Ephesians 2:8’, ‘1 Thessalonians 2:16’, ‘2 Thessalonians 2:10’, ‘1 Timothy 2:4’, ‘1 Timothy 2:15’, ‘2 Timothy 1:9’, ‘Titus 3:5’, ‘1 Peter 3:20’, ‘1 Peter 4:18’, ‘2 Peter 2:5’, ‘Jude 1:5’, ‘Revelation 21:24’] https://github.com/.../posts/New%20testament%20saved.csv

Joseph Smith was an astonishingly committed prophet and disciple. One of the best examples of this I have found was during his leadership of Zion’s Camp. “Members of Zion’s Camp endured a limited food and water supply, unsanitary conditions, traveling through humidity, rain, and mud for sometimes as many as 40 miles a day. The difficulties lead to some members of Zion’s Camp becoming greatly discouraged and Joseph exhorted them “to humble themselves before the Lord and become united, that they might not be scourged.”” Can you imagine walking 40 miles/day and being told to be humbled before the Lord? I am certain those saints reached new levels of humility they had never felt before. It can be hard to swallow pride, yet I have found in my life that without sufficient humility, I am blinded to the marvelous workings of Jesus Christ and do not have his influence in my life. When I do humble myself, I am then willing to pray and read the Book of Mormon and seek the Lord. Helaman 6 says 5 Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and authority, unto the bringing down many of them into the depths of humility, to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb. If we are willing to bring ourselves down to the depths of humility, I am certain that we truly can meet the Lord, and if we continue in humility, we can continue to get to know him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Book of Mormon tells us one of King Zedekiah’s sons was named Mulek and he escaped and came to the new world Helaman 6

10 Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south. Helaman 8 21 And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? But behold, this is not all— The Bible says Zedekiah and his sons were killed by King Nebuchadnezzar II, during the Babylonian captivity 2 Kings 1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. 2 And the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. 4 ¶ And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king’s garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city round about:) and the king went the way toward the plain. 5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. 6 So they took the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. A stamp seal of a royal figure was found in the 1980s by archeologists digging in Jerusalem dated to the time of Zedekiah (who reigned from 618 - 587 BC) written in Paleo-Hebrew. It calls the royal figure Malkiyahu, son of the king (which would have been Zedekiah as of that date). One of the shortened Hebrew variants of this name would be Mulek.

John and Elsa Johnson had come from Hiram, Ohio, with Ezra Booth to meet Joseph Smith who they had heard so much about. Elsa Johnson had a broken arm and Joseph Smith asked her if she believed God could heal it. She answered, “yes”. Joseph Smith then said, “Woman, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command thee to be whole.’” Everyone was awe-stricken and asked if Elsa was healed and she immediately stretched out her straight arm and it was healed. Moroni 7 37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought;

Hosea 13 4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. We learn some powerful lessons about returning to the Lord after sinning from the prophet Hosea. Hosea powerfully taught the principle of repentance to the Northern Kingdom. Even after they committed such whoredoms and abominations, the Lord was still willing to let them eventually repent.

“I’ve got 112 pages of just quotations and we’ve double checked to make sure we have them word-for-word and we’re working on getting this published. After going through 112 pages of people who saw the papyri or the mummies, most of them say nothing about the source of the Book of Abraham. Only a few do. And those who do are usually not very clear about exactly what the source is. There are a few, a very few, that are and they agree that the source is the long roll, the long roll of papyrus.” This is what Kerry Muhlestein said about the papyri Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Abraham a couple years ago. Does anyone have access to these quotes? He said a few witnesses suggest he used the long scroll to translate the book of Abraham

The basic concept of the VIX is that it is a mathematical calculation of the price of options of the SP500 The 2 main indicators that determine prices of options are #1 time to expiration and #2 volatility of the underlying asset, though other indicators also have an effect. So if any uncertainty enters the market which could happen for a variety of reasons, volatility of the sp500 increases which would increase the prices of options which drives the value of the VIX (CBOE) and other volatility trackers up.

In June of 1878, Wilford Woodruff recorded a vision that he had in December of 1877. He saw many harsh things of blood and carnage. He saw many dead bodies. He saw death and war and murder and bloodshed. After seeing much of this, he saw “myriads of Angels hovering over them and around about them and also an immens pillar of a cloud over them and I heard the singing of the most beautif music the words “Now is esstablished the Kingdom of our God and his Christ and He shall reign forever and Ever, and the Kingdom shall never be Thrown down for the Saints have overcome”” He heard a voice say “Now shall come to pass that which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet “That seven women shall take hold of one man saying[”] &c. [Isaiah 4:1]” Wilford Woodruff was surely a prophet and had many powerful manifestations from the Lord.

Wilford Woodruff journals June 15, 1878 recorded a vision that apparently happened Dec 16, 1877 June 15, 1878 ~ Saturday 15 A hand pointing to the right I wrote 28 & spent most of the day in the office I had a vary strange vision copied in the office to day of a Desolating sickness which covered the whole land A Vision Salt Lake City, Night of Dec 16, 1877 I [blank] went to bed at my usual hour half past nine oclok I had been reading the Revolations in the French Language, my mind was calm, more so than usual if possible to be so. I composed myself for sleep but could not sleep. I felt a strange stupor come over me and apparently became partially unconscious, still I was not asleep, nor awoke With a strange far away dreamy feelings the first I recognized was that I was in the Tabernacle at Ogden sitting on the back seat in the corner for fear they would call upon me to Preach which after singing the second time, they did by calling me to the stand. I arose to speak and said I did not know that I had any thing special to say except to bear my Testimony to the Truth of the Latter Day work when all at once it seemed as though I was lifted out of myself, and I said “yes I have sumthing to say, it is this—some of my brethren present have been asking me what is coming to pass, what is the wind blowing up. I will answer you right here what is coming to pass shortly. I was immediately in Salt Lake City wandering about the streets in all parts of the city and on the door of every house I found a badge of mourning, and I could not find a house but what was in mourning. I passed by my own house and saw the same sigm there, and asked “Is that me that is dead?” Sumthing gave me answer “No youll live through it all.” It seemed strange to me that I saw no person [on] the street in my wandering about through the city, they seemed to be in their houses with their sick and Dead. I saw no funeral possession, or any thing of that kind, but the city looked vary still and quiet as though the people were praying and had controll of the desease what ever it was I then looked in all directions over the Territory, East West North and South, and I found the same mourn- ing in every place throughout the Land. The next I knew I was Just this side of Omaha. It seemed as though I was above the Earth, looking down to it as I passed along on my way East and I saw the roads full of people principally women with just what they could carry in bundles on therir backs travelling to the mountains on foot, and I wond- ered how they could get there, with nothing but a small pack upon their backs. It was remarkable to me that there were so few men among them, it did not seem as though the cars were running the rails looked rusty, and the road abandoned, And I have no conception how I travelled myself As I looked down upon the people I continued Eastward through Omaha and Council Bluffs which were full of disease, and women every whare. The states of Missouri and Illinois were in turmoil and strife Men killing each other, and women joining in the fight, family against family cutting each other to peaieces in the most horrid manner. The next I saw was Washington, and I found the city a Desolation. The white House Empty, the Halls of Congress the same. Every thing in ruins, the people seemed to have fled from the city and left it to take care of itself. I was next in the city of Baltimore and in the square whare the Monument of 1812 stands, in front of St Charles and other Hotels I saw the Dead piled up so high as to fill the square I saw Mothers cut the throats of thereir own children for the sake of their blood, which they drank from their veins, to quench their thirst and then lie down and die. The waters of the Chesapeake and of the city were so stagnant and such a stench arose from them on account of the putrefaction of Dead bodies that the vary smell caused Death, and that was singular again I saw no men except they were dead, lying in the streets, and vary few women, and they were crazy mad, and in a dying condition Every whare I went I beheld the same all over the city, And it was horrible beyound description As I looked down upon the people I continued Eastward through Omaha and Council Bluffs which were full of disease, and women every whare. The states of Missouri and Illinois were in turmoil and strife Men killing each other, and women joining in the fight, family against family cutting each other to peaieces in the most horrid manner. The next I saw was Washington, and I found the city a Desolation. The white House Empty, the Halls of Congress the same. Every thing in ruins, the people seemed to have fled from the city and left it to take care of itself. I was next in the city of Baltimore and in the square whare the Monument of 1812 stands, in front of St Charles and other Hotels I saw the Dead piled up so high as to fill the square I saw Mothers cut the throats of thereir own children for the sake of their blood, which they drank from their veins, to quench their thirst and then lie down and die. The waters of the Chesapeake and of the city were so stagnant and such a stench arose from them on account of the putrefaction of Dead bodies that the vary smell caused Death, and that was singular again I saw no men except they were dead, lying in the streets, and vary few women, and they were crazy mad, and in a dying condition Every whare I went I beheld the same all over the city, And it was horrible beyound description to look at. I thought this must be the End. But No I was seemingly in Philadelphia and there every- thing was still no living soul was to be seen to greet me, and it seemed as though the whole city was without an inhabitant. In arch and chestnut street and in fact Every whare I went the putrifaction of the Dead bodies caused such a stench that it was Impossible for any creature to Exhist alive, nor did I see any living thing in the city. I next found myself in Broadway New York and here it seemed the people had done their best to overcome the Disease. But in wandering down Broadway I saw the bodies of Beautiful women lying stone dead, and others in a dying condition on the side walk. I saw men crawl out of the cellars and rob the dead bodies of the valuables they had on and before they could return to their coverts in the cellars they themselves would roll over a time or towo and die in agony. On some of the back streets I saw Mothers kill their own children and Eat raw flesh and then in a few minuts die themselves. Whareever I went I saw the same scenes of Horror and Desolation rapine and Death. No Horses or carriages, No busses or street cars, but Death and Destruction evry whare I then went to the Grand Central Park and looking back I saw a fire start and just at that moment a mighty East wind sprang up and carried the flames west over the city, and it burned untill there was not a single building left standing whole Even down to the wharfs, and the shiping all seemed to be burned and swallowed up in the common destruction and left Nothing but a Desolation whare the great city was a short time before. The stench from the bodies that were burning was so great that it was carried a great distance across the Hudson River and bay, and thus spread deisease and death whareever the flames penetrated. I cannot paint in words the Horror that seemed to Encompass me around It was beyound description or thought of man to conceive. I supposed this was the End but I was here given to understand, that the same horror was being enacted all over the country, North South East and West, that few were left alive still there were some. Immediately after I seemed to be standing on the west bank of the Missouri River opposite the city of Independance but I saw no city. I saw the whole states of Missouri & Illinois and part of Iowa were a com- plete wilderness with no living human being im them. I then saw a short distance from the river Twelve men dressed in the robes of the Temple stand[in]g in a square or nearly so. I understood it respresented the Twelve gates of the New Jerrusalem, and they were with hands uplifted consecrating the ground and laying the Corner Stones. I saw myriads of Angels hovering over them and around about them and also an immens pillar of a cloud over them and I heard the singing of the most beautif music the words “Now is esstablished the Kingdom of our God and his Christ and He shall reign forever and Ever, and the Kingdom shall never be Thrown down for the Saints have overcome” and I saw people coming from the River and different places a long way off to help build the Temple, and it seemed that the Hosts of the angels also helped to get the material to build the Temple, and I saw some come who wore their Temple clothing rob[e]s to help build the Temple and the city and all the time I saw the great pillar of cloud hovering over the place Instantly I found I was in the Tabernacle at Ogden yet I could see the building going on and got quite animated in calling to the people in the Tabernacle to listen to the beautiful music that the Angels were Making. I called to them to look at the Angels as the House seemed to be full of them and they were saying the same words that I heard Before “Now is the Kingdom of Our God Esstablished forever & Ever.[”] and then a voice said “Now shall come to pass that which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet “That seven women shall take hold of one man saying[”] &c. [Isaiah 4:1] At this time I seemed to stagger back from the pulpit & F D Richards and some one els caught me and prevented me from falling when I requested Brother Richards to apologise to the audience for me because I stoped so adruptly and tell them I had not fainted but was exhausted. I rolled over in my bed and heard the City Hall clock strike Twelve

