tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63612401045475029792024-03-05T17:17:01.555-08:00Josh's extemporanious "rant"One potato, two potato...JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.comBlogger314125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-31055411407655552232023-12-28T13:53:00.000-08:002023-12-28T13:53:42.598-08:00What do I need to pray for?<p> </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I think it’s sometimes easy for me to see what I think others may need so I pray for others to find the gospel and be converted. I often overlook myself. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Am I praying for myself to be converted? Do I have a willing heart? Am I praying for a willing heart to seek and do his will or do I think it’s for others because I see all the stuff they need to fix? </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I believe I need to clean my own side of the street (or worry about myself...) and pray for the courage to not only hear his will but to have the courage to put into action what I hear.</p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-40886284192324492782023-07-07T11:32:00.008-07:002023-07-11T05:39:40.727-07:00So easy to sin… but, even easier to stay clean!<p> </p><p>Mosiah 2:36-37 says, in part, that “… if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord … that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.”</p><p>The active words that are central to this verse are, “if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken”. Transgression is what drives the Spirit away (a sin of omission can also be a sin of commission, and both are transgressions…).</p><p>So, to choose to act (or possibly not act [sin of omission…]) contrary to the Lord’s Will is to lose the Spirit which is sin. Why else would the Spirit withdraw from you? You are unclean…</p><p>Stay on the strait & narrow path, though, and be clean.</p><p>If you start on the strait and narrow, you are clean, and you have the Holy Ghost and Spirit of Christ to guide you and make good choices—now just never step off the path—and stay true till the end! </p><p><br /></p><p>Any and every time you are tempted to leave the path or act contrary to that which you’ve been commanded to do, the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost will remind you of what Christ would have you do and the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ will strengthen you so that you can stay on the path of righteousness.</p><p><br /></p><p>JPS</p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-18948808725513039922023-04-02T07:44:00.005-07:002023-04-02T07:52:52.563-07:00Pride <p><br /></p><p>1 Nephi (in the Book of Mormon—the keystone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), chapter 13, verse 9, says:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.</p></blockquote><p>I ask myself why do they seek to destroy the saints of God…</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe the answer is part of the oldest stories of all:</p><p>In the Pre-mortal existence, Lucifer’s plan (which was in direct opposition with the plan of God and daughter to destroy the agency of man) was rejected by God the Father and the plan of our eldest brother, Jehovah (who would have the name Jesus on Earth and He would become our Savior and Redeemer!) would be accepted and adopted as The Plan of Salvation or The Plan of Happiness (after all, it was the Father’s Plan, and His Father’s Plan, and His Father’s Plan…).</p><p>Lucifer and the third of the host of heaven that followed him, were enemies to God. Enemies to Jehovah and they hated God the Father and God’s Well-Beloved Son. They still hate God and His Plan. Hate Jesus Christ who championed that Plan and everyone who follows that plan…</p><p>One way, the easiest way, they can beguile mortals into carrying-out their hate-filled rebellion is through the mortal weekends of pride. Make man feel that pride through the praise of the world or through that which they feel pride over already…</p><p>“… And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.“</p><p><br /></p><p>JPS</p><p><br /></p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-60933334645388747372022-11-04T07:33:00.001-07:002022-11-04T07:33:14.001-07:00Section 88 of the Doctrine & Covenants and the building-up of Zion<p> </p><p>This verse seems to be important for section 88 and for building Zion:</p><p><br /></p><p>The revelation was given after [we] at a conference prayed “separately and vocally to the Lord to reveal his will unto us concerning the upbuilding of Zion.”</p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-18371578029322911862022-09-25T06:33:00.002-07:002022-11-24T15:24:45.049-08:00Christ's grace and mercy and charity and long-suffering and kindness<p> </p><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-touch-callout: none; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Regardless of what I've done, no matter what I've accomplished in this life, and even if I've kept myself as clean and spotless and pure and holy as I could, I am still unworthy of any and all of the blessings Elohim and Jesus give me—the blessings are given to me only through Christ's grace and mercy and charity and long-suffering and kindness. I can't claim or demand anything, for I am unworthy of all but damnation...but through Christ I am given everything! Anything that I am given is literally thanks to Jesus Christ and his goodness and love! In answer to Alma's question, I and we have NO grounds to even hope for salvation, only but for God’s LOVE!</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-touch-callout: none; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-touch-callout: none; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Now, out of love for Him, I will follow Him! He told me that I could be forgiven of my sins, be sanctified and glorified through His resurrection and the Atonement He paid, and He is a God of Truth and cannot lie (Enos 1:6 + Lectures on Faith 3:16).</div>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-23604294348286376422022-09-22T16:54:00.004-07:002023-12-28T14:02:26.559-08:00Proximity and Frequency<p> </p><p>I was thinking about my daughter, who just went-over to a neighborhood friend’s house, and wondered why now, and none of the other 3650 days (ok, she couldn’t have when she was a baby and wouldn’t have been able to until she was five or six [unless Claire’s parents were friends with my wife and I]), but hadn’t even wanted to during the two years that they were in pre-school together… But it dawned on me: They are now in the same school class together! </p><p>So, add age (maturity) + likes/dislikes + tastes + same grade + same class + <b>the fact that we are in the same neighborhood</b> = fast friends!</p><p>Age didn’t do it… being in the same school didn’t do it… being in the same class didn’t do it… either dislikes/likes… add those all together and the fact that they live so close to each other, and voila!</p><p>Proximity</p><p>Speaking of proximity, just realizing that the same thing is true with our relationship to our Heavenly Father and God. In fact, it'll work backwards on that list of fast friendship, in fact, if you look even more closely through the first 88-or-so sections of the Doctrine & Covenants, you'll see that there is a progression (not that it always is this progression...): servant, son, friend. You can be any of those at any time, but it becomes harder to become friends if you are always at a big distance from each other. In other words, once you are friends, you can simultaneously be any or every of the other types of relationships as well: Friend & Son, Friend & Servant, etc. But, it is less likely that you can be a friend just because you're a son or a servant. Again, though, once you are a friend, you can also be any of the other types of relationships (daughter = son, in the case that you are a woman or a girl).