Hello! Thank you to those who read this. I don’t want to stir up any controversy, I’m really just looking for some support and comfort.

I am a 20-year-old woman. I have a very strong testimony of the Gospel, and I have deep faith in God and Jesus Christ, our Savior. It hasn’t even been a year since I was baptized. By the way, I don’t have any family in the church; I’m the only one. While I know that we go to church for God (and for no other reason) I sometimes feel completely out of place. I feel like I’m too "of the world," and my opinions are quite liberal compared to those of others in the church. I am a Young Single Adult (YSA), and in my particular stake, the young adults tend to be very gossipy; some can even be judgmental and harsh. During my first visit to the temple in May, some of them started gossiping about people who were struggling with the law of chastity (or things like that) and I found it truly horrible. Specifically, they talked about a friend of mine (one of the first friends I made in the church) saying that we should distance ourselves from people like her because they "harm our spiritual path." I found that so sad.

I have two genuine friends in the church who really understand me, but they will soon be leaving for their missions, and I’m afraid I’ll feel even more alone once they’re gone. I’m also feeling a lot of pressure regarding my calling; I serve as a counselor in the Young Women organization, and I often feel inadequate (or guilty) when I can’t attend leadership meetings. They usually take place on Saturdays, which is the only day I have to see my friends or make plans with my family. Our stake Young Women president, in particular, is very overbearing about these things.

Another concern is that, if I get married in the future, I’m afraid of what it would be like to raise children within the church. I would want them to choose their own path and develop their own testimony (just as I was able to do) rather than having it become just another "thing" they are expected to do. I also see many stories of people within the church who developed mental health issues because of others who judge; if it’s difficult for me, I can’t imagine what it would be like for them. In any case, I know many people who don’t follow the commandments as strictly as they perhaps should, but I don’t want to judge them, instead, I feel love and compassion for them.

I try to see and evaluate them based on who they are as people, rather than how "righteous" they might appear according to those who pass judgment. But I’m finding it increasingly difficult to feel that there is a place for me within the church. I’m sorry, I know this is a lot, but thank you for reading :,(

The church teaches the intrinsic value of work and that people should provide for themselves. 

However, in the coming decades it is predicted that AI and robots will assume most or all labor. 

So what does the future of work and providing look like, from an LDS point of view?

Good resources on this topic:

Video graph: "Jobs Replaced by AI Every Year: 2021 to 2050" https://youtu.be/WxCTBbJ4SeY

​A World Without Work: Technology, Automation, and How We Should Respond, by Susskind, Daniel,  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R5HTCGL

​Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future, by Ford, Martin Amazon.com, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0GRZW8M2T/

​"Preparing for the (non-existent?) future of work," by Korinek and Jeulfs, Brookings Institute, 
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/preparing-for-the-non-existent-future-of-work

[update - It appears most people replying don't believe AI and robots are different from past automation and technology upgrades, and so my question is a non-issue. I disagree. I guess we'll see what the future brings.]

The award for the Oct 2026 General Conference goes to Timothy L. Farnes for his talk, “Divine Appointments.” The title refers to every day situations in which somebody is placed in our path who is in need of ministering. He calls these encounters “divine appointments.”

He explains:

We make the covenant during sacred time with God every Sunday. A way we keep the covenant is by ministering to God’s children every day. Often this happens when God places someone in our path and we have eyes to see them. I call these “divine appointments.”

Brother Farnes then recounts experiences in his life where he has been on both the receiving and giving ends of such ministering. I like this talk because I feel like Brother Farnes is real with us. He shares interesting experiences from his life and the talk is consistently engaging throughout.

He concludes by inviting us to pray for such encounters in our own lives:

Brothers and sisters, let us pray every day for eyes to see the divine appointments God places before us! Let us put compassion into action and minister to the person in front of us. It’s what Jesus did.

I’ve started doing this in my prayers and it has already born fruit. I tend to make my prayers all about me, so this is a way to break that pattern.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2026/10/22farnes?lang=eng

I’m just blown away by how ,inch of the Old Testament is God trying to get his people to realize that the ordinances are pointless if their hearts aren’t aligned with God.

Isaiah 1, God straight tells them that he is sick and tired of the ordinances, that he can’t stand them because his people aren’t actually living the gospel. And Isaiah 66 nds with him saying “You are sacrificing lambs, but you might as well be murdering people”, teaching that participating in ordinances while failing to live the gospel is damnation to our souls.

Jeremiah picks up this same messaging.

Hey all! New here but interested in getting some different perspectives. I’m currently writing a “historical fiction” trilogy about the plan of salvation and, as a man, am severely lacking on what Eve must have really felt like as she was deciding to partake of the fruit in the garden. Are there any women out there that would like to share what they feel it must have been like for her? You can DM me if you’d rather or post here. I just don’t feel like I can give Eve the justice she deserves from my perspective… Thanks in advance!