I have created a post to offer advice to any of those who are struggling to reconcile seemingly contradictory ideas with faith or religion or spiritual claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or other churches or religious organizations. Whether it may be church history topics or stories, polygamy, church finances, church policies, Joseph Smith quotes, stories, teachings, personal stories, challenges, struggles, or events, scriptural discrepancies, or any other version of things that seem to contradict spiritual or religious claims no matter how broad or specific. As you will find in the post, towards the end I give the simple answer to these questions, concerns, doubts, or struggles. The answer is to repent and have faith in Jesus Christ. If you repent and have faith in Jesus Christ, your spiritual eyes will be opened and you will see that Jesus Christ is a real being who does in fact exist. No church history fact or personal struggle can deteriorate this divine, universal truth in any sliver of a way. In the post I share a quote from President Nelson that, no matter what questions or problems we may have, the answer is always Jesus Christ. So please share your thoughts with me about the post and the insights found therein. I am curious to hear your thoughts and critiques of the post. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. https://porterbmoody.github.io/.../book-of-mormon.../

John E. Page, who was one of the 12 apostles called by Joseph Smith said, “All who are familiar with the Book of Mormon are probably aware of the fact that the whole account of the history of the fore fathers of the American Indians, called the Nephites, Lamanites and Zoramites, is confined to Central America entirely until the 394th page.” I see many scholars agreeing with the Mesoamerican model, but I’m not certain about it yet. I would like to continue to study the relevant references that support this model. I also see some scholars to be quite certain about the Heartland model, and other various models or variations or combinations of any such models such as the Limited Geography Model.

If anyone is wrestling with church history or other church topics such as:

• Joseph Smith and polygamy, Brigham Young and polygamy, Wilford Woodruff and polygamy
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints methods of handling the tithing funds and investments
• church finances, Ensign Peak Advisors reports to the SEC
• Joseph Smith translations of the Book of Mormon
• the kinderhook plates
• contradictions between the Bible and the Book of Mormon
• discrepancies between the Egyptian papyri and the book of Abraham
• Book of Mormon historicity
• Book of Mormon geographical evidence or lack thereof
• Book of Mormon anachronisms
• racial priesthood restrictions and the fact that blacks could not receive the priesthood until 1987
• reconciling evolution with Adam and Eve
• reconciling scientific accounts of the creation of earth and the emergence of life itself and the creation account recorded in Genesis or Abraham
• reconciling Luke 23:43 (And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.) with spirit paradise and protestant views
• reconciling Revelations 22:18–19 “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” with the Book of Mormon being another text to the Bible.
• the change in the introduction in of the Book of Mormon in 2006 from “After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.” To “After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” I would love to talk with you about any of these topics because I love studying them and diving deeper into them. But I would also invite you to take your questions to the Lord and ask him in sincere prayer because I know he “give the wisdom to all men liberally” as we read from James (James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.) I have a testimony that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in the sacred grove, and translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God after multiple meetings with the angel Moroni. I also have a testimony that Adam and Eve were placed in the garden and partook of the fruit of the tree of good and evil.

Doctrine and Covenants 132:54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law. God commanded Emma Smith to remain with Joseph Smith during his practices of polygamy or else she will be destroyed. This makes sense to me because they had both already been sealed so it was part of the new and everlasting covenant that they remain faithful to 1 another. Although I’m sure it must have felt uncomfortable for both Emma and Joseph to be together while Joseph was marrying and associating with other women through the new and everlasting covenant.

Jacob 2

24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord. Doctrine and Covenants 132 38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me. My current understanding is that David did not sin in most or all of his wives and concubines until he slept with Bethsheba. And Solomon also sinned by marrying some of his wives and others he did not sin. This the phrase “save in this things which they received not of me” we read in 1 Kings that Solomon had 700 wives, 300 concubines. 1 Kings 11 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

I have written another post about the creation. So I reference some verses from Genesis, describing the process of the creation. Each day God created something different until day 7 when he rested. Obviously, there is a lot more content related to the creation than what I have covered here. I plan to continue learning and adding to it slowly here and there.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “I told the brethren that The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” I know we can get closer to Jesus Christ by abiding by the precepts of the The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ than any other book because the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was translated by Joseph Smith by the power of God using the Urim and Thummim and the Seer stone.

“Not half — not one-hundredth part — not a thousandth part of that which Joseph Smith revealed to the Church has yet been unfolded, either to the Church or to the world.”

• Elder B.H. Roberts He tells us that only a small fraction, less than 1/1000 of the things that God knows have been revealed to the church or to humanity.