</p><p>In fact, I would posit that our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes deeper and more sure as you become and remain together for longer periods of time--more scripture reading, more prayers, more time with your family learning together (all requiring the presence of the Holy Ghost [the third member of the Godhead] to become effective), more weeks in Sacrament Meeting, more time studying the Gospel,<span style="font-family: times;"> more time in the temple, more time spent with your spouse and family (and the more time spent with your spouse "<span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities</span></a>")</span>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">In other words, the closer you are to those you love, the closer you'll be--the more time you spend together doing the things that are intended to bring you closer together (and eventually make you <i>one</i>), the more time the Spirit is with you and the more united you will become, and the more you will become <i>one</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Frequency</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">Proximity & Frequency = Fast Friends with God</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">JPS</span></p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-46457761620298897592022-08-23T07:48:00.001-07:002022-08-23T07:51:56.277-07:00Gratitude for daily blessings <p> </p><p>I usually write in my journal at home, but I wanted to record, here, something of my gratitude and recognition of the bounteous blessings that pour down on and around my head. My family and my relationship with both My Heavenly Father and my Eldest Brother, Jesus, first and foremost—my sons, Addison, Quentin, and Calvin and my daughter Samantha, as well as my wife jill. I sometimes worry that I am grateful to and for her more than I should be… in the report about a personal interview with the Savior, given by David O. McKay, we read about our first responsibility, “</p><table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: black; height: 238px; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top"><div align="left"><span face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span></span></div></td></tr><tr cellspacing="1"><td align="right" colspan="2" height="15" valign="top"> </td></tr><tr cellspacing="4"><td align="left" valign="top"><div align="left"><span face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">First, he will request an accountability report about your relationship with your wife. Have you actively been engaged in making her happy and ensuring that her needs have been met as an individual?”</span></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father, My Savior Jesus, and my wife, jill.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">May I learn to love them all better and more perfectly!</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">JPS<br /><span face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img align="left" height="263" src="https://emp.byui.edu/ANDERSONR/itc/Images/bar.gif" width="10" /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-79496232113951289582022-07-16T14:39:00.000-07:002022-07-16T14:39:02.224-07:00Can the devil or his angels read?<p> </p><p>I have often wondered if the devil or his angels can read… This post, however, was spawned by a comment that I heard while listening to a podcast from Book of Mormon Central, where Laman & Lemuel were referenced (Lehi’s oldest sons from the Book of Mormon—the first prophet spoken of and Nephi’s father, who wrote the first two books). It was said, that this podcaster couldn’t be sure, but that it was his belief that Laman and Lemuel were illiterate. I am not saying that this is true, but, if they are illiterate, wouldn’t it be most likely true of Satan’s minions? </p><p>Why does it seem like nobody has ever warned against writing things in your journal or diary but it has been said again and again that you should not or be wary of saying things aloud that you wouldn’t want the devil to know about? </p><p>Wouldn’t the same reasoning that would support the idea that Laman&Lemuel couldn’t read also go to support the idea that Satan’s minions can’t read?</p><p>Those are my thoughts (some of them…),</p><p><br /></p><p>JPS</p><p><br /></p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-40367512219688390212021-12-03T14:30:00.008-08:002021-12-03T16:25:58.607-08:00The Soul Felt it’s Worth!?!<p><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">In the Christmas song, "O Holy Night" there is a line that states, "<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2);">Till he appear'd and the soul felt its worth."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">I've been pondering that line for quite some time and would like to express some of my thoughts:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">* Did the soul not feel any worth before? He or she was a child of the Eternal Father, an immortal being, and thus, heir to divinity! How could it not have felt its worth until then? Well, to make a claim about one's divinity (and it's not just a casual relationship, but a child of God the Father!!!) is enough to shock anyone into feeling the worth of your soul!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;">* Everyone's soul is of infinite worth because of Who made it--God the Father and Our Heavenly Mother, but imagine your Father's Well-Beloved-Son, the firstborn spirit child (so, that would make Him <i>our</i>--everyone born on this Earth and all Earth's created by Christ--Elder Brother!!!) sacrificing Himself--an eternal and infinite sacrifice, where "He bled from every poor as </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;">He was brutally reviled, mocked, spit upon, and scourged. In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Savior took upon Himself </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">every</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"> pain, </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">every</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"> sin, and </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">all</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"> of the anguish and suffering </span><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ever</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"> experienced by you and me and by everyone who has ever lived or will ever live. Under the weight of that excruciating burden, He bled from every pore.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"> All of this suffering was intensified as He was cruelly crucified on Calvary’s cross" (see Russell M. Nelson's talk in the Sunday morning session if general conference called "The Correct Name of the Church").</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"> All of this </span><span style="font-family: times;">as He was wounded for </span><i style="font-family: times;">our</i><span style="font-family: times;"> transgressions, bruised for </span><i style="font-family: times;">our</i><span style="font-family: times;"> iniquity as the chastisement of </span><i style="font-family: times;">our</i><span style="font-family: times;"> peace was upon Him, and yet, with His stripes, </span><i style="font-family: times;">we </i><span style="font-family: times;">are healed (Mosiah 14:5)! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">*</span></span> He did that for each and every one of His brothers and sisters. That is how very special you are to Him and to Our Heavenly Father (that He would be willing to <i>allow</i> His firstborn in the flesh to sacrifice Himself and be sacrificed for His brothers and sisters)!</p><p>* Imagine that... Your soul is so very, very, very special and of infinite worth!</p><p><br /></p><p>JPS</p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-26813711648678300142021-08-10T11:02:00.009-07:002021-09-01T07:25:12.117-07:00What is it about filthiness or uncleanliness that God or the Holy Ghost can’t abide?<p><br /></p><p>What is it about filthiness or uncleanliness that God or the Holy Ghost can’t abide?</p><p>And what is it, about choosing <i>sin</i> that makes one unclean?</p><p>Here are my thoughts… </p><p>To sin is to act contrary to the will of God but what makes <i>that</i> a sin?