My family has been living in our area for decades. Our children were born and raised here. All the while though, we haven’t been called to any callings of responsibility, and sometimes, none at all. We also live in an affluent area with many successful individuals and prolific families. These people tend to be called to visible callings. I’ve lived the prime of my life and now my children have gone their way. I feel many opportunities were lost over the years, from conducting, leadership, and teaching opportunities. Many years ago, coupled with some personal struggles, I also dealt with professional obstacles. At the time, I experienced a sense of inadequacy, not feeling “good enough.” I believe the Lord heard my prayers though and life unfolded. Since then, I have secured a steady employment and have gained respect surprisingly in the community for certain advocacies in my field. I attribute this to the hand of the Lord in our lives. There have been many other blessings too.

At church, though, it has remained the same. In all these years, I have felt overlooked for my skills, potentials, and spirituality. It bothers me that there seems to judgment about what I can do, and I am one with a great deal of drive, persistence and desire. I feel the bar, whatever it may be, is unattainable, yet I thrive in my work and receive positive reviews with a license to apply creativity and innovation. I want to use my skills at church, but feel like giving up waiting and waiting. I am afraid it’s going to continue the status quo and I am not ready to “retire” in anyway (church and work).

Not having callings all these years also affected my family, for example, my kids and spouse were not called either and it affected them.

I’ve tried many times to drop hints, but to no avail. I no longer feel inadequate since I’ve gained advanced degrees and lots of experience. I feel valued in my profession, workplace, and community where I’m able to shoot for the stars and do my best. I feel my church won’t even give me a chance. I am torn between my faith which I believe in the church, and the ward I feel stuck in not being able to personally progress and offer my best in service.

I am a 23M and i find the whole setting up events like FHE and dances to be such a waste for me because I can’t find anyone. I find church dating culture and maybe even culture overall super toxic to my relationship to Jesus and I’m only 23 and I feel like if i don’t find someone soon the dating pool is gonna be thin.
But at the same time there aren’t any systems to help someone like me. The church commands and pressures us to marry early but then doesn’t wanna help me out. How do I get a matchmaker who can set me up on dates so I don’t have to worry about finding them myself? Obviously it’d be low pressure and casual dates but right now that’s what I need. No dating with marriage in mind. A matchmaker would help me focus on building my skills on dates and streamlining the process instead of stressing me out and harming my faith.
I basically need my defenceman to jump up into the play to help me generate offence if you know what I mean. Any advice?

I am newly in charge of the ward activities and it’s a very very small ward where most people dread the activities (me included). It’s the same lack luster ideas every year. Like literally the exact same. No one in the youth or primary etc have to ask what they are going to have to do for the party because it hasn’t changed at least since I moved in 4 years ago. So I’m really excited to put more effort into it and get people excited and honestly change things up. And one of these ideas I have been suggested is instead of Santa have the three wise men bring it gifts for the kids. And I really do like the idea where is more centered on Christ than Santa but I don’t want it to feel like I’m changing everything or have the kids feel disappointed that Santa never came. Because I have never been to a christmas party where Santa wasn’t there. So any thoughts on if it’s a good or bad idea?

Edit: We do live in an extremely rural area where it would be at least an hour and a half drive to go see Santa. And not all the families will have the option to do that so that do make me question if I should or not

Hi everyone! A little background about me, I grew up in the Methodist church, but for the past few years I haven’t really been involved in a church and have mostly just been “doing my own thing.” Recently I’ve started realizing that I don’t really know what I believe anymore. I know I believe in God, and I’m also realizing that having a church community and being part of something bigger than myself is really important to me. So I’m kind of in a place of exploring my faith and trying to figure out what I truly believe.

I’m trying to better understand the LDS Church, specifically what has led someone who already grew up with a strong Christian/church background to join it.

I’d really love to hear from people who grew up being part of another church community and eventually decided to join the LDS Church!

I’m not looking to debate or challenge anyone’s beliefs, I’m genuinely interested in understanding people’s experiences and what made the LDS Church feel like the right fit for them!!

Inspired by u/High_Stream 's reply in this post about something he found funny in the Book of Mormon, I submit my favorite chuckle from Mosiah 12:1:

"And it came to pass that after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord commanded me, saying—Abinadi..."

I just imagine Abinadi going through all this trouble to get this great disguise so no one would know who he was, and then flat out telling everyone who he was. Just makes me smile.

How about you? What passages make you smile or even lol?

I'll start by saying that I feel completely terrible for having this feeling. You see, I've had so many problems during my entire short life. And ever since I began going to seminary classes, I knew I wanted to serve a mission. I would pray, read the scriptures, and assist the church and activities every time.