Numbers 15 37 ¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God. Numbers happens around 1400BC. In these verses, the Israelites are commanded to make fringes in the borders of their garments to put a ribband of blue as a reminder to always keep the commandments of God and to do all of his Commandments. This is a powerful reminder for us that we must always remember the Lord our God and must always remember to keep all of His Holy commandments. I am so grateful that Jesus Christ has restored his gospel on the earth once again so that we can all partake of its goodness and keep his commandments each moment of each day. Jesus Christ is the savior of the whole world, and even many other worlds. He appeared to Joseph Smith in the sacred grove and will also walk with us as we remember to keep his commandments and follow him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

1 Nephi 2 20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. 1 Nephi 4 14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise. 2 Nephi 1 9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever. 20 And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence. 2 Nephi 4 4 For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence. Jarom 1 9 And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land. Omni 1 6 For the Lord would not suffer, after he had led them out of the land of Jerusalem and kept and preserved them from falling into the hands of their enemies, yea, he would not suffer that the words should not be verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land. Mosiah 1 7 And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers. Alma 9 13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. Alma 36 1 My son, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land. 30 But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word. Alma 37 13 O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God. And he said: If ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land—but if ye keep not his commandments ye shall be cut off from his presence. Alma 38 1 My son, give ear to my words, for I say unto you, even as I said unto Helaman, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Alma 50 20 Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land. But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. Helaman 4 15 And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper. 3 Nephi 5 22 And insomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them according to his word.

Alma testifies to Helaman of his conversion after seeing an angel—He suffered the pains of a damned soul; he called upon the name of Jesus, and was then born of God—Sweet joy filled his soul—He saw concourses of angels praising God—Many converts have tasted and seen as he has tasted and seen. About 74 B.C. a My son give ear to my words (1) b Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land (1) c Do as I have done (2) d Remember the captivity of our fathers (2) e They were in bondage (2) f He surely did deliver them (2) g Trust in God (3) h Supported in trials, troubles, and afflictions (3) i Lifted up at the last day (3) j I know this not of myself but of God (4) k Born of God (5) l I sought to destroy the church (6-9) m My limbs were paralyzed (10) n Fear of being in the presence of God (14- 15) o Pains of a damned soul (16) p Harrowed up by the memory of sins (17) q I remembered Jesus Christ, a son of God (17) q’ I cried, Jesus, son of God (18) p’ Harrowed up by the memory of sins no more (19) o’ Joy as exceeding as was the pain (20) n’ Long to be in the presence of God (22) m’ My limbs received strength again (23) l’ I labored to bring souls to repentance (24) k’ Born of God (26) j’ Therefore my knowledge is of God (26) h’ Supported under trials, troubles, and afflictions (27) g’ Trust in him (27) f’ He will deliver me (27) i’ and raise me up at the last day (28) e’ As God brought our fathers out of bondage and captivity (28- 29) d’ Retain in remembrance their captivity (28-29) c’ Know as I do know (30) b’ Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land (30) a’ This according to his word (30). There are 17 key elements in Alma 36 that make up the Chiasmus literary form contained in the chapter. The first element mentions that Alma is speaking to is son Helaman and he should listen to his word. Then it continues to discuss the process of Alma feeling racked terror and horror from his sins and feeling scared to be in the presence of God. He also lost strength in his limbs and went unconscious for 3 days. Then he remembers Jesus Chirst which his father taught him and he repents and receives strength in his limbs again and works to build the church for the rest of his days.

Comissioned by Pope Damasus I, in the late 4th century AD, St. Jerome began a work known as the Latin Vulgate. “Vulgate” comes from the Latin word, “versio vulgata” which means, “the version commonly used. In the 1500s, the the Catholic church affirmed the Vulgate as the official Bible. Shortly later, the Vulgate did eventually recieve an official version called the “Sixtine Vulgate”. Then the official version became the Clementine Vulgate, and then the Nova Vulgata. The Vulgate is still used in the Latin Church.

Owens claims that the king follet sermon quotes almost word for word from the first section of the Zorah. The Hebrew word kabbalah means “tradition.” In Jewish writings, the 10 Sefiroth in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life could possibly refer to 10 manifestations of God, faculties of the soul, or 10 structural forces of nature. Almost no imagery in this Zohar has any equivalent in the king follet discourse. Allen Hansen teaches us that “the claim that Joseph Smith interacted with directly or was inspired in any meaningful way by the Kabbalah is untenable.”

“As in winter green trees cannot be distinguished from withered, so in this world neither can the just from the unjust.” Is a quote I found in volume 2 of the early church fathers Ante Nicene Creed. I think this is powerful because it teaches us that we humans can’t tell between who is righteous and who is not. Our brains are too limited and mortal. We just see the outside and people’s actions, but we have no real understanding of people’s hearts. This quote teaches us that the righteous and unrighteous are like trees in the winter. The healthy green trees appear no different from the withered, dry trees. Only God can truly know the difference.

In Doctrine and Covenants 93:29, the prophet also writes, “Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.” In addition, the Prophet taught, “There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is fine and pure” (131:7). Combining these teachings, “spirit element,” also called intelligence, or the light of truth, has always existed. Through a spiritual birth, this light (energy attributes) is transformed into spirit bodies (pure, refined matter), but it cannot be created nor destroyed. In other words, any change in energy attributes corresponds to a change in mass. Since the innermost parts of our being are “light”, when we keep the commandments, we receive a greater degree of light and truth until we are “glorified in truth and know all things” D&C 93:28

There are 3 common theories for the origins of the Book of Abraham:

1. The text of the Book of Abraham came from the remaining papyri
2. The theory that the text of the Book of Abraham came from other papyri scrolls that we no longer have.
3. The papyri served as a catalyst for Joseph Smith to receive revelation and it was not contained on the scrolls. Contrary to some critics, theory #1 is readily falsifiable. It has been scientifically demonstrated that this theory is not possible. That leaves us with the other 2 theories. There are 2-3 pieces of evidence that seem to indicate that the missing scroll theory accounts for more evidence than the catalyst theory. 1 of the pieces of evidence other than the statement that Joseph Smith made that affirms the missing scroll theory. One of the last discourses Joseph Smith made in Nauvoo quotes from the Book of Abraham saying that he got that reasoning by translating from a portion of papyrus that was in his house. We get that from second hand notes which could have ben incorrect. It is one of the few statements that we have that comes from Joseph Smith that indicates anything at all about the source of the Book of Abraham.

The hermeneutic circle of interpretation perpetuates predictable semantic discression and advisement of unprecedented generality. The ossified institutions of our society necessitate particular demands of strategic interdisciplinary enforcement. I’m perplexed by the ostensible paradox inherent in the opaque bigotry of the infernum.

In 1879, Emma Smith said, “Joseph Smith could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon. I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the writing of the manuscripts unless he was inspired; for, when acting as his scribe, he would dictate to me hour after hour; and when returning after meals, or after interruptions, he could at once begin where he had left off. This was a usual thing for him to do. It would have been improbable that a learned man could do this; and, for one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it was simply impossible.” Here is a letter written by Joseph Smith My Father Joseph Smith Siegnior moved to Palmyra Ontario County in the State of New York and being in indigent circumstances were obliged to labour hard for the support of a large Family having nine chilldren and as it required the exertions of all that were able to render any assistance for the support of the Family therefore we were deprived of the bennifit of an education suffice it to say I was mearly instructtid in reading writing and the ground of Arithmatic which constuted my whole lierary acquirements.” This letter clearly has multiple typos and is not a production of a well versed writer. The Book of Mormon, however, is clearly the product of a sophisticated, educated, experienced writer. The Book of Mormon has over 600 geographical references and virtually every city, land, body of water, hill, or region maintains a consistent spatial relationship with other geographical features. Another example is the lengthy genealogical record found in Ether. Chapter 1 lists 30 kings beginning with Ether, ending with Jared. The rest of the book precisely chronicles the reigns of those kings in reverse order. Keeping track of all the plates, through the transmission through prophets, is another complex task, but everything proves consistent and purposefully put together. Alma 11 contains a developed system of weights and measures, which has parallels to ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian systems. And its units of exchange are practical. One of the most impressive elements is the quantity or variety of Hebraisms, features typical of ancient Hebrew culture. The entire chapter of Alma 36 is a chiasmus. In Alma 42 is something called gradation repeats each successive concept to create a unity of ideas and build up to a climactic conclusion. At least 50 types of Hebraisms. Many of them showing up in the 100s. Some have even compared the Book of Mormon to Lord of the Rings, but Tolkien was an English professor who spent decades researching and developing the geography and characters of the Lord of the Rings, while Joseph Smith was an uneducation farmer only a couple months of education. In no more than 74 working days, without any notes, without any revisions, without visibility of the manuscript, and without relying on scribes to know where he left off. The claim that Joseph Smith produced the Book of Mormon purely by his own work and without divine inspiration is completely untenable. There is no possible way he could have produced such a masterpiece with the education he had in the time he did. In so thankful that Jesus Christ is willing to reveal his teachings and evidence to us in the latter days. Jesus Christ is omniscient and omnipotent. He has given the world sufficient evidence that he exists and is our savior. He is our personal savior and through reading some of the Book of Mormon I have learned that. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Doctrine and Covenants 10 10 And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands. 11 And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written; We learn that Satan tried to steal the 116 pages so that he could change and alter them so that once Joseph Smith translated the new version, it would be different and discredit Joseph Smith. But in God’s omniscience, he prepared the plates of Nephi so that the work would not be frustrated and the cunning ways of the devil would not prevail. This teaches us that no matter what sins we commit, they will never frustrate God’s will, and we can always repent. God will always provide a way for us so that we can continue to participate in the work of salvation. No matter what sins we have committed, we can always repent. Jesus Christ is omniscient and omnipotent, his will cannot be defeated. His arm of mercy is always extended towards us to invite us to repent and come unto him. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/.../dc.../dc/10…

