Entries in this series (this link does not work properly in old Reddit or 3rd-party apps): https://www.reddit.com/r/lds/collection/11be9581-6e2e-4837-9ed4-30f5e37782b2
The first two times in my life that I ever felt the Spirit, I was a kid in Primary, too young to even know what the feeling was or what it was trying to teach me...but it was so unusual that I remembered it. The first time I felt it, we were learning the words to βThe Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning.β The second time I felt it, we were learning the words to βJoseph Smithβs First Prayer.β
When I was a few years older, after I had more experience with the Holy Ghost and knew how to recognize it for what it really was, I remembered those first two times I felt His presence and I understood the lessons He was teaching me: that Joseph Smith really did kneel down in that grove of trees, that he really did see God the Father and the Savior, and that the Priesthood really was restored to the Earth. Those were the very first things the Holy Ghost ever taught me, and He has reconfirmed them to me many, many times over the years.
Weβve already discussed the First Vision in this blog series and now, weβre going to discuss the restoration of the Priesthood. Like many of the topics in this Letter, this is one I take seriously. Supposed anachronisms or similar city names are one thing, but the restoration of the Priesthood is something else entirely. Itβs literally one of the foundational pillars of my testimony. Iβm sure thatβs true for many of you, as well.
So far in this Letter, Jeremy Runnells has already attacked the Book of Abraham, the Book of Mormon, the First Vision, Joseph Smith, the idea of prophets in general, the existence of the Holy Ghost, and has even questioned God Himself. I hope you can all see how insidious this progression has been. Heβs systematically going after every single element of a testimony that he can.
Just like with the other sections, though, he gets a lot of things wrong and leaves plenty out of his narrative. He opens this section with a quote from Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman:
> βThe late appearance of these accounts raises the possibility of later fabrication.β β LDS HISTORIAN AND SCHOLAR RICHARD BUSHMAN [ROUGH STONE ROLLING, P.75](https://books.google
... keep reading on reddit β‘https://preview.redd.it/2liz3amkdi481.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da127e2323f3917c7c6eb24ecf45367a5694edcd
"If they condemn me now, it means that the Lord God allowed to pay attention to those who are in chains. And so this is also a sermon. How Jesus Christ Was Judged. How John the Baptist was tried. How the Tsar was tried, Nikolai Alexandrovich, with his family. They didnβt find anything, but they shot him. This is the gratitude of the Russian people for the fact that under Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich the well-being of the people increased several times. The population increase was 50 million. Our gratitude.
Therefore, the fact that I am now on trial, I do not consider myself guilty. The fact is that, I emphasize once again, by my testimony I showed the whole world: if you have faith, you will not fall in despair. If you have faith, then you have to defend the Orthodox faith. To stand up for the Orthodox faith even to death. As Hermogenes said, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, called on all to die for the Orthodox faith.
And therefore, I emphasize once again that all my sermons, all my words were spoken according to obedience. By obedience to my spiritual fathers. And I have never violated what my confessor taught me - Hero of the Soviet Union, confessor of the Lavra, confessor of the three Patriarchs, Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov. Always follow the rules, the apostolic rules of the Holy Fathers. I always payed attention to my conscience. I tried to fulfill them.
And many representatives from the Presidential Administration came. They told me to give up my words, to give up, to give up my confessor, Elder Kirill. Give up on Orthodoxy. And betray Christ.
They would give me freedom, they tell me: βlet go for the sake of freedom in your own words and go out of the courtroom nowβ - I will not let go, never. I'd rather die, I'd rather be sentenced to death, but I will never violate the canons of the Russian Orthodox Church. For no money. No health promises. They said here that there were some extenuating circumstances ... If you want shoot me, I will never renounce Orthodoxy.
I will never refuse to give my life for you, if you want⦠Why? Because you are like children. And you are my children. And therefore I must suffer for the children. I repeat to you the story once again: when Leningrad was besieged and when the girl survived. Her mother ... She cut off pieces from her legs, from soft parts and fed her daughter.
... keep reading on reddit β‘Do your worst!
For context I'm a Refuse Driver (Garbage man) & today I was on food waste. After I'd tipped I was checking the wagon for any defects when I spotted a lone pea balanced on the lifts.
I said "hey look, an escaPEA"
No one near me but it didn't half make me laugh for a good hour or so!