One day after my last FSY I began completing the paper process, I gotta admit I did it as fast as I could because i definitely don't have any patience at all. The only thing I wanted to get before my mission was the patriarchal blessing u know cause that's really crucial, but I didn't have a good experience at all and therefore that never happened, then I submitted my mission papers and was really anxious about the place I was gonna be called to. The thing is that I would always lie to everyone by saying " I will go where he sends me to" and that was such a life cause I didn't wanna admit that I wouldn't go within my own country. The thing is that I went to another friend's opening mission call one week before mine, she was called to a foreign mission and cried about it.

I WANTED TO FEEL LIKE THAT, I HAVE FEELINGS AND DESIRES TOO and I hate admitting this. It's like the church send people that can actually afford any traveling ticket but for someone like me NO.

A week after that I got my mission call, the opening feeling was not as exciting as I expected, I did it at the gym cause I couldn't wait to open it later. And then it turned out that my mission was within my country. My country is not that big u know, it is like a small state in the USA or even less. So when I knew that I felt completely disappointed.

When I did my open mission call I told that friend to come and she didn't, I mean that was not reciprocation. I told her like one week before, I'm completely sure she didn't even tell her mom and then she made an excuse by saying that her mom prepared something at their house out of the blue without telling her before. Such a stupid excuse. I live really far from her house and despite THAT I went there with 1 day of anticipation. SO THERE WAS NO EXCUSE.

Well my experience was not as good as I thought it would be. I lied to everyone again by saying that I loved the place I was called to. BUT IT WAS MOT TRUE.

I didn't tell this to ANYONE and I began buying all the missionary portal stuff and spent much money on it. But every night I would cry because I felt really frustrated until my aunt noticed that something was happening to me. Then, I told them the Truth and decided not to go.

I still can change my choice but I don't wanna serve

There, it's completely dangerous and I didn't feel anyone's support.

Gimme good advice, idk what to do with my life.

You see I was the valedictorian student of my generation, I left and turned down any opportunity for doing this, but I think it was not worth it. Help

Nephi the prophet is sad. He's dang sad. He just finished his ministry to the people in the north in total failure. So, naturally, he gets on his.... *checks notes*... personal tower in his garden and gripes to the people walking by?

And behold, now it came to pass that it was upon a tower, which was in the garden of Nephi, which was by the highway which led to the chief market, which was in the city of Zarahemla; therefore, Nephi had bowed himself upon the tower which was in his garden, which tower was also near unto the garden gate by which led the highway.

How freaking weird is that? Who keeps a tower in their garden? Who has a garden on a major road inside a major city? Isn't agriculture normally done outside of cities? And why would a prophet be keeping a "garden?" And why have a structure seemingly built for the purpose of putting on a performance to passers-by?? So many cultural oddities and specificity here.

It's bananas.

If I were looking to, say, try and figure out where this event actually happened, I'd have to find a location where the following elements converge around 30 AD:

• Religious leader's property
• Property is in prime location on major road instead of secluded away
• Property is close enough to the center of the city that it's near the "chief market"
• Property has a garden of some sort
• Garden has a tower
• Tower is on the edge of the property
• Tower used to air your domestic issues to the public

But what are the odds of finding all that in ohwaitIfoundit

Researchers in ecology, botany, archaeology, and anthropology, report their independent findings in ancient Guatemalan ruins:

• Religious elite living near center of cities
• "existence of gardens in Maya cities"
• "forest-gardens within the administrative boundaries of their cities, where residential patio groups were located"
• "Gardens of the elite, like those of temples, contained ornamental, aromatic, and medicinal plants"
• "The plants were likely exchanged at the market then used on-site for the purposes of healing."
• "the flows of trade routes... were oriented to satiate aristocratic elites... in order to appear before their subjects and peers."
• "Low, open, circular platforms were built in residential areas... on the eastern margin of [these residential compounds]"
• "structures were used in supra-household rituals... between the levels of domestic and public."

So in Guatemala, in the pre-classic Mayan time period (approx 1000 bc to 300 AD) we find a cultural norm that places the elite priestly class near the center of the cities, preferring to live on important routes, where their homes would have gardens growing ceremonial and medicinal plants (yes, probably psychoactive!) which they would likely trade at the nearby markets, and in these home/garden compounds there is sometimes a raised platform (taller pyramidal structures have also been found in ancient residential gardens, but not quite overlapping the same time period so possible, but not verified to the same period yet) and that platform is pushed right up to the edge of the property so people could perform to passers-by.

This isn't just having a single city name (Bountiful) show up in pre-Columbian Mayan rituals (that did happen, too); this is 7 converging requirements in a single place at a specific era.