We read in Doctrine and Covenants 5 7 Behold, if they will not believe my words, they would not believe you, my servant Joseph, if it were possible that you should show them all these things which I have committed unto you. The Lord tells Joseph Smith that even if he were able to show the people all the many evidences that he saw, it would not change their opinions. The people who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ would consider the evidence they had available sufficient and the people who don’t believe it would maintain their position. So even if we did have all the geographical evidence for the Book of Mormon, complete ancient Egyptian evidence for the Book of Abraham, and much other evidence, it wouldn’t convince the people who don’t believe to change their mind. This story is also demonstrated in Alma 30 with the story of Korihor. Korihor was going about, teaching that there is no Christ and there is no God, but Alma confronted him and told him that there is a Christ, and there is a God. Alma 30 39 Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ? For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come. 44 But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.

The Book of Mormon contains the most authoritative and powerful testimonies of Christ’s atonement of any book on earth. The Book of Mormon truly is a miracle. Yes, the Bible is an excellent work containing many powerful stories and verse, but there is no power I have ever found in any other book than the one contained in the Book of Mormon. I will breifly share a verse about it here: 3 Nephi 11 14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. Jesus Christ appeared to the inhabitants of North America and one by one, they came and felt the prints of the nails in his hands and feet and came to know that He is the God of Israel. Brothers and Sister, I have come to know the one and only true Christ by reading and applying the precepts of the doctrine taught in the Book of Mormon. This book is spiritually, archaeologically, geographically, intellectually, doctrinally significant. You can kick it around like a football and it will never deflate. You can read it over and over and over and you will never cease to learn from it. I say these things in the name of the Holy One of Israel, Jesus Christ, Amen.

President Thomas S. Monson explained: “God left the world unfinished for [men and women] to work [their] skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to [us] the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that [we] might know the joys and glories of creation.”

President Dallin H. Oaks said, “The testimony of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon stands forth in great strength. Each of the three had ample reason and opportunity to renounce his testimony if it had been false, or to equivocate on details if any had been inaccurate. As is well known, because of disagreements or jealousies involving other leaders of the Church, each one of these three witnesses was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by about eight years after the publication of their testimony. All three went their separate ways, with no common interest to support a collusive effort. Yet to the end of their lives—periods ranging from 12 to 50 years after their excommunications—not one of these witnesses deviated from his published testimony or said anything that cast any shadow on its truthfulness.” We also have a quote from David Whitmer, “I personally heard him [David Whitmer] state in Jan. 1876 in his own house…in most positive language, that he did truly see in broad day light, a bright, and most beautiful being, an ‘Angel from Heaven,” who did hold in his hands the golden plates, which he turned over leaf by leaf, explaining the contents, here and there. He also described the size and general appearance of the plates….” To those of you who believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the 1 and only true church that Jesus Christ himself established upon the earth, how do you explain the fact that the 3 witnesses of the angel and the gold plates never recanted their testimony that they saw an angel with the plates with their own physical eyes? You are not being honest with yourself if you do not accept this as the truth.

Orson Pratt: “Cultivating the earth for a livelihood was his occupation, in which he employed the most of his time. His advantages, for acquiring literary knowledge, were exceedingly small; hence, his education was limited to a slight acquaintance with two or three of the common branches of learning. He could read without much difficulty, and write a very imperfect hand; and had a very limited understanding of the ground rules of arithmetic. These were his highest and only attainments; while the rest of those branches, so universally taught in the common schools throughout the United States, were entirely unknown to him.” We also have a letter written by Joseph Smith from his journal in Summer 1832 (https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/.../history-circa.../1…) “my Father Joseph Smith Seignior moved to Palmyra Ontario County5 in the State of New York and being in indigent circumstances were obliged to labour hard for the support of a large Family having nine chilldren6 and as it required their exertions of all that were able to render any assistance for the support of the Family therefore we were deprived of the bennifit of an education suffice it to say I was mearly instructtid in reading and writing and the ground of Arithmatic which const[it]uted my whole literary acquirements” multiple spelling errors including, “Seignior”, “indigent”, “bennifit”, “instructtid”, “Arithmatic”, “const[it]ute”, “acquirements” When Joseph Smith was 23, we produced the Book of Mormon in 65 calendar days in the spring of 1829 with Oliver Cowdery as the primary scribe.

Satan teaches us that there is no God, but Alma teaches us that there is a God and a Christ. Alma 30 Korihor says you cannot know there is a Christ. 15 How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ. Alma says there is a Christ. 39 Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ? For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come. Alma sad Korihor has been possessed by a spirit of the Devil. 42 Behold, I know that thou believest, but thou art possessed with a lying spirit, and ye have put off the Spirit of God that it may have no place in you; but the devil has power over you, and he doth carry you about, working devices that he may destroy the children of God. It’s quite a powerful story to me, a very strong reminder that there is a God, and there is a Christ. Even if I haven’t felt the presence of God recently, I can always refer back to these verses and remember that there is a God and a Christ.

The Old Testament and New Testament teach many miracles and testimony’s of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ wrought mighty miracles in days past, would he also work great miracles in our day? We read in the lectures on faith lecture third, 10 [Doctrine and Covenants, section 3], commencing in the [second verse]: “For God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he turn to the right hand or the left, or vary from that which he has said, therefore his paths are strait, and his course is one eternal round:” [Doctrine and Covenants, section] 35:1: “Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same yesterday to-day and forever.” Mormon 9 9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? 1 Nephi 10 18 For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. Alma 7 20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round. Hebrews 13 8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Psalm 90 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Doctrine and Covenants 20 12 Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen. Revelations 22 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Doctrine and Covenants 3 2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round. Doctrine and Covenants 76 4 From eternity to eternity he is the same, and his years never fail. Moses 7 35 Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also. Doctrine and Covenants 35 1 Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever. Psalm 102 27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. So Jesus Christ is able to and does work mighty miracles by his power now as he did in times past. One example of a miracle that has been wrought by the power of Jesus Christ in our day is the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The Angel Moroni commanded Joseph Smith to dig up some golden plates from the Hill Cumorah and then translate the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics inscribed upon them with the help of a scribe using a urim and thummim. The process produced a nearly 600-page book in about 60 working days. It contains many different authors, complex literary patterns, sections from the Bible that are more clear and more correct, politics, currencies, genealogies, hundreds of geographical references that all remained consistent with one another, nearly 4,000 references to Jesus Christ, stories, principles, teachings, doctrines of Jesus Christ, stories of armies, wars, battles, conversion stories, chiasmus patterns, promises, and much more. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is evidence that Jesus Christ works mighty miracles in our day because it was not possible for Joseph Smith to have produced it on his own with the resources and education that he had.

Alma 7 10 And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers A criticism of the Book of Mormon is that this verse names the incorrect location for the birth place of Jesus Christ. But it was 517 years since Lehi left Jerusalem so it was doubtful that the people of Gideon knew much about the Old World geography. If they didn’t know about Jerusalem, they definitely didn’t know about Bethlehem 6 miles south. Someone born in a small city near a large city will often simply say they life in the large city. There is also evidence that Bethlehem was included as part of “the land of jerusalem” which was only referenced by natives. The claim that “at jerusalem the land of our forefathers” misrepresents the true location of the birthplace of Jesus Christ is intenable.

3 Nephi 27 27 And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am. When Jesus Christ appeared the ancient americans he taught them his gospel. He taught what manner of men we should be. What manner of men ought we to be? Even as he is. This means we must be as Christ is and do as Christ does. He is patient, virtuous, hopeful, faithful, pure, loving, kind, obedient, discipline, righteous. He goes about serving and performing works of righteousness and good. He teaches his gospel and performs mightly miracles of healing. This is the manner that we ought to be.

