John

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@TruthFromEarth @ConceptualDoc @ITalkOfChrist The way to repair the marriage will be case by case. It's not automatically up to the husband.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@Elijah_Bryant3 I think we should start using the term "successful" with a higher meaning by convention. When saying that someone is "very successful", it's almost always meant that they have made a lot of money.

The standard meaning should be to live a Godly life and do a lot of good.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@ITalkOfChrist @OaksDallinH Agency requires accountability:
"we all possess the God-given gift of moral agency—the right to make choices and the obligation to account for those choices (see D&C 101:78)."

- D Todd Christofferson, 2009, Moral Discipline

https://t.co/NSLsN6AOwF

[John @JohnnyH5000]

Freedom requires law to protect rights:
"where there is no law, there is no freedom: for liberty is, to be free from restraint and violence from others; which cannot be, where there is no law: but freedom is not, as we are told, a liberty for every man to do what he lists: (for who could be free, when every other man's humour might domineer over him?)"

- John Locke, Second Treatise on Government

[John @JohnnyH5000]

"I'm trying to align with God, and I am gathering information and putting in the thoughtful effort necessary to do so. Once I have confidence that I align with Him, only they will I take a strong stance."

Exactly the right approach! Those who have already arrived there should remember that they, too, had to follow a process.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

"Say for instance we chose other criteria for essential differences—nurturing and providing. That is quite different from reproductive capacity, but it also isn’t self evident why one characteristic should be prioritized."

It really is.

The characteristics that are biologically inherent, unique, and are oriented towards the very meaningful purpose of child-bearing.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@FDerpenstein @Salt_n_Smoke @VeritasAnchor What are your takes on Mark 16:16?

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned"

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@CwicShow Where is the empathy for the victims?Many are being controlled by whoever knows how to play their empathy best, directing it towards whomever they choose.

Those doing the controlling are equally skilled at breeding anger. Often towards those deserving empathy as much or more.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

I like to call out rules that are made up and added through false channels. Things like "any caffeine is against the word of wisdom". I treated left-handed sacrament this way as well, and often deliberately used my left hand. After learning this was added to the handbook, I decided to use my right hand as the norm, but honestly didn't take it very seriously. After reading the comments here, I want to be more humble and diligent in following through.

It's not "blind obedience" to do something you don't understand if you know that it is from God. Adam obeyed rules that didn't make sense to him, saying "I know not, save the Lord commanded me."

Not every rule is a Pharisaical abomination. The sin of the Pharisees was not that they followed rules meticulously. It was detaching them from their purpose: pointing to Christ. It was idolizing them and trying to maximize rule-following *for its own sake*.

The law of Moses wasn't the problem. The Nephites obeyed it and increased their faith in Christ. It was a *good thing* when practiced with the right spirit. Remember, Jesus taught not to add *or take away* from His word.

Jacob 4:5 "And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him"

Alma 25:16 "And they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith"

[John @JohnnyH5000]

If you take any two groups and compare outcomes, disparities are expected. Totally agree. Thomas Sowell has explained that very well in his writing.

Your claim was that it was genetics, and your implication seemed to be that Africa is inherently inferior in both genetics and values to Europeans. Please explain if that's not your position.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@USAMODERATEGUY @hankrsmith It's easy to misread a single passage in isolation. It takes a broader picture. Modern prophets also affirm that no skin color is better or worse in God's eyes.

Great insights from Jasmin Rappleye in this video: https://t.co/wOiXMcouPm

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@USAMODERATEGUY @hankrsmith Ridiculous take. Completely out of line with Christ. The Church grew because of faith, not genetics. A core message of the Book of Mormon and New Testament is that agency & faith build the kingdom of God, and skin color & ancestry don't mean a thing in our standing before God.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

Yes, but only in a narrow sense.

Knowledge is about the past, faith is about the future. If I depend on a friend to come help me move a couch, I am putting some trust (aka faith) in him. If he helps me, I don't need faith that he will fulfill that specific promise. It's in the past. I have a perfect knowledge of what happened.

But if I need his help again, it would take faith to depend on him once more. But I have stronger faith he will help based on my knowledge of the past.

Similar example with the Brother of Jared. He saw Christ, and "had faith no longer." But only as to whether Christ existed. Clearly he still needed faith in Christ when he and his family boarded the barges, "commending themselves unto the Lord their God." His knowledge strengthened his faith.

That's what Alma means by knowledge being perfect "in that thing", and why he reminds us a few verses later "neither must ye lay aside your faith."

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@Alscho1999 @RockyMtnDrew310 @ThoughtfulSaint Simply put:
- Faith is not mere belief or wishful thinking. It's not a placeholder for truth.
- Knowledge doesn't destroy faith, it's a foundation for it. Knowledge about God (e.g., through revelation) should lead a person to increase faith. It doesn't replace faith.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

This frames faith in God as belief He exists. But: "Faith...is more than belief" (Bible Dict.). From James 2, we understand that the devil has belief, but not faith. The scriptures specifically teach it's because he does not obey. It's a deficit of trust, not an excess of knowledge. "All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results." (Bible Dict)

"As most often used in the scriptures, faith is confidence and trust in Jesus Christ that lead a person to obey Him." (Guide to the Scriptures)

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@Alscho1999 @RockyMtnDrew310 @ThoughtfulSaint There's an important distinction between a "perfect knowledge" and a partial knowledge. Seeking perfect knowledge before belief is trying to circumvent faith. But Alma also talks about how knowledge strengthens faith. That's a partial knowledge: evidence as a basis of faith.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@Alscho1999 @RockyMtnDrew310 @ThoughtfulSaint Their lack of faith is not because they have knowledge. It's because they have no trust. Knowledge is a fundamental part of faith. Faith is not just a guess about what's true. It's about staying true through our actions to things that have revealed to us.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@Grownded This is vague, and I can't say if I understand. What are examples of things that you think are going away? Where have Church leaders indicated that those specific things are going away, or is it your interpretation of how the Church intends to separate "culture" from doctrine?

[John @JohnnyH5000]

Like all important rights, religious freedom rightly has limits to protect the rights of others. For example, it doesn't give license to torture animals. Religious freedom doesn't grant the right to end the life of another.

States must issue same-sex marriage licenses because of Obergefell. RFMA didn't change that, as far as I understand. Further, it emphasizes their requirement to recognize those marriages.

[John @JohnnyH5000]

@tannerlindsay @ITalkOfChrist Stopping families from growing by ending the lives of unborn children is anti-family. Children deserve an equal place in the family whether or not they are the firstborn child.