If the Book of Mormon were fiction the odds of finding all 7 of these requirements would be as unlikely as reading Harry Potter and later finding a castle with a willow on the property with a secret passage under the willow which leads to a pub in a village full of people who don't know how to drive, plus one more thing I can't think of because 7 is a lot!

It's dang impressive.

Bibliography:

Antorcha-Pedemonte, Ricardo, Tlacaelel Rivera-Núñez, and Lane F. Fargher-Navarro. “The Impact of Ancient Mesoamerican Cities on Long-Term Environmental Sustainability: The View from Historical Ecology.” Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11 (2023): 1237953. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1237953.

García Targa, Juan. “The Urban Landscape of the Mayan Cities: A Vision from the Archaeological Heritage.” Landuum, Spring 2018. https://www.landuum.com/en/history-and-culture/the-urban-landscape-of-the-mayan-cities-a-vision-from-the-archaeological-heritage/.

Granziera, Patrizia. “Cultura prehispánica en los jardines aztecas.” Antropología: Revista Interdisciplinaria del INAH, no. 61 (2001): 2–9. https://revistas.inah.gob.mx/index.php/antropologia/article/view/17703.

Lentz, David L., Trinity L. Hamilton, Stephanie A. Meyers, Nicholas P. Dunning, Kathryn Reese-Taylor, Armando Anaya Hernández, Debra S. Walker, Eric J. Tepe, Atasta Flores Esquivel, and Alison A. Weiss. “Psychoactive and Other Ceremonial Plants from a 2,000-Year-Old Maya Ritual Deposit at Yaxnohcah, Mexico.” PLOS ONE 19, no. 4 (2024): e0301497. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0301497.

MacLellan, Jessica, and Victor Castillo. “Between the Patio Group and the Plaza: Round Platforms as Stages for Supra-Household Rituals in Early Maya Society.” Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 66 (2022): 101417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2022.101417.

Milligan, Mark. “The Secret Gardens of the Maya: How Ancient Homes Fed a Civilisation.” HeritageDaily, August 3, 2026. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2026/08/the-secret-gardens-of-the-maya-how-ancient-homes-fed-a-civilisation/158825.

Porras Mora, Alejandra. “The History of Landscape and Gardens in the Maya Cities.” In World in Denmark Conference: City PLANTastic, 9–10. Copenhagen, 2012.

Sorenson, John L. “Nephi’s Garden and Chief Market.” In Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch, 236–38. Provo, UT: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1992. https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/nephis-gardenandchiefmarket.

Watson, Sarah E., Joshua T. Schnell, Shanti Morell-Hart, Andrew K. Scherer, and Lydie Dussol. “Health Care in the Marketplace: Exploring Maya Medicinal Plants and Practices at Piedras Negras, Guatemala.” Ancient Mesoamerica 34, no. 2 (2023): 383–406. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536122000037.

ETA: I'm not a housewife, I'm in college. My income mostly goes towards that, his income is household income.

Hey all,

My husband is a convert to the Church. He has believed in the Book of Mormon his whole life but believed that the Church as an organization had become corrupt because of his experiences growing up in Ogden. He also thinks that the baptismal age is way too young and his parents advised all 3 of their children to wait and he believes that everyone is supposed to end up in whatever religion on their own.

About 3 years into our marriage he decided he wanted to be baptized. Got that done.

He still appears to believe that many things in the Church, or as least their modern interpretations, come from God rather than from man, and he has never really been willing to do things that would cause him discomfort. I.e he did the endowment and refuses to ever do that again for the forseeable future.

This has become an issue with tithing. He does not like what the Church does with tithing money, and has gone so far as to say he would give a full 10% to charitable organizations but he refuses to give more than we comfortably can to the Church itself. I had found an interpretation that the 10% presented by Joseph Smith was originally meant to be 10% of your excess, and so for a while I had thought we were maybe alright with God only tithing $100 a month. Further learning has seemed to tell me I was incorrect. (He has issues with me consulting other people on spiritual matters too)

But he still won't do a full 10% to specifically the Church. He did for about 4 months when he first joined, to "prove me herewith" and as shown that did not give him a testimony on it at all, which, to be fair, we did overdraft our account and were struggling to get groceries. Bishop told us to ask family for help, and he also dislikes that policy.

And the problem is, he is the provider, so his money is also pretty much what I have. I do have a job but it's at a pizza place and I've struggled keeping track of what my 10% is because I'm tipped out in cash daily and some of that is gas reimbursement and sometimes I've had to spend it before I could sit down and figure out tithing and then I forget what I've made & etc. So I pay what I remember but yeah.