The delineation of the administrative districts that were imposed by the monarchs with the rise of the classical israelite state. 7 ¶ And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 8 And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: 9 The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: 10 The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 11 The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 12 Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: 13 The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars: 1 Kings 4 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: 15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 16 Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: 18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: 19 Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.

3 convincing evidences that Joseph Smith was a prophet:

1. The complexities of the Book of Mormon are such that it would not have been possible for Joseph Smith to produce such a work in the time frame he did at the age and education level that he had.

• over 200 named characters
• over 150 named locations
• 3 overlapping calendars and a consistent measurement system
• distinct writing styles, legal cases realistic battles, literary genres, flashbacks, doctrinal discourses
• fulfilled prophecies
• hundreds of proposed intertextual relationships Hebrew literary elements
• over 600 geographical references which all maintain a consistent relationship with the other features
• essentially free from error Joseph Smith was born and raised on a farm and had an education equivalent to that of a 3rd grader. He simply did not have the skills, tools, resources necessary to compose the Book of Mormon.

2. The Angel Moroni prophecied, “that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.” This prophecy is very clearly coming to pass as many chose the side that Joseph Smith was a false prophet and liar, but many also say that he was righteous and good and recieved many divine revelations from God. There is a very clear division among all nations between those who accept the revelations that came through Joseph Smith and those who do not. This prophecy from the angel Moroni is coming to pass before our very eyes quite clearly.
3. Biblical Prophecies about Joseph Smith. Isaiah 29 11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: This is an ancient prophecy from thousands of years ago that some of the words of a book would be taken to a learned professor and the professor would say “I cannot; for it is sealed.” Thousands of years later, Martin Harris took the egyptian characters to Professor Anthon. At first, Professor Charles Anthon said that “the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the Egyptian.” Then after Martin Harris told him he was not able to see the rest of the text because it was sealed in the Gold plates, Professor Anthon said, “I cannot read a sealed book”. This is very close to the phrase in Isaiah 29:11, “I cannot; for it is sealed.” This is just a small portion of all the evidence that exists that points towards Joseph Smith being a prophet of God and a seer and revelator in the latter days. It is absolutely not possible that Joseph Smith was not a prophet, in other words, it is an absolute garantuee that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and received revelations from Jesus Christ himself. I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

One hot day in June [1834], after an unusually long, hard day’s travel, over a rolling prairies, without sufficient water laid in for the men and no water encountered for the teams, they made camp on a prairie, the end of which it was impossible to reach or even see. Everyone was tired hot very thirsty. Joseph smith only asked for a spade, then he looked around and began to dig. Presently the water began to come in, and it kept rising in the well until the mules and horses came and drank therefrom, as the water was so near the surface. The Prophet went and sat in the door of his tent and witnessed the joy of all, even of the animals, as they quenched their thirst in this God-given supply. I want to share this story because it shows that miracles continue to happen according to our faith. Joseph Smith had enough faith that water would spring from the ground and so it did. Even in our day, God will work miracles according to our faith.

Doctrine and Covenants 132:54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law. God commanded Emma Smith to remain with Joseph Smith during his practices of polygamy or else she will be destroyed. This makes sense to me because they had both already been sealed so it was part of the new and everlasting covenant that they remain faithful to 1 another. Although I’m sure it must have felt uncomfortable for both Emma and Joseph to be together while Joseph was marrying and associating with other women through the new and everlasting covenant.

Jacob 2

24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord. Doctrine and Covenants 132 38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me. My current understanding is that David did not sin in most or all of his wives and concubines until he slept with Bethsheba. And Solomon also sinned by marrying some of his wives and others he did not sin. This the phrase “save in this things which they received not of me” we read in 1 Kings that Solomon had 700 wives, 300 concubines. 1 Kings 11 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

After eleven Joseph Smith papyri fragments were returned to the Church in 1967, critics concluded that Joseph Smith had fabricated the Book of Abraham. Why? (1)The eleven fragments do not contain any text from the Book of Abraham but are part of an ancient Egyptian religious text. (2) One fragment contains hieratic characters that match characters in the left-hand margin of three 1835 manuscripts opposite Book of Abraham text, suggesting Joseph Smith’s creative process. (3) The same fragment was attached to the vignette that became Facsimile 1, suggesting that Abraham 1:12 refers to the characters on the fragment. (4) The Egyptian in Facsimile 3 does not translate to Joseph Smith’s explanation. This chapter will deal with issues 2 and 3.

Details of the translation process Joseph Smith used for translating the Book of Mormon from the plates can be adduced from statements of witnesses and from evidence in the original and printer’s manuscripts. According to witnesses, Joseph Smith often translated without the plates being present and used the interpreters to receive the revealed text. Evidence from the manuscripts themselves shows that the original manuscript was written from dictation, that Joseph Smith was working with at least twenty words at a time, that Joseph Smith could see the spelling of names, that the scribe repeated the text to Joseph Smith, and that the word chapter and the corresponding chapter numbers were not part of the revealed text. The manuscripts and text show that Joseph Smith apparently received the translation word for word and letter for letter, in what is known as “tight control.”

The Smith brothers were detained at Carthage Jail awaiting trial when an armed mob of 150–200 men stormed the building, their faces painted black with wet gunpowder. Hyrum was killed almost immediately when he was shot in the face, shouting as he fell, “I am a dead man!"[4] After emptying his pistol towards the attackers, Joseph tried to escape from a second-story window, but was shot several times and fell to the ground, where he was again shot by the mob. There is no doubt in my mind Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and was called to restored Christ’s original church in the latter days. He translated the Book of Mormon Book of Abraham Book of Moses, Bible by the power of the revelation, ran from mobs, performed miracles, was thrown in jail. It’s clear the adversary did not like him, because Joseph Smith was irritating his kingdom. His name will forever be remembered for good by the righteous and ever be remembered for evil by the wicked.

One of my favorite stories about Jesus Christ is when he appeared to Joseph Smith in the grove of trees in Palmyra, NY in 1820. Joseph Smith said his parents taught him well in Christianity. “There was in the place we lived as unusual excitement on the subject of religion. I often asked myself, what is to be done? Who of all these parties is right?” Joseph Smith pondered, prayed, studied, and asked those around him which sect was right. One day, young Joseph Smith was reading in James 1 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. Joseph wrote, “Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine” Later he went to the grove of trees on a beautiful spring morning and began to pray. Satan came and tried to tempt him and stop him from praying, but Joseph Smith tried harder to continue praying and eventually Satan left and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared above him. They told Joseph Smith that none of the churches were true and that the 1 true church had not been established on the earth yet. Joseph Smith had seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and had spoken with them face to face. This is a very powerful story that marked the beginning of the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am so thankful that the God of the universe was willing to appear to Joseph Smith and teach him the gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/.../2014-06-0001…

Doctrine and Covenants 29 39 And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet— We read here that it is necessary that Satan is able to tempt us. If we could not be tempted, we would never learn how to choose righteousness and ignore evil. It is a necessary part of the plan of salvation that we are able to be tempted and taste of the bitterness of sin. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were in a never ending state of feeling content. They could not feel joy or misery. After they partook of the fruit they fell and came to earth where they could be tried and tempted. If they choose to ignore temptation, they grow.

One of the most powerful demonstrations of the power of Jesus Christ was the parting of the Red Sea. Nephi taught his brothers about it briefly in 1 Nephi 17 26 Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground. 27 But ye know that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh. We also read in Joshua 24 6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea. We also read about it in Exodus 14 In verse 21 and 22 we learn that Moses stretched forth his hand and made the sea part by the power of Jesus Christ, and the Moses and the children of Israel walked onto the dry ground. 21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. We also read that the Egyptians pursued and followed the children of Israel. 23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. In verse 26 we read that Moses stretched his hand forth once again and by the power of Jesus Christ caused the water to collapse upon the Egyptians. 26 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. And the children of Israel were preserved miraculously and were not destroyed by the water. 29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. This is a powerful story of the miraculous abilities of Jesus Christ that was manifest by the hand of Moses. Moses was able to bring about such a great miracle because of his faith in Jesus Christ. He had faith that Jesus Christ had the power to move water, even the great Red Sea and thus it was done according to the will of Jesus Christ. I share these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Joseph Smith said that the astronomical model in Abraham represents “the principles of astronomy as understood by Father Abraham and the ancients” A close look at the ancient Egyptian manuscripts discovered in the 1900s (after the Book of Abraham was produced) reveals that the astronomical model found in the Book of Abraham is nearly an identical match with Ancient Egyptian manuscripts, solidifying the claim that the Book of Abraham was divinely revealed. “The astronomy in the Book of Abraham uses as its point of reference “the earth upon which thou standest” (Abraham 3:3, 5–7). It mentions various heavenly bodies, such as “the stars” (Abraham 3:2), among which is Kolob (Abraham 3:3–4). These provide a fixed backdrop for the heavens. Among the stars are various bodies that move in relation to the fixed backdrop, each of which is called a “planet” (Abraham 3:5, 8 )or a “light” (Abraham 3:5–7), though since the sun and moon and certain stars are each also called a “planet,” we should not think of them as necessarily being what we call planets. Each of these planets is associated with “its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof” (Abraham 3:4). These lights revolve around something, and that is the fixed reference point, “the earth upon which thou standest” (Abraham 3:3, 5–7). The Book of Abraham thus presents a geocentric astronomy, like almost all ancient astronomies, including ancient Egyptian astronomy.”