</p><p>Jesus Christ was the only perfect person to live on this Earth, and perfect = clean and able to stand in God’s presence—so inasmuch as I choose to act contrary to that perfection, I am sinning and the laws of Justice demand that I either follow that perfect example <i>or</i> have to pay! That’s just the way it is and always has always been!</p><p>To act contrary to that example is to sin and to be unclean or filthy and the reason why is because the demands of Justice require that… but why is that the only satisfiable payment or form of universal currency? Because of the Atonement and the demands of Justice created by the intelligences of the universe require to be satisfied. You can’t fight a tidal wave, right?</p><p>JPS</p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-35270603269277615442021-04-10T09:28:00.002-07:002021-04-10T09:28:57.662-07:00Death IS merciful!<p> </p><p>In the Book of Mormon, we read, from the little brother of Nephi (the first writer in the book and the first prophet), Jacob, in the second book of Nephi, chapter nine, verse five, “Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him.”</p><div class="editorField" id="title" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-touch-callout: none; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; width: 279px; word-wrap: break-word;"><br /></div><div class="editorField" id="title" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-touch-callout: none; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; width: 279px; word-wrap: break-word;">“O How Great the Plan of Our God!" Pres. Uchtdorf 10/16 </div><div class="editorField contentFieldNoMargins" id="content" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; -webkit-touch-callout: none; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 16px 0px 0px; word-wrap: break-word;"><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">'It seems to be human nature: as we become more familiar with something, even something miraculous and awe-inspiring, we lose our sense of awe and treat it as commonplace.' And the Jews thought Jesus so commonplace, that they murdered their God and their Christ!!!</div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /></div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Helaman 14:15</div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.”</div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 Nephi 9:5</div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him.”</div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 Nephi 10:3</div><div style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ--for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name--should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him--for thus it behooveth our God, and <strong style="-webkit-touch-callout: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God</strong>.”</div></div><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif;">That he might perform the resurrection and that the gift of resurrection might be passed onto all men, that all might be raised to the Father and judged of Christ’s Atonement.</span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%; caret-color: rgb(51, 50, 46); color: #33322e; font-family: sans-serif;">JPS</span></p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-80428022089588542472020-11-27T13:29:00.005-08:002021-02-24T06:28:55.535-08:00My Gratitude Blog 2020<p> </p><p>I am incredibly thankful that my wife married me, despite knowing that our life would be extra-challenging because of my disabilities and that she still looks to me to make astounding successes that continue to exasperate onlookers or even my own family!</p><p>I am thankful for my family--my wife, Jill, my sons, Addison, Quentin, Calvin, and my daughter, Samantha!</p><p>I am thankful for my parents and the person that they raised me to become and for helping me continue to be that person even now!</p><p>I am thankful for Stephanie for being a stalwart giant in helping me and Addison after our car accident in April of 2001 and being my advocate in retaining all that the crash could have and should have left me with!</p><p>I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for this life, for my spirit, my body, the intelligence that He raised and tutored before this life and continues to now, curing this life!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-22334433915131885052020-09-02T18:19:00.004-07:002020-12-12T15:34:15.522-08:00Pride--Is it looking up or looking down?<p> </p><p>... Pride. The great sermon by Ezra Taft Benson, "<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1989/05/beware-of-pride?lang=eng" target="_blank">Beware of Pride</a>" explains that pride is nothing less than enmity. In the end, pride is enmity towards God. It manifests itself, though, in so many different forms. According to President Benson's talk, pride, looked-at only negatively, can be outright cocky--lifted-up in pride because of some achievement that you have accomplished or status you've obtained, an overabundance in confidence in oneself--looking down on others who haven't achieved such a status. Or, it can be the pride of looking up and thinking that others are most definitely looking down on you or the position you are in.</p><p>I hate money. I am happy to be as poor as we are...</p><p>All I know, is that in trying to work-it-out in my mind, my wife is confused over what I think and what I believe, and now, at least for right now, she is a little irritated with me and what I might think.</p><p>I hate that...</p><p>JPS </p>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-88056922964536419482020-06-06T16:01:00.010-07:002020-12-12T15:32:46.025-08:00Do you ask God for everything you need? Being discerning, of course?<br />
So, the question is: should I ask our Heavenly Father for everything you need? We are commanded to do, just that in Alma 7:23, which reads as follows:<br />
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And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.<br />
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Well, maybe I don’t even know what I should pray for—not even sure what it is that I need... Luckily, we are told in Romans 8:26 what we should do: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.“<br />
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So, to truly ask in faith, you may be concerned that you may ask for things you ought not to ask. You don’t want to ask for things for which one should not ask; like I said...<br />
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In <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/18.2,4?lang=eng&clang=eng#p2,4" target="_blank">Luke chapter 18</a>, says, we read:<br />
<br /><p class="verse" data-aid="128395715" id="p1" style="--height: 58.75px; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-after: 3; -webkit-hyphenate-limit-before: 4; -webkit-hyphens: auto; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(13, 15, 16); font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0.65em; vertical-align: baseline;"><font face="times"><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 </span>And he spake a parable unto them<span class="clarity-word" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span> that men ought <a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note1a" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">always</a> to <a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note1b" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">pray</a>, and not to <a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note1c" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">faint</a>; </font><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2 </span><span style="font-family: times;">Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: </span><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3 </span><span style="font-family: times;">And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. </span><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4 </span><span style="font-family: times;">And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; </span><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5 </span><span style="font-family: times;">Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. </span><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6 </span><span style="font-family: times;">And the Lord said, Hear what the</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note6a" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-family: times; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">unjust</a><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><span style="font-family: times;">judge saith. </span><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 </span><span style="font-family: times;">And shall not God</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note7a" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-family: times; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">avenge</a><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><span style="font-family: times;">his own elect, <i>which cry day and night unto him</i>, though he bear long with</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note7b" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-family: times; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">them</a><span style="font-family: times;">? </span><span class="verse-number" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8 </span><a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note8a" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-family: times; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I</a><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><span style="font-family: times;">tell you that he will</span><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><a class="study-note-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/#note8b" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--text-link, var(--info40)); font-family: times; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">avenge</a><span style="font-family: times;"> them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?</span></p>
Joseph Smith, speaking of that parable, said, “Weary the Lord till he blesses you”!<br />
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Weary the Lord until he blesses you... Weary the Lord!<br />
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JPS<br />
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<br />JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-32746395230603630782020-02-28T15:32:00.004-08:002020-07-23T10:46:36.123-07:00Spiritual experiences more likely in Certain Locations?<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Why is it easier to have a significant spiritual experience at certain places—namely, places where other spiritual experiences have taken place?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">A. Because we have more faith that it will happen! We know that it’s happened before in the same place...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That leads to the question: why do certain places have spiritual events occur there and are thus likely to have more experiences like said experiences in the future</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (i.e. Sacred Grove in upstate NY, Indepedence, MO, Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Garden of Gethsemene, etc.)?</span></span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">In his talk, “Snow White Birds”, Elder Packer recalls what President Harold B. Lee taught him, “Revelation is more readily recognized when you’re in the place needed for the revelation.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to know what you think...</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">JPS</span></span>JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-45190050863963131992020-01-18T16:59:00.002-08:002020-02-03T18:02:27.639-08:00Bicentennial Year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<figure style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00784314); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans", zoram, "noto sans", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 55%;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent;">Bicentennial year of what? Well, 200 years ago, in 1820, in the spring of 1820, in fact, Joseph Smith had an opening vision and heavenly manifestation that ushered in the last dispensation before the Savior of the World will return for his second coming!</span></figure><br />
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Well, the prophet, our prophet, your prophet, <span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.00784314); color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">President Russell M. Nelson closed the October 2019 general conference with an invitation for Latter-day Saints to prepare for the subsequent April 2020 general conference, 200 years since Joseph Smith’s First Vision.</span><br />
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<figure style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00784314); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans", zoram, "noto sans", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 55%; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><img alt="" class="" src="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/ldsorg/church/news/2019/10/06/350-the-first-vision-82823-print.jpg" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: move; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="margin-top-xs" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: "lucida grande", helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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Del Parson’s depiction of the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. in the Sacred Grove in Manchester, New York, when he received the First Vision.</div>
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“The year 2020 will be designated as a bicentennial year. General conference next April will be different from any previous conference,” President Nelson announced at the end of the Sunday afternoon session.</div>
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“In the next six months, I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundations of the restored gospel.”</div>
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In previewing plans for the coming year, President Nelson recounted those “very foundations.”</div>
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“In the springtime of the year 2020, it will be exactly 200 years since Joseph Smith experienced the theophany that we know as the First Vision,” he said. “God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph, a 14-year-old youth. That event marked the onset of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness, precisely as foretold in the Holy Bible.”</div>
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He recited the succession of visits from heavenly messengers to Joseph—John the Baptist; the early Apostles Peter, James, and John; Moses; Elias; and Elijah. “Each brought divine authority to bless God’s children on the earth once again,” President Nelson said.</div>
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He continued, underscoring latter-day scripture, the restored keys and offices of the priesthood, and the organizations and callings of the Church—“all vital parts of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness.”</div>
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<figure style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00784314); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans", zoram, "noto sans", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 55%;"><img alt="" class="" src="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/ldsorg/church/news/2019/10/06/350-FirstVision-MinervaT.jpg" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: move; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /><figcaption style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="margin-top-xs" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: "lucida grande", helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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Latter-day Saint artist Minerva Teichart's <span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The First Vision</span> (1934) depicts a key moment of the Restoration. Photo courtesy of Brigham Young University Museum of Art.</div>