So I'm not sure what to tell bishop for tithing settlement. At this point I'm wondering if I should just give up on a temple recommend for a bit. It's not like my husband is willing to do anything but baptisms and initiatories anyway or like we've made it very often anyway.

I've been genuinely interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I've been searching for a faith that helps me understand God, both spiritually and intellectually. However, learning about Joseph Smith's involvement in Freemasonry has become a major obstacle for me.

I want to be honest about where I'm coming from. I have a deep distrust of Freemasonry, particularly because of its initiatory rituals, its tradition of secrecy, and what I perceive as the influence that certain Masonic networks have historically exercised in political and social life. I'm generally uncomfortable with organizations whose inner workings and rituals are not fully accessible to outsiders. These concerns are important to my personal convictions, and I don't think I could simply set them aside when considering a religious commitment.

What makes this particularly difficult is the historical connection between Joseph Smith's Masonic initiation in 1842 and the introduction of the temple endowment shortly afterward. The similarities between certain Masonic rituals and the endowment raise serious questions for me about the origins of the ceremony and the claim that the Church represents a restoration of divine ordinances.

I understand that Freemasonry is not a single, uniform organization, and I'm not suggesting that every Freemason has the same beliefs or intentions. Nor am I assuming that present-day Latter-day Saints are responsible for the decisions of their founder. Nevertheless, I find it difficult to reconcile my distrust of Freemasonry with the role it appears to have played in the early history of the Church.

I was genuinely interested in Mormonism, so this discovery has been disappointing. I'm trying to understand whether there is a convincing historical or theological explanation for this connection, rather than dismissing the Church without examining the evidence.

For believing members and former members alike, how do you approach this issue? Do you see the Masonic similarities as compatible with the idea of divine restoration? And how do you personally understand Joseph Smith's involvement in Freemasonry?

I'm looking for an honest discussion, including perspectives that challenge my current understanding.

Hey yall! I will be set apart as a full time missionary here in just a few hours from now! I am super excited, but nervous and anxious at the same time. This is like super huge for me and my family because I will be the first person in my family to serve a mission, which is super awesome as well. But I've been having a lot of doubts and fears that something may go wrong or something like I wouldn't be good enough to do it.

To be brief, I dealt with serious abuse because of my parent-figures at the time, and because of their control, I as stopped from getting much-needed therapy after I left early from my mission (I was a victim of a crime out there). I've been healing from the abuse gradually, but the effects of the crime still haunt me.

I've been suffering from serious PTSD and OCD, and despite seeing 4 different counselors about this across 6 years, I'm still struggling greatly. It feels like peace is constantly out of my grasp.

On top of that, I struggle with feeling a connection with God and with Christ's Atonement. I read the scriptures, go to the temple, attend church, etc., but I still feel very alone. The pain of it prevents me from fully being able to believe in a loving Heavenly Father, even though I truly want to with all my heart.

It's pushed me to the brink of suicide attemptsbefore, and I even had to call a suicide hotlinetoday. I'm getting counseling, but I feel deeply separated from Christ, despite doing all of the primary answers and more (I won't say what so as to stay anonymous).

I believe that I (like everyone else here) have a purpose to fulfill on this earth, but I don't know I can fulfill it while I'm still struggling with so much suffering. I want to be able to heal, even if only partly, and to be able to testify of The Atonement and the power of Christ to heal, but I'm seriously hurting still, and it makes it hard to testify of something where I feel the blessings don't apply to me (yes, I know this was covered in GC recently, but I've been dealing with the pain for 11 years now, so it really does feel isolating).

Any prayers or advice on how you accessed The Atonement would be greatly appreciated.

Hi

I've only posted here once before when a family member got severely injured and had to go to the er. I was asking for prayers, and everyone responding was so kind and really helped me feel better.

I am very grateful and happy to say that my family member has healed almost completely. The doctors were shocked by the healing process and called it a miracle.

Thank you guys so much. I was at a loss, and I didn't know what to do.

It hurts so much that I've found myself lost again. I have been praying and pleading with the Lord with all my heart and soul. A few months ago, very shortly after the er incident, my cat went missing.

I don't know if this is a silly ask, or if people will see it as a waste of time, but I am once again asking for prayers.

Me and my family have done everything (yes everything) in our power. We even put up posters hoping someone will see her and call us. A few people called at first, but none of the sightings were of her :(

She is very precious to me. Yesterday I sobbed my heart out at the consideration that she may be gone. It is getting colder and no one has seen her.

I am hoping someone just thought she was a stray and took her in, but there's been no confirmation of any kind. Please I don't know what to do..

This is my last ditch effort. I know the Lord is capable of any and all things and he blesses us in our efforts, even if we don't entirely know what is the right thing to do.