• John Gee

One criticism of the LDS church comes from the claim that the egyptological interpretations of the remaining egyptian papyri fragments that we have do not match with the Book of Abraham. One issue with that claim is that the evidence suggests that the remaining fragments of papyri that we have is largely not what Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Abraham. There is evidence that the papyri that Joseph Smith used to translate the Book of Abraham comes from a long scroll that was destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871. For example, consider the following quote, “Then she [Lucy Smith] turned to a long table, set her candle-stick down, and opened a long roll of manuscript, saying it was ‘the writing of Abraham and Isaac, written in Hebrew and Sanscrit,’ and she read several minutes from it as if it were English. . . . Then in the same way she interpreted to us hieroglyphics from another roll.” This tells us that the long roll contained writings of Abraham and Isaac, and was written in Hebrew and Sanscrit. Now, we do have Joseph Smith’s interpretations of the facsimiles as well as modern day egyptological interpretations. A pertinent question, therefore, would be does the line by line comparison between Joseph Smith’s interpretations and those of modern day egyptologists match? The answer is some do match the interpretations of modern egyptologists and some do not. “There are aspects of [these explanations] that match what Egyptologists say they mean. Some [of them] are quite compelling. . . . However, as we look at the entirety of any of the facsimiles, an Egyptological interpretation does not match what Joseph Smith said about them.” Despite these facts, Joseph Smith’s interpretations of the facsimiles “do accurately reflect ancient egyptian and semitic concepts” Here is another point from the Book “A Guide to the Book of Abraham”, “What is clear from all of this is that “much more work needs to be done before we can understand the facsimiles in their ancient Egyptian setting, and only then will it be meaningful to ask whether that understanding matches that of Joseph Smith” So we really just haven’t done enough collective research to definitively say whether or not the interpretations that Joseph Smith has produced, or at least our understanding of them, match with the correct egyptological interpretations of the facsimiles.

Mosiah 4 11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. I found this verse in the Book of Mormon. It teaches us that we are nothing in the sight of God. We are “unworthy creatures” and anything God is willing to give us is out of his complete mercy. I have learned that this verse is true because I am naturally quite a prideful, lazy person. I am so grateful that God is willing to even lift a finger to help me. This verse tells us to humble ourselves to the “depths of humility” and call upon his name daily. I know that God has great patience and longsuffering towards us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

“There is a great deal of difference between raw intelligence, knowledge, wisdom, and finally, the understanding with which the Lord established the heavens,” Elder Robert D. Hales (1932–2017) said in 1988. “This learning process applies to each of us. … [It is] learning that begins with God-given, innate intelligence. It recognizes knowledge through your courses of study and then the attainment of wisdom.” I’ve been wrestling with this and similar quotes recently. What do you guys think?

It seems clear to me that 2 Nephi 25:23 was heavily influenced by the law of Moses which is where the phrase “after all we can do” comes from. 23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. This does not necessarily mean we are saved by anything less than doing “all we can do” but it does mean that when we are thinking about the picture of how faith, works, and grace fit together for salvation, we must keep the context in mind that Nephi is speaking from in order to maintain the proper interpretation. Nephi only had access to the the Law of Moses as described in the Pentateuch so he was emphasizing that they must do works in order to be saved. It was not until later when Christ came to earth that he taught the higher law, that we are saved by grace solely through our faith in Jesus Christ. This verse in not correct, but can be misinterpreted to mean that we are saved by works if taken out of context. Yes, works are required for salvation and it is by our works that we develop the level of faith necessary for salvation, but we are in no way saved by our works. We are only saved by grace, through our faith, which involves works. Is my understanding correct?

“When my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made a mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling, although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. .?. . When he stopped for any purpose at any time he would, when he commenced again, begin where he left off without any hesitation, and one time while he was translating he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, “Emma, did Jerusalem have walls around it?” When I answered, “Yes,” he replied, “Oh! I was afraid I had been deceived.” He had such a limited knowledge of history at the time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls.” If at any point Emma Smith made a mistake in the spelling of words while acting as a scribe for Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith stopped and corrected her. It would have been impossible for him to physically see what she was writing because there was a cloth between them and he was looking into a hat. Also, Joseph Smith asked Emma if Jerusalem had walls because his geographical knowledge was so limited.

An example where Joseph Smith ‘corrected’ a part of the King James Bible that he had copied directly into the Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi 14:6: 6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Matthew 7:6 (KJV): 6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Matthew 7:10-11 (JST): 10 And the mysteries of the kingdom ye shall keep within yourselves; for it is not meet to give that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast ye your pearls unto swine, lest they trample them under their feet. 11 For the world cannot receive that which ye, yourselves, are not able to bear; wherefore ye shall not give your pearls unto them, lest they turn again and rend you. Why did Joseph Smith include passages within the Book of Mormon then later go back into the Bible and correct parts of the very passages he included within the text of the Book of Mormon? I am currently researching this topic, I don’t know the final answer for this and surely the question of a loose vs tight translation is deeply relevant in getting to the bottom of why these King James errors were included.

I have created a post to offer advice to any of those who are struggling to reconcile seemingly contradictory ideas with faith or religion or spiritual claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or other churches or religious organizations. Whether it may be church history topics or stories, polygamy, church finances, church policies, Joseph Smith quotes, stories, teachings, personal stories, challenges, struggles, or events, scriptural discrepancies, or any other version of things that seem to contradict spiritual or religious claims no matter how broad or specific. As you will find in the post, towards the end I give the simple answer to these questions, concerns, doubts, or struggles. The answer is to repent and have faith in Jesus Christ. If you repent and have faith in Jesus Christ, your spiritual eyes will be opened and you will see that Jesus Christ is a real being who does in fact exist. No church history fact or personal struggle can deteriorate this divine, universal truth in any sliver of a way. In the post I share a quote from President Nelson that, no matter what questions or problems we may have, the answer is always Jesus Christ. So please share your thoughts with me about the post and the insights found therein. I am curious to hear your thoughts and critiques of the post. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. https://porterbmoody.github.io/.../book-of-mormon.../

John E. Page, who was one of the 12 apostles called by Joseph Smith said, “All who are familiar with the Book of Mormon are probably aware of the fact that the whole account of the history of the fore fathers of the American Indians, called the Nephites, Lamanites and Zoramites, is confined to Central America entirely until the 394th page.” I see many scholars agreeing with the Mesoamerican model, but I’m not certain about it yet. I would like to continue to study the relevant references that support this model. I also see some scholars to be quite certain about the Heartland model, and other various models or variations or combinations of any such models such as the Limited Geography Model.

If anyone is wrestling with church history or other church topics such as:

• Joseph Smith and polygamy, Brigham Young and polygamy, Wilford Woodruff and polygamy
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints methods of handling the tithing funds and investments
• church finances, Ensign Peak Advisors reports to the SEC
• Joseph Smith translations of the Book of Mormon
• the kinderhook plates
• contradictions between the Bible and the Book of Mormon
• discrepancies between the Egyptian papyri and the book of Abraham
• Book of Mormon historicity
• Book of Mormon geographical evidence or lack thereof
• Book of Mormon anachronisms
• racial priesthood restrictions and the fact that blacks could not receive the priesthood until 1987
• reconciling evolution with Adam and Eve
• reconciling scientific accounts of the creation of earth and the emergence of life itself and the creation account recorded in Genesis or Abraham
• reconciling Luke 23:43 (And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.) with spirit paradise and protestant views
• reconciling Revelations 22:18–19 “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” with the Book of Mormon being another text to the Bible.
• the change in the introduction in of the Book of Mormon in 2006 from “After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.” To “After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” I would love to talk with you about any of these topics because I love studying them and diving deeper into them. But I would also invite you to take your questions to the Lord and ask him in sincere prayer because I know he “give the wisdom to all men liberally” as we read from James (James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.) I have a testimony that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in the sacred grove, and translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God after multiple meetings with the angel Moroni. I also have a testimony that Adam and Eve were placed in the garden and partook of the fruit of the tree of good and evil.