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</figcaption></figure>President Nelson invited Church members to read Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, noting that next year’s <span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/manual/come-follow-me?lang=eng&cid=rdb_v_come-follow-me_eng" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #147ea7; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Come, Follow Me</a></span> course of study is the Book of Mormon.</div>
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“You may wish to ponder important questions such as, ‘How would my life be different if my knowledge gained from the Book of Mormon were suddenly taken away?’ or ‘How have the events that followed the First Vision made a difference for me and my loved ones?’”</div>
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He suggested incorporating the new <span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Book of Mormon Videos</span> into individual and family study.</div>
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“Select your own questions,” President Nelson continued. “Design your own plan. Immerse yourself in the glorious light of the Restoration. As you do, general conference next April will be not only memorable; it will be unforgettable.”</div>
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<img alt="" class="" height="272" src="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/ldsorg/church/news/2019/10/06/620-286797.jpg" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans", zoram, "noto sans", helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="400" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "zoram" , "noto sans" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Joseph Smith’s First Vision</span> stained glass in </div>
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the Palmyra New York Temple. </div>
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Photo by Willie Holdman.</div>
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<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/2020-a-bicentennial-year-with-april-conference-different-from-any-previous-conference-president-nelson-says?lang=eng">https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/2020-a-bicentennial-year-with-april-conference-different-from-any-previous-conference-president-nelson-says?lang=eng</a></div>
JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-60318662047806175242019-09-12T05:52:00.003-07:002019-12-14T14:12:19.717-08:00Two Judgements<br />
It only makes sense, and it’s always been a “given” that we will be judged by Jesus Christ, for He is the judge of all the world (<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a class="scripture-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/acts/17.31?lang=eng#30" old-href="../../scriptures/nt/acts/17.html?verse=31#p31" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #177c9c; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -27px; vertical-align: baseline;">Acts 17:31</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37); color: #212225; text-indent: -27px;">; </span><a class="scripture-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/rom/3.6?lang=eng#5" old-href="../../scriptures/nt/rom/3.html?verse=6#p6" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #177c9c; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -27px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rom. 3:6</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37); color: #212225; text-indent: -27px;">; </span><a class="scripture-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/29.11?lang=eng#10" old-href="../../scriptures/bofm/2-ne/29.html?verse=11#p11" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #177c9c; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -27px; vertical-align: baseline;">2 Ne. 29:11</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37); color: #212225; text-indent: -27px;">; </span><a class="scripture-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/3.10?lang=eng#9" old-href="../../scriptures/bofm/mosiah/3.html?verse=10#p10" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #177c9c; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -27px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mosiah 3:10</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37); color: #212225; text-indent: -27px;">; </span><a class="scripture-ref" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/27.16?lang=eng#15" old-href="../../scriptures/bofm/3-ne/27.html?verse=16#p16" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #177c9c; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -27px; vertical-align: baseline;">3 Ne. 27:16</a></span>). In the Book of Mormon, chapter 9, verse 15, we read:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37); color: #212225; font-family: Palatino, PahoranldsLat-Roman, "Pahoran ldsLat", Pahoran, Palatino-Roman, serif; font-size: 18px;">And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the </span><span style="color: #177c9c; font-family: Palatino, Palatino Linotype, Palatino Italic, Palatino-Italic, Pahoran, Pahoran ldsLat, NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(23, 124, 156);">judgment-seat</span></span> <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37); color: #212225; font-family: Palatino, PahoranldsLat-Roman, "Pahoran ldsLat", Pahoran, Palatino-Roman, serif; font-size: 18px;">of the Holy One of Israel (#1); and then cometh the </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #177c9c; font-family: Palatino, Palatino Linotype, Palatino Italic, Palatino-Italic, Pahoran, Pahoran ldsLat, NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, serif;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(23, 124, 156);">judgment</span></span><span style="color: #212225; font-family: Palatino, PahoranldsLat-Roman, Pahoran ldsLat, Pahoran, Palatino-Roman, serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37);">, and <i>then</i> must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(33, 34, 37); color: #212225; font-family: Palatino, PahoranldsLat-Roman, "Pahoran ldsLat", Pahoran, Palatino-Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">(#2)</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #212225; font-family: Palatino, PahoranldsLat-Roman, Pahoran ldsLat, Pahoran, Palatino-Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">.</span></span> </blockquote>
Didn’t ever see that, did ya?<br />
<br />
We will all have judgement passed-on-us by Jesus Christ AND God the Father!<br />
<br />
JPSJPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-67073193276616098522019-09-11T12:35:00.003-07:002019-11-14T18:44:28.644-08:00Why did the Jews kill Jesus Christ?<br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">Why did the Jews kill Jesus?</span></div>
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<li class="li1" style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Text"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 11pt;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">589 BC <span class="s3" style="color: #e4af0a; font-size: 16pt;"><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebuchadnezzar_II">Nebuchadnezzar II</a> </span>laid siege to Jerusalem </span></li>
<li class="li1" style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Text"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 11pt;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">Between then and 30 AD (618 years), the Jews were so wicked that they killed their God.</span></li>
<li class="li1" style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Text"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 11pt;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">Looking beyond the mark = learning and studying about your God for your whole life yet not being able to recognize Him when He’s preaching to you and being so offended that He calls himself God, that you condemn him and kill Him.</span></li>