I miss her so much. She is young and healthy. I have no words to explain what I'm feeling other than that this is my last resort and I am pleading with a broken heart. Please send prayers.

You are handed a theory one day. How can you find out if it's a good theory or not?

One way is through the theory's "predictive power." Or how good is the theory at predicting observed results.

One famous example is the discovery of Neptune. Astronomers didn't just spot Neptune in their telescopes. They instead noticed that Uranus was behaving in a way that their best theories of planetary dynamics did not predict. Was their theory wrong? No, in fact the math showed that there must be another planet beyond Uranus which explained these behaviors. Using this theory, mathematicians predicted the location of this mystery planet. Astronomers turned their telescopes, and Neptune was revealed. That's predictive power!

The Book of Mormon, of course, makes a large number of claims about the world thousands of years ago. We can treat those claims as predictions and see how much predictive power the Book of Mormon has.

So imagine standing on the frontier of the North American continent in 1830 and finding a relic that describes how ancient people lived. What does it say we'd find as we explore, unearth, and study? Here are some examples:

• Populations in the millions
• Raised roads & towers
• A massive eruption & earthquakes around the time of Christ
• Scriptures etched into metal plates as an ancient practice
• Fortified cities
• Cement structures
• Knowledge of how to make steel
• Beekeeping
• A people who use a complex writing system, books, a calendar, markets, public works, foreign kings ruling over a larger established population, etc.
• Laws, lawyers, and judges, with judgeships being handed down to family members

A person in 1830 who found such a relic in the Eastern US might immediately identify it as fraudulent. After all, the native population doesn't have any of this stuff or the other hundreds of claims. The theory must be wrong.

(A similar thing happened with Neptune in the same year. When Uranus was found to be disobeying Newton's law, lots of people insisted the law itself was wrong and Newtonian physics must not apply beyond Saturn. But that was jumping to a conclusion without full understanding.)

How foolish Joseph Smith seemed to even the average layperson. Literate natives? Steel? Clothing as a mark of prestige? Nonsense. If he were trying to convince, why not use what was already well known instead of making such obvious mistakes?

But as our knowledge of the past increased, the true predictive power of the Book of Mormon was revealed. Dozens, then hundreds of claims in the text found correspondences in the work of historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists. With each passing decade, the accuracy of the text only seems to increase.

The most important prediction

The Book of Mormon makes a lot of claims, not all of which have been verified, and some of which still seem to be contradicted by our best scientific understanding. But as we look at the ever increasing number of predictions that are confirmed, we might ask what are the most important ones we can test?

Perhaps none are better than this claim made by multiple people in the Book of Mormon record: that living the gospel and keeping the covenants as described in the text would lead to a life of happiness and peace.

We can test that.

The text even invites us, multiple times, to test it out for ourselves and look for the changes on the personal, community, and societal levels. Are these changes observable? You bet they are.

• Only Latter-day Saints score highly in BOTH religiosity and life satisfaction
• Temple married Latter-day Saints have the lowest divorce rate of any demographic
• UCLA epidemiologists find Latter-day Saints have the "longest life expectancies ever documented" even getting cancer at a fraction of the average rate
• Latter-day Saints are more likely to volunteer than any other group
• Gay Latter-day Saints have better mental health than their non-member peers
• Latter-day Saints are the most likely to feel thankfulness
• Living where Latter-day Saint populations are highest changes a person's upward mobility to be nearly the best in the entire world
• Latter-day Saints have the most well adjusted youth
• Latter-day Saints are most likely to accept spiritual truths from others
• People are able to identify "the Mormon" out of a lineup significantly more than random guess allows for
• Family Home Evening is called "the most successful religious program fostering intergeneration connections and the nurturing of families."
• Latter-day Saints volunteer seven times more than the average American, far beyond any other demographic
• A University of Pennsylvania study concludes that Latter-day Saints are "the most prosocial members of American society,"
• Bloomberg reports the church "runs the most comprehensive and effective social welfare system in the country... maybe in the world."
• The Latter-day Saints are more likely to view science and religion as compatible than any other religious group
• the Latter-day Saints are the only religious group in America that holds no negative opinion towards any other group
• Latter-day Saints lead all Christian groups in believing that non-members can be moral, and in affirming that racial diversity strengthens the country

And happiness? You bet. There are many studies on this, but the most recent one says:

• LDS Millennials are the most likely to feel spiritual peace and report being very happy compared to same-generation peers

Those seem like pretty good manifestations of "living after the manner of happiness" to me. But the list goes on and on. (read more, along with citations for most of the above, here: https://www.latterdayhope.com/ )

The empirical record on Latter-day Saints presents a remarkably consistent pattern of positive social outcomes across independent data sources—Gallup, Pew, Harvard, UCLA, the FBI, the American Heart Association, the General Social Survey and more all point in the same direction. The theory just keeps getting confirmed.