I love the story of Jesus saving Peter from the water. The disciples were in the boat sailing and they saw a man in the distance. It was Jesus Christ walking on water. Then Jesus told Peter to come out and start walking on the water so Peter did. Then the waves started to get big and Peter started to get nervous and lose focus on Jesus Christ. Then Peter started to sink into the water. Peter cried to the Lord and the Lord stretched his hand and saved Peter. Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Jesus also asks Peter why he doubted? Peter started to lose focus on Jesus Christ when the waves started to get big. I think our lives have many waves. Trials, challenges, temptations. But if we keep our focus on Jesus Christ, we will not sink into the ocean, we will miraculously stay walking on water. I know we can have perfect faith and trust in Jesus Christ no matter what other waves are happening around us in our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Genesis 1 6 ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. “Firmament” is Hebrew for expanse Gen. 1:7 the firmament divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament What is a firmament? The Abraham version uses a different word, “expanse.” Joseph Fielding Smith wrote, “The Hebrew word rakeed from Raka, to spread out as the curtains of a tent or pavillion, simply signifies an expanse of space, and consequently, the circumambient space or expansion, separating the clouds which are in the higher regions of it, from the seas, etc., which are below it. This we call the atmosphere.” (Man, His Origin and Destiny [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1954], 473.) The disorganized surface of water and gas had no form. God created the atmosphere by separating the waters, creating the clouds above and the surface water below. The Moses account reveals that much more water stayed below the firmament. Below the firmament, he called them “great waters.” (Moses 2:7, emphasis added) How much water was above the firmament? It is interesting to learn how much water is contained in the clouds and atmosphere. “One estimate of the volume of water in the atmosphere at any one time is about 3,100 cubic miles (mi3) or 12,900 cubic kilometers (km3). That may sound like a lot, but it is only about 0.001 percent of the total Earth’s water volume of about 332,500,000 mi3 (1,385,000,000 km3)… If all of the water in the atmosphere rained down at once, it would only cover the ground to a depth of 2.5 centimeters, about 1 inch.” (Water Cycle)

The lectures on faith teach us that it is by faith that we are able to accomplish anything that we are able to accomplish. And it is by faith that ignites us to act towards any thing that we do act towards. 10 If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action, in them; that without it, both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental. So we see that it is faith and faith alone that springs us into action in any and every thing that we do in our lives. Driving a car to work in the morning is done by faith, attending a university, fulfilling a full time mission, studying the scriptures, church history, the Egyptian papyri, obtaining graduate education, obtaining wisdom, knowledge, patience, understanding, righteousness are all done by faith and faith alone. It was even by faith that Christ spake and the worlds were framed. And most importantly, we learn that it is by faith that obtain the greatest blessing of all, eternal life.

Walter Jonathan Ramirez I’m curious to understand why the greatest blessing would be immortality. It doesn’t appear to me as a universal human desire, at least not for me. Thanks for sharing!

Porter Moody Walter Jonathan Ramirez well not everyone is gonna agree that it’s the greatest blessing, that’s true. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not the greatest blessing. Some people who don’t know God or don’t believe in God perhaps will not agree that it’s the greatest blessing because they don’t understand the things of God. Eternal life is only something you would begin to understand if you begin to understand God and his works. Then your eyes would begin to be opened to the magnificence and marvelousness of God and his gifts, especially eternal life.

Walter Jonathan Ramirez Porter Moody Thanks for sharing your thoughts about God! A few weeks ago, two very friendly Mormon teens visited me to talk about their mission and gave me the Book of Mormon. I’m planning to read it by the end of the year and once I do I would love to revisit this topic!

Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. The prophet Malachi teaches us that if we pay tithing to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we will receive a blessing that we won’t even have room enough to receive. So grateful for this promised blessing that we are able to receive by paying tithing. You can also read more about is here https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Tithing How do you feel about paying tithing to the LDS church? Have you seen any blessings from paying tithing?

Kate Ashby I have seen countless blessings come to me as I put God first in my thoughts, my hopes, my actions, my choices, and my wallet. I am a better steward of the resources He gives me when I put Him first and pay tithing.

I have written another post about the creation. So I reference some verses from Genesis, describing the process of the creation. Each day God created something different until day 7 when he rested. Obviously, there is a lot more content related to the creation than what I have covered here. I plan to continue learning and adding to it slowly here and there.

https://porterbmoody.github.io/balmingilead/posts/the-creation/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNanaZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHhlXsdK_0AnLhHT_GhO3WHdoujKNahTTFtgdfIkTft-kbokNZ74jMmr3lKmo_aem_a9QVWOU3ynfaOfR_uiFyPw

Moses 3 16 And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Moses tells us that Adam and Eve were commanded not to partake of the tree of good and evil. If they do, they will “surely die”. This teaches us they were commanded not to partake of the tree of good and evil, but they can partake of every other tree in the Garden of Eden. Doctrine and Covenants 29 40 Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation. 41 Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed. We learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that the devil tempted Adam and Eve to break the commandment and partake of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. This caused them spiritual death and led to the fall where they were sent to earth. We also read in Moses 5 10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. Adam recognized certain blessings that could not have been realized without partaking of the fruit of the tree of good and evil and falling.

“Not half — not one-hundredth part — not a thousandth part of that which Joseph Smith revealed to the Church has yet been unfolded, either to the Church or to the world.”

• Elder B.H. Roberts He tells us that only a small fraction, less than 1/1000 of the things that God knows have been revealed to the church or to humanity.

Arlindo Tritto We need to value what we already have and get prepared so we can get more.

Nathan Tyler Lowry Well, Arlindo Tritto I am trying to get the most out of the New Testament, the Old Testament, the Pearl of Great Price, the Book of Mormon, and general conference talks by authorities as much as I can! I guess this means I need to open up the Doctrine and Covenants again… ☺️😉

Porter Moody Nathan Tyler Lowry there is also byu scholarly articles, the saints, patriarchal blessings, podcasts, YouTube videos, other articles, the Joseph smith papers, and so much more.

Helaman 12:3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him. This is a cool verse we find in the Book of Mormon in the book of Helaman. It teaches us that if God does not give us many afflictions and trials and famines and pestilences, we will not remember him and repent. This is true for my life because if life gets easy at all, I almost immediatly start to lose some humility and forget how dependent I am on God for everything I do.