<li class="li1" style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Text"; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 11pt;"></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">Will you recognize your God and have his image in your countenance? </span></li>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: "sfuitext";"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 21.33333396911621px;">JPS</span></span></div>
JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-30795522390106038352019-09-08T15:50:00.003-07:002021-04-16T07:54:26.083-07:00Testimony of my Car Accident<br />
I need to bear testimony of my accident and province the fact that all things give glory to God!<br />
<br />
Not only share how I was strengthened, but also how I have grown. I was able to bear testimony to those that I worked with as a school counselor, but I need to do it in any and every place I’m in.<br />
<br />
JPSJPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-30658623750944844852019-07-10T13:26:00.003-07:002019-07-10T13:26:45.081-07:00Agency rules<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">In 1 Nephi chapter 7, it reads, in verses 6-10:</span></div>
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6 And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me, Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters.</div>
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7 And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem.</div>
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8 And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example for you?</div>
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9 How is it that ye have not hearkened unto the word of the Lord?</div>
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10 How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So, the Lord knew that they would continue to choose another path than the Spirit and/or that they needed to be spurred-along in their wickedness, even after He sent an angel to protect Nephi & Sam, and still He sent the angel. Necessary for them to be able to harden their hearts against and be able to bring-on their cursing and to fulfill the promises that Nephi would receive—the Lord knows who is going to do what, because He’s seen it all—always allowing agency to rule, He’s seen the end from the beginning!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So, how is there agency when God HAS seen the end from the beginning? Doesn’t that mean that He’s already seen me make my choices, and if so, how does that allow for me choosing something different than that which God has seen? Seems like it precludes that possibility...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Oh, wait... I see... I maintain my agency and it is never violated and yet God sees the outcomes of all of my choices—for everyone in the entire world—like a giant tapestry where each thread is being woven or added to the tapestry to make the most beautiful tapestry ever imagined or created! God doesn’t see things linearly, as we do—He sees things in an infinitely different dimensions yet harmoniously working together so that they create God’s tapestry (and really, OUR tapestry). He has seen it happen in real-time and doesn’t just know us so well that He can predict perfectly what we will choose, He has seen us make our decisions and seen the consequences that flow from it (mind-blowingly beyond our comprehension, eh?).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Time. Time? Time is an Earthbound concept and invention. There only is time because we, as humans (and there is no other way for us, as humans, to see life), see events linearly. We see that 34 a.d. follows 33 a.d. because we know that Jesus Christ dies in the year 33 a.d. came before His resurrected ministry among the Nephites in 34 a.d. and beyond. Read about it in <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/title-page?lang=eng" target="_blank">The Book of Mormon</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">God has agency and He perfectly makes every choice perfectly! If He didn’t, He would cease to be God! See <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/42?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 42</a></span><br />
<br />
JPS<br />
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JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-46681818004315629192019-07-10T13:03:00.001-07:002020-01-11T16:52:22.010-08:00It’s a sin...<br />
During the 1980’s I was introduced to the electronic band, The Pet-shop Boys, by their song, “It’s a Sin”. Today, I woke-up with that song playing in my mind and I was thinking about the meaning of the lyrics. Here are the lyrics to the song:<br />
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">The Pet Shop Boys — <u>It’s a Sin</u></span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">When I look back upon my life</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's always with a sense of shame</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">I've always been the one to blame</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">For everything I long to do</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">No matter when or where or who</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Has one thing in common, too</span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everything I've ever done</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everything I ever do</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Every place I've ever been</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everywhere I'm going to</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a sin</span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">At school they taught me how to be</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">So pure in thought and word and deed</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">They didn't quite succeed</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">For everything I long to do</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">No matter when or where or who</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Has one thing in common, too</span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everything I've ever done</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everything I ever do</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Every place I've ever been</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everywhere I'm going to</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a sin</span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Father, forgive me, I tried not to do it</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Turned over a new leaf, then tore right through it</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Whatever you taught me, I didn't believe it</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Father, you fought me, 'cause I didn't care</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">And I still don't understand</span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">So I look back upon my life</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Forever with a sense of shame</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">I've always been the one to blame</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">For everything I long to do</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">No matter when or where or who</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Has one thing in common, too</span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everything I've ever done</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everything I ever do</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Every place I've ever been</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Everywhere I'm going to - it's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin</span></div>
<div class="secrsf" jsname="U8S5sf" style="margin-top: 16px;">
<span jsname="YS01Ge">(Confiteor Deo omnipotenti vobis fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione</span><br />