Edit: I can't believe how much this has blown up. Thank you everyone I've had a blast reading through the replies π
It really does, I swear!
I'm surprised it hasn't decade.
On the first of February 1817, a great man died. That man was Gustav III, king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Pommerania, known throughout Europe as the Swedish Sun king.
This man had done great things, from a Swedish cultural renaissance to great military victories against the nation's rivals.
But now the time had come for his son, Gustav Adolf to take the throne. That he eagerly did, becoming Gustav IV, King of the Swedes, Goths, and Wends.
But we also have to ask, how does the realm of which this king will rule, look like?
The Kingdom of Sweden (Kungariket Sverige)
The Kingdom of Sweden is the largest of the constituent parts of the Swedish Realm, stretching from Bergen in the West to Ilomantsi in the east. The Kingdom of Sweden had grown greatly during the rule of Gustav III, who during his reign conquered Norway from Denmark and integrated it into the Swedish crown.
The aristocracy of Sweden is very weak, especially compared to its continental counterparts. The weakness of the nobility had been a feature of Swedish society for centuries, but Gustav III was instrumental in truly breaking the power of the nobility. The Union and Security Act, a law that was mainly used to strengthen the king, also included several clauses on the equalization of the estates and included revoking of several aristocratic privileges.
This combined with a rising third and fourth estate (bourgeoisie and farmers respectively), meant that by the end of Gustav III's rule, the dominant forces in Swedish politics were bureaucrats, entrepreneurs and non-aristocratic landowners.
The Swedish parliament is dominated by the third and fourth estates. While they have a better relationship with the crown than the aristocracy, Gustav III's authoritarian tendencies had damaged their relationship. While the Union and Security act greatly strengthened the crown, it still left several powers in the hand of the Riksdag (parliament), so while it wasn't as powerful as in earlier days, the Riksdag certainly held enough power to counterbalance the crown.
The Swedish economy is dominated by three large industries, iron, lumber and shipping. Recently the profitability of both lumber and steel. This is thanks to the increasing need for these products in the growing industries of Europe, especially in Britain, which is Sweden's main export partner. This close connection with Britain has influenced Sweden greatly. British immigrants helped make Gothenburg one of the greatest cities in the Ki
... keep reading on reddit β‘Your 11-minute Friday briefing in 2884 words.
##Prosecutors: Azerbaijan was included in the list of major countries for heroin trafficking
General Prosecutor's office: Armenia continues the fight against narco-trafficking. Last year we arrested 14 people for smuggling narco from Iran. This year so far there have been 24 arrests.
2017-2020: customs agency found 157kg
2021 alone: customs agency found 451kg
Through various methods, 717kg of heroin was found coming from Iran.
Similar operations were carried out to prevent smuggling from Iran to Artsakh and Armenia: 16 individuals were arrested, 10 of whom have been sentenced.
Our cooperation with Iranian law enforcement has improved, and that's reflected in these enforcement numbers.
This was also reflected in a letter sent by the UN Office of Drug and Crime, in which they praised Armenia's efforts in stopping narco-flow from Iran to Europe. The UN agency vowed to share intelligence and help retrain Armenian agents.
Lately, we've been more active in combatting trafficking thanks to closer cooperation between Armenian and Iranian agents. This was discussed during the 2019 and 2021 meetings, as well as during meetings on international platforms.
For example, during the Iranian prosecutor's October 12 trip to Armenia, we discussed the installation of modern technologies in customs checkpoint, and bringing the traffickers to justice.
This shows how untruthful Ilham Aliyev was during his CIS speech on October 15, when he accused Armenia and Iran of trafficking narcotics. This was done to cover up the fact that Azerbaijan is a major narco-transfer state.
According to the UN Drugs and Crime agency report, Armenia is in the "Not main countries source of transit" category, while Azerbaijan is listed as a main transit state. //
https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1066815.html https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/WDR2021/7.4.2_Heroin_trafficking_TRANSIT.pdf
##Armenia did not "sign" under Putin's "anti-West" statement made during the recent CIS bloc meeting
Security agencies of CIS republics held a meeting in Moscow on October 13, attended by Putin. It ended with the Russian agency releasing a statement about "West is using pro-democracy elements to destabilize CIS republics".
Armenia's NSS was asked to comment whether they "signed" under that statement si
... keep reading on reddit β‘Theyβre on standbi
Buenosdillas
Pilot on me!!