The Kirtland Safety Society was established by Latter-day Saints as a community bank in Kirtland, Ohio, in November 1836. It was reorganized in January 1837 as an unincorporated banking company, and by September 1837 it had closed. Though organized by church leaders, including JS, and for the benefit of the church, it was not exclusively for the Latter-day Saints. The bank was organized in a time of prosperity for both Kirtland and the United States more broadly. However, the nationwide financial panic of 1837 led to widespread economic challenges for the institution. This panic was one of the central reasons the bank failed. Other contributing factors included external opposition, limited community support, and severe funding problems. Few records for the Kirtland Safety Society are extant. Incomplete records, including a daybook, with daily transactions, and discount book, with the serial numbers of banknotes, have survived, documenting only the first few weeks after the society’s banking office opened in early January 1837. There are no other extant daybooks or discount records, and few other documents reflect the daily transactions of the society. The most complete extant record is a stock ledger, which includes subscriptions and payments made by stockholders in the society. Other extant records include printed banknotes issued by the society, agreements with individuals to become agents for the bank, and records of transactions, such as promissory notes. By the 1830s, banks were becoming commonplace in the United States, and even people in outlying areas like Kirtland hoped for a bank to be established in or near their town, in part because money was in extremely short supply in outlying regions like Ohio.1 However, banking was a divisive political issue in the United States in the 1830s. During his administration, President Andrew Jackson refused to renew the charter for the national bank—the Second Bank of the United States—and took other steps to decentralize banking by distributing federal deposits to state banks throughout the nation.2 At the time, the federal government did not print a paper currency; it only produced specie in the form of gold and silver coins.3 State banks, private banks, and unauthorized institutions printed and issued their own banknotes, which functioned as paper currency.4 Most individuals held their assets in land or livestock rather than gold or other liquid assets. A bank, if successful, could provide considerable financial aid to communities by supplying residents with a local currency and a source of credit, thereby establishing a stronger foundation for the local economy and a better means to provide liquidity for land purchases, construction, and mercantile activity.5 When a bank was established in a frontier community, it was often eagerly supported by the local residents, but they often lacked the necessary capital to sustain such an institution. As a result, investors from the eastern United States frequently funded new banks.6 Many banks in less populated areas were operated by men who, like JS and other church leaders in Kirtland, had little or no banking experience and who came from diverse backgrounds.7 Given such circumstances, bank closures and failures were a known risk in nineteenth-century America.8 Banks in the early 1800s were officially recognized and regulated at the state level. Some states restricted banking services to a single state bank operated by the state government, while other states, like Ohio, granted charters to private banks.9 Ohio, like many other states, required parties intending to establish a private bank to petition the state legislature for an act of incorporation. If approved, the bank would receive a charter granting it banking privileges. If rejected, bank organizers had a few other options. One alternative, popular in the 1830s, involved requesting a charter for an institution that was not specifically connected to banking, such as a canal-building company or insurance company. Charters for such an institution included clauses that broadly granted banking privileges, usually by allowing the company to issue banknotes.10 These quasi-banks were incorporated by the state legislature but not categorized or regulated like standard private banks, even when they performed the same services as authorized and chartered financial institutions. Prospective bankers could also disregard the law and operate a bank without a charter; these unauthorized banks were not incorporated, regulated, or acknowledged by the state and could not receive government funds.11 In Ohio, unauthorized banks had become commonplace by the 1830s. The state legislature tried to impose penalties but did not enforce the contradictory banking statutes that had developed from politicians’ attempts to curb the spread of unauthorized banks.12 JS and the Latter-day Saints in Kirtland considered a variety of means to strengthen the economy of their community. In fall 1836, JS undertook several business ventures, including buying land in and around Kirtland and starting a store in nearby Chester, Ohio. By late September or early October 1836, after returning from a trip that included spending time in the financial center of New York, Sidney Rigdon, JS, and other church leaders had decided to establish a private bank in Kirtland and had chosen the name for the institution.13 They began looking for investors, who would become stockholders by subscribing to buy shares of stock in the new bank.14 The money gained from such subscriptions would function as the specie reserves of the society and allow it to redeem the notes it issued for specie. On 2 November 1836, the initial stockholders met, ratified a constitution, and elected thirty-two bank directors and two officers: Sidney Rigdon as president and JS as cashier. By December 1836, banknotes for the Kirtland Safety Society were engraved and printed by the firm Underwood, Bald, Spencer & Hufty.15 Unfortunately, the Kirtland Safety Society gained no large-scale investors and only minimal local support, which resulted in funding problems from the outset. The constitution set the capital stock at $4 million and divided that amount into 80,0000 shares of stock sold for $50 each.16 While the society did eventually get subscriptions for most of the stock, it was primarily sold to individuals who were only able to pay a fraction of the amount they had agreed upon.17 The stockholders of the Safety Society met on 2 January 1837 to reorganize the institution. They restructured the society as an unincorporated bank, renamed it the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company, and drafted new articles of agreement to replace the original constitution.18 The change in the name reflected the fact that the Kirtland Safety Society was not a state-chartered institution and could therefore conduct banking services only in an unofficial capacity.19 Although the officers still hoped to obtain a charter for a private bank, by this time they had likely realized the difficulty it posed.20 The Saints’ only documented attempt at obtaining a charter from the Ohio legislature involved a proposal for the Safety Society to be incorporated as a branch of a proposed state bank in Ohio. This petition was not heard until early February, when Orson Hyde convinced legislator Samuel Medary to present the society’s petition to the state senate.21 The Safety Society’s petition failed to pass, on a vote of eleven in favor and twenty-four opposed.22 After this attempt, the society continued to function as an unauthorized bank, though the name had apparently already changed again, from the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-Banking Company to the Kirtland Safety Society Banking Company.23 The precise date the Kirtland Safety Society banking office starting doing business is not known, but it was likely between 4 and 7 January 1837.24 Opening an office or banking house allowed the society to offer loans, using Kirtland Safety Society notes, and to exchange their notes for the notes of other banks, which increased the number of the society’s notes in circulation as well as the society’s financial reserves. Aside from the extant loan and discount papers, little is known about the Kirtland Safety Society’s first few weeks of business, but it appears to have garnered both popular interest and hostility. Contemporary and reminiscent accounts indicate there was general acceptance and circulation of the society’s notes in its first weeks of operation.25 Early on, however, there were efforts to close the society, apparently led by Geauga County resident Grandison Newell.26 Several newspapers also called into question the solvency of the institution. Editors for the Cleveland Gazette expressed surprise at “the readiness with which these anti-banking bank bills are thrown into circulation without any evidence or knowledge of the solvency of the issues.”27 In contrast, a few newspapers defended the society. Although skeptical about the institution, the editors of the Painesville Republican wrote in mid-January that they had been informed that the Safety Society officers “have a large amount in specie on hand and have the means of obtaining much more, if necessary,” and, if this were the case, the circulation of the society’s notes “would be beneficial to [the] community, and sensibly relieve the pressure in the money market.”28 The editors of the Cleveland Weekly Advertiser wrote an outright defense of the society, which they believed was “most shamefully and cruelly persecuted; whose motives and intentions were totally misconstrued and misrepresented” by other newspapers, particularly the Cleveland Gazette.29 Amid heightened opposition in late January came rumors that the Safety Society had closed its doors. It is unclear whether or not the business did temporarily close, and if it did, what led to the closure. Wilford Woodruff noted in his journal threats made of mobs coming from Painesville to destroy the bank, while the Cleveland Weekly Advertiser described a “furious and insulting mob” gathering in Kirtland and threatening to destroy the society.30 Though it is not known whether the mob materialized, fear of violence may have led the directors to close the office temporarily.31 If the Safety Society did close in late January, it was a brief closure, probably around 23 or 24 January. In response to the reported closing of the society’s office, the Cleveland Gazette announced the failure of the institution, and other papers echoed this conclusion. Even though a few newspapers continued to insist that it had failed, the society made loans and accepted payments for stock after January 1837.32 Despite the turmoil in its opening month, Safety Society officers sought opportunities to expand the institution’s reach outside of Kirtland. On 14 January the managers signed a contract with David Cartter, a lawyer in Akron, Ohio, designating him an agent of the society.33 Later that month, the officers made business arrangements with the Bank of Monroe in Monroe, Michigan. They appear to have bought stock in the bank and reached an agreement to partner with its officers, perhaps intending to become a branch of the Bank of Monroe and act under its charter.34 In early February, JS, Rigdon, Hyrum Smith, and Oliver Cowdery traveled to Michigan for a stockholders’ meeting of the bank. At this meeting, Cowdery was made vice president and a bank director of the Bank of Monroe.35 However, this partnership appears to have been short-lived. The Bank of Monroe was struggling financially and was forced to suspend specie payments by the end of March.36 This setback did not deter the Safety Society’s officers, who made two additional agreements in March to appoint individuals in Painesville, Ohio, and Beaver County, Pennsylvania, as agents of the society.37 In discourses given in early April 1837, JS and Rigdon urged the Saints to support the Kirtland Safety Society by accepting the society’s notes and investing in the institution.38 While some church members appear to have answered this plea, the nationwide financial crisis destroyed any momentary success. The Panic of 1837 caused bank closures, devalued currency, inflation, declining land values, and a general economic downturn. It led creditors to prematurely demand repayment and left individuals throughout the country unable to meet the debts they had amassed under the assumption of continued economic success. Because of the Panic of 1837, the prospects for the society—which were already shaky— worsened. In May and June, several stockholders withdrew their funds and unloaded their stock, signifying a lack of confidence in the society.39 Sometime before 7 July, JS and Rigdon resigned as officers of the Kirtland Safety Society.40 Their resignations officially ended their leadership of the society, but rather than closing, the Safety Society’s directors elected new officers, Fredrick G. Williams and Warren Parrish.41 The society’s tenuous credibility, however, was further marred by the new officers’ decision to issue additional loans, straining the society’s diminished specie reserves and increasing the number of notes in circulation. By issuing more loans, Williams and Parrish may have hoped to increase funding, but their decision resulted in steeper discounts for the redemption of the society’s notes at any banks still willing to accept them. The Kirtland Safety Society closed sometime during the summer of 1837, likely between the end of July and the end of August. The last entry in the society’s stock ledger is dated 19 June 1837, and the last date on extant notes is 20 July 1837.42 In the August issue of the Messenger and Advocate, JS published a notice cautioning the public against accepting or using the notes of the closed Kirtland Safety Society, reporting that they were being fraudulently used by speculators and other unscrupulous characters.43 In December 1837, the Safety Society was included in the Cleveland newspaper Daily Herald and Gazette’s list of closed or bankrupt banking institutions. https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/.../introduction-to.../1 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/.../kirtland-safety…

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