<span jsname="YS01Ge">Verbo, opere et omissione, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa)</span></div>
<div class="rvntgc">
<div style="color: #70757a; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 13px;">
Songwriters: Neil Francis Tennant / Christopher Sean Lowe</div>
<div style="color: #70757a; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 13px;">
It's a Sin lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.<br />
<br />
———————————————<br />
<br />
Catholic eh? Think he was meaning sins of commission or omission? Definitely both! But, like Joseph Smith said, most of what we think are sins, aren’t; but we sin in ways that we wouldn’t Even consider sinning!<br />
<br />
If you’d like to read a great book that can redefine what you think is sinning (or isn’t sinning...), you should read a book that only talks about “sin” in the 3rd person and only says it, or talks about it once: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/301143-bonds-that-make-us-free-healing-our-relationships-coming-to-ourselves" target="_blank">Bonds that Make Us Free</a>, by C. Terry Warner. You can buy it on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bonds+that+make+us+free+by+c.+terry+warner&sprefix=bonds+&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_6" target="_blank">Amazon</a>.<br />
<br />
It’s one of the best reads I’ve ever had in my entire life!<br />
<br />
JPS<br />
<br /></div>
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JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-78440126922576894542019-06-05T13:53:00.001-07:002019-07-10T13:38:21.731-07:00Look and be healed!<br />
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<span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">Alma 33:20 <i>But</i>,</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: ".sfuitext-italic"; font-size: 16pt; font-style: italic;"> few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is </span><span class="s4" style="font-family: ".sfuitext-italic"; font-size: 16pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;">because they did not believe that it would heal them.</span><span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;"></span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">So, you don't look? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is so simple that it's too simple for you to lift your eyes to gaze upon Christ? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Is it because He is too compassionate? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Too merciful? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Too understanding? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Too perfect? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Are those the reasons why you reject Him and His healing wings?</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">Do we not go to Christ because we don't believe that He can heal us? <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It's actually, the one thing to do all that we can to be healed (physically/spiritually/emotionally) but in the end concede that it is God's will and for our profit and learning to be tried, and another, completely other thing, to not even try because <u>we don't</u></span><span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;"> believe!</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-family: ".sfuitext"; font-size: 16pt;">Alma asks:</span></div>
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<span class="s3" style="font-family: ".sfuitext-italic"; font-size: 16pt; font-style: italic;">O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: .sfuitext-italic;"><span style="font-size: 21.33333396911621px;">JPS</span></span></div>
JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-57022497998032612732019-05-10T09:58:00.001-07:002019-05-11T14:25:05.281-07:00Why Eve ate the fruit first, and not Adam...<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, God spoke and the world was created. Man was created. Then Woman. The first man on an Earth, an Adam and an Eve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then, in the Book of Moses (<i>not</i> one of the five books of Moses, but <i>the book</i> of Moses--confused? Want to find-out more? <a href="https://www.comeuntochrist.org/" target="_blank">Ask a missionary</a>, please...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back to the question-at-hand: Why Eve and not Adam?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: 700;">Let's start with verse 26, of the 2nd chapter of Moses: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">26 </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">And I, God, said unto mine</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Only Begotten, which was with me from the</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">beginning: Let</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">us</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">make</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">man in our</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">image, after our likeness; and it was so. And I, God, said: Let them have</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "palatino" , "palatino linotype" , "pahoran" , "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">27 </span>And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">28 </span>And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Did you catch that? God’s first command to the first couple was what? Multiply and replenish the Earth!)</span></span></div>
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<span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">... 31 </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good; and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">then, in chapter 3, verse 7:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 </span>And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8 </span>And I, the Lord God, planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there I put the man whom I had formed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9 </span>And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it; for it remaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it, yea, even all things which I prepared for the use of man; and man saw that it was good for food. And I, the Lord God, planted the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, <span class="page-break" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then chapter 3... <span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">15 </span>And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">16 </span>And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,</span></div>
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<span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">17 </span>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 latest thereof thou shalt surely die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">So, now the stage is set and there is a <i>caveat</i>, "nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself"--if it was sinful to do, then there would not and could not have been this <i>caveat</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">18 </span>And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">... <span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">21 </span>And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and I took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">22 </span>And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man.</span></div>
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<span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">23 </span>And Adam said: This I know now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.</span></div>
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<span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">24 </span>Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Then, in chapter 4 verse <span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5 </span>And now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which I, the Lord God, had made.</span></div>