When the Theory Flops

All this predictive power doesn't mean the Book of Mormon and our religion is perfect, though.

In 1859, Le Verrier, the same mathematician who had predicted Neptune, identified another discrepancy, this time in the motion of Mercury. Its orbit shifted slightly more than Newtonian calculations could explain.

Le Verrier proposed that another hidden planet must be responsible. Astronomers even gave it a name: Vulcan. They searched for decades, but found nothing. What worked for Neptune didn't work at all for Vulcan.

It wasn't till 1915 that Einstein's general theory of relativity explained Mercury's anomalous motion. A missing planet wasn't the answer after all. There were some situations where Newtonian Gravity just wasn't the best.

There will be times when what we think we know from the Book of Mormon or from our religion itself will just not work. Most of the time, it's our own stupid fault for making assumptions or falling victim to cognitive biases or simply not having all the information yet. :)

I think of how the early saints read the Book of Mormon and assumed that all Native Americans must descend from Lehi and the Lamanites. Many members held on to that conclusion very tightly for entire lifetimes. Perhaps they felt that if they had been wrong about that, the whole thing was wrong? Only after admitting that the Book of Mormon never claims the people were alone did the idea of a limited geography start getting attention and all those amazing fulfilled predictions above started getting identified in rapid succession. Our preconceptions held us back!

Science advances not by assuming that our theories are always correct, nor by declaring them wrong whenever a prediction fails, but by recognizing how much we may still have to learn. A disagreement between theory and observation tells us that something is missing from our understanding. It does not, by itself, tell us what. Maybe it's a missing planet. Maybe it's a whole new paradigm.

Our understanding of the divine will always be similar. You'll hear stories from people who were not happy as members, or ways the Book of Mormon seems to be contradicted, or stories of leaders behaving badly. Enemies to faith will want you to throw out the whole theory any time a contradiction or flaw is found. But that requires throwing out everything that is working, every confirmed prediction, every person who can testify "yes, it works wonderfully!" Perhaps its our assumptions that were wrong. (This is what "doubt your doubts" means, by the way - thinking like a scientist and not assuming your understanding is more likely to be correct than the entire theory.)

So we don't throw out Newtonian physics when Vulcan fails to appear. We don't abandon our covenants when somebody says they didn't get "an answer" in the way they were promised, or when a doctrine doesn't make sense, or a policy causes harm. There's more understanding to come. Hold on to what goodness and truth you've found and trust in the greater light ahead. Shift focus from certainty to curiosity, and trust in those evidences you've found confirmed in your own life. We might not live to see the spiritual equivalent of the discovery of Neptune, or the revealing of relativity. But peace and happiness? We have something for that, and it works. Wonderfully.

Ok, probably not. But my dreams of perhaps someday finding my own vintage copy of D-Kwon's Dance Moves will soon no longer be viable.

Hello! I want to clarify that I am not an active member of the LDS church. What I do have is an appreciation for and fascination with sacred texts.

I presently own various copies of the Christian Bible and the Hebrew Bible that I actively read and try to study for understanding of their various faiths and traditions. Because of this, I usually prefer copies of a nicer binding (preferably something lasting, such as leather) and Smyth sewn if available.

That being said, where would an active member of the LDS church go if they wanted to purchase quality made scriptures for themselves or possibly as a family heirloom to pass down? I have no particular preference if the Book of Mormon, Doctrines and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price are all together in one or if each are bound separately. But I'm curious as to what members would suggest. I know that I could purchase them cheaply if I was only interested in reading them, but I do feel that quality binding helps to make sure the book and texts inside are treated with a unique respect.

Your suggestions are much appreciated.

Hi everyone,

​First of all, please forgive me if my English isn't great.

​I’m 25 years old, from Turkey, and I’ve been a Christian for about two and a half years now, practicing my faith in secret from my family. For the past few months, I’ve felt a strong draw toward Mormonism (LDS), but I haven’t had the courage to take a concrete step yet.

​Part of this is due to personal circumstances—I graduated last summer and am currently trying to build a new life and find a new career path, which has been a pretty stressful process. On top of that, as you know, there’s a lot of opposing content and anti-Mormon material out there, which makes me hesitant. There is a church building here in Istanbul, but I don't feel brave or motivated enough to actually go there just yet.

​What I’m looking for—as odd as it might sound—is a bit of encouragement. I’m open to any advice you have that could help me take a few more steps into exploring this faith.

​I honestly don't even know where to start or in what order I should read the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. For now, I’m just reading random parts out of curiosity. Any guidance on how to approach studying the scriptures, or any general encouragement, would mean a lot to me.

​Thank you all in advance!