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<span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6 </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him [1/3 of the host of heaven! No idea how many that is or what that entails... Neither does anyone who will write about it--yet...) and he sought also to beguile Eve, </span><u>for he knew not the mind of God</u><span style="font-weight: normal;">, wherefore he sought to destroy the world (and actually opened-up the way for Jesus Christ and every other spirit child of God, to be born on this Earth!).</span></span></div>
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<span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7 </span>And he (he serpent) said unto the woman: Yea, hath God said—Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (And he spake by the mouth of the serpent.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8 </span>And the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden;</span></div>
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<span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9 </span>But of the fruit of the tree which thou beholds in the midst of the garden, God hath said—Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die (this was the second commandment given to Adam & Eve!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10 </span>And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die (cause who you going to believe, the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God of this entire universe and the Father who does not lie, or this spirit that you know nothing about?).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">11 </span>For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (the temptation! Oh, that wily <i>snake</i>!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">12 </span>And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it <u>became</u> pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">So was Eve <i>beguiled! </i>Yet, she must have already been thinking about those two commandments: 'How can we multiply and replenish the Earth and the forbidden fruit that we were commanded not to eat (or even touch) or we would die.' Eve, I am confident, that the prospect of becoming more wise (which only means: the righteous use of knowledge), was beguiled, or confused and tricked, when she partook of the forbidden fruit--though, that does not mean that she didn't fundamentally know that it was part of the Plan of God to be born on this Earth and be saved by Jesus Christ's atonement--I am not sure, though, to which degree she was allowed to remember the things she had learned in the Pre-Mortal Spirit World.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Adam, I am sure, was also tempted. Probably <i>first</i>. But, then, why wasn't he beguiled? My best guess is that Adam was like most men, but much more so (after all, he was the prototype, right? Well, for the purposes of this <i>rant</i>, we'll say that Adam was the prototype...). Adam's foremost thought, I'm sure, was to obey the commandments of God. The first commandment was <i>multiply and replenish the Earth</i>, but that just don't make no sense! He would have to <i>table</i> that commandment until he was given more knowledge and would make sense to him... The woman, Eve, was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-25198063" target="_blank">thinking in multiple dimensions and actually using both hemispheres of her brain</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The second commandment, though, he could deal with and obey strictly and valiantly, after all it was a totally straightforward command: <i>Thou shalt not even touch the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil</i>. He knew how to do that, and just watch him do it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Eve, on the other hand, was more mature (just like a woman to show-up the man on the scene!). The way she did it, in fact, was very Christlike, indeed: A tragic irony turned to victory!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">President Henry B. Eyring gives this insight into their plight, during a conference address given to the Women's General Conference (October, 2018):</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why, then, does a daughter of God in a united and equal relationship receive the primary responsibility to nourish with the most important nutrient all must receive, a knowledge of truth coming from heaven? As nearly as I can see, that has been the Lord’s way since families were created in this world.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">For instance, it was Eve who received the knowledge that Adam needed to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge for them to keep all of God’s commandments and to form a family. I do not know why it came to Eve first, but Adam and Eve were perfectly united when the knowledge was poured out on Adam.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Was Eve smarter than Adam? No, just had different strengths... Just like my wife has different strengths from me! Just like we learn from the Constitution of the United States: <i>Separate but equal</i> (that was referring to the the rights of </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: normal;">men and women</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Not a definitive answer, but I don't know that we will get the definitive answer as a group--you may get it personally, however.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Maybe another part of the reason is that men's and women's brains, and therefore, they are quantifiably and quantitatively different, as shown at this BBC webpage, and therefore respond to different stimuli differently: </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-25198063">https://www.bbc.com/news/health-25198063</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">JPS</span></span></div>
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JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-3616978527005944292019-04-26T08:49:00.002-07:002019-04-26T08:49:11.988-07:00Tight, like into a dish<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Book of Ether, in the book of scripture entitled, “The Book of Mormon” tells of a group of people called the Jaredites who travel from the <i>old world </i>to the <i>new world </i>(or the American Continent) in special barges that the brother of Hared had learned to build, from the Lord Himself. They weren’t built like boats had previously been built, but were “tight like unto a dish”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ether 6:7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Think of the Alvin Maker books (Seventh Son, Red Prophet, Alvin Journeyman etc.) and how the wood was actually, physically fused, like metal, or grew together, like living wood...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Read those books. Pretty ingenious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">JPS</span></div>
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JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6361240104547502979.post-114910615401764662019-04-15T11:20:00.000-07:002019-04-15T11:20:04.630-07:00Belated 10-Year-Anniversary-Cruise<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CTh8tFQyzY2xZRZNl32f8R_wlOvMR6u4tWW96Hm1G3Gq5dWu9EKg6BlDwdjRwyaXuClBM9Nh8Z-a4zZqRlmWMnTwXuPu0P2pdKPeufkfiTYHZZ6c_4B565eqf1eI5uZc_tsdOK7BEoOZ/s1600/1D9CFD78-B26D-46DC-AFA0-28B1C768D391.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4CTh8tFQyzY2xZRZNl32f8R_wlOvMR6u4tWW96Hm1G3Gq5dWu9EKg6BlDwdjRwyaXuClBM9Nh8Z-a4zZqRlmWMnTwXuPu0P2pdKPeufkfiTYHZZ6c_4B565eqf1eI5uZc_tsdOK7BEoOZ/s320/1D9CFD78-B26D-46DC-AFA0-28B1C768D391.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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2 night cruise from San Diego, CA to Encinada, Mexico for our 10th Anniversary!!!</div>
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JPShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07223271069472301970noreply@blogger.com0