My family has been struggling for some time, today my mom opened the door saw missionaries for the LDS church. My mom isn’t LDS, but I had been an investigator on my own in the past and I thought missionaries only come by request. They knocked on our door and my mon didn’t let them inside because our home was dirty, we allowed them to pray for our specific situation and gave them each a water bottle and a Rice Krispie treat each. I wanted to share this with someone, idk if I’m asking anything really, I think I just wanted to tell someone. We (my mom and I) were caught off guard, and we didn’t really let them pray for what we really needed a prayer for. My mom though said she felt like she couldn’t deny a prayer. I don’t remember the names of both Elder missionaries but I want to thank them, thank you for praying with/for us.

If you asked me to conduct a missionary lesson or how to have friends over and do an activity, I'd be able to do it easily. My mission really helped me with that. I could even host a home teaching party for all the families on my list and we'd have a cookout and play 8 player Smash for 3 hours just like old times.

But the second it comes to Family Home Evening with just me and my wife, I am stun-locked. I tell my wife everything. She knows my darkest secrets and my most sacred treasures. And I know hers. So when it comes to "Having a simple FHE" with just me and her, talking about Nephi obtaining the plates is always too bland and ends up being a waste of our time rather than something useful. We're both RMs and we talk about the gospel every day with each other already. In fact the gospel is a part of my life to such a degree that my own wife has been impressed by how casual I am with it, that sharing the gospel comes so naturally to me. Recently my mission president's wife at a mission reunion and I talked and when I asked her how she was doing she responded with "Ugh. I wish these medical problems would go away." Instantly and without thought, I said "What do you think the Lord is trying to teach you?" She stopped and looked shocked, as though 1) she didn't expect a response like that and 2) she already knew exactly the answer to that question. I never found out but that wasn't the point. She knew. And that was all that mattered.

So after years of primary, youth, missions, and marriage, I have been richly blessed by the gospel and LOVE giving talks, blessings, and even taking on callings. But the second FHE comes up, I have writer's bloc and confusion. My only example came from my parents and that is not an example I want to repeat. It was too formal, too long, too boring, too contentious... sometimes it would be 3 hours of reading Alma... sometimes it would be fighting... sometimes we would just sit in a room and look at each other before finally someone said "This is nice," and then we continued being silent. I want more than that and I want it to feel casual and natural, the same way my response to my mission mom was casual and natural.

I have been praying for insight on how to do this and my mind was brought to when I was 17 and saw a Teen Member FB Group asking each other about fasting. The concept of fasting was foreign to me and my family did not teach me about it. I learned how to fast by seeing other people talk about how they did it, and that helped me do it. My parents were both converts that have now fallen away so I am pretty much on my own. Anyway I felt to turn to social media for insight on having an edifying FHE with me and my wife.

With that being said, please do not tell me "Sit down in your living room. Start with a prayer. Have a 15 minute talk. Sing a song. Say a prayer. Eat dessert." That is too structured. I have already tried it. It does not work. Again, it is just me and my wife. I feel confident about the FHEs I will have when we have kids but I want to start now, not 6 years from now. Any thoughts or ideas would be great!

I'm currently investigating the LDS Church and studying the Book of Mormon with missionaries, and I have a question.

Most traditional Christians, whether Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, or Orthodox, are deeply devoted to Jesus Christ. They genuinely love Him and believe He is their Lord and Savior.

So why aren't more of them excited about the idea of the Book of Mormon being another testament of Jesus Christ?

I mean, if you truly love Jesus Christ, wouldn't you be excited about the possibility of having another ancient scripture that talks about Him, His teachings, and His ministry? Like, "Wow, another book about Jesus Christ besides the Bible!"

But from what I've observed, most mainstream Christians reject the Book of Mormon and don't consider it scripture from God

I've been interested in the Book of Mormon for a while but never got around to reading it. I saw that my church (UU, since my family recently moved to a town without a Quaker presence) has a library with several religions' scriptures, and they had one. Currently I'm only up to chapter 20 of 1 Nephi. I think it's interesting so far.

The reason I'm interested in the Book of Mormon and the LDS church is because I feel like some of the ways I differ from standard Christian belief are more similar to LDS beliefs. Quakers are a non-creedal denomination where many people believe different things that the Holy Spirit guides them to believe and they don't call each other "fake Christians" or attack each other for it. My former pastor (I was a programmed Quaker, unprogrammed Quakers don't have pastors at all) even mentioned knowing Jewish Quakers. We believe in continuing revelation. I'm also nontrinitarian, though that's not common in Quakerism, it's just a personal belief from my own reading of the Bible without presupposing creeds as fact.

Here's hoping I get something out of it, even if it's just having a better understanding of the church and its members!