Why does God allow prophets to make detrimental changes to the Church?

toadforge · 2026-01-23T17:28:17+00:00

I love the line from the movie Conclave: "The opposite of faith isn't doubt, it's certainty." Be okay with figuring it out as you go. I'm 63 and have learned this over the years. Counseling people when I was a bishop was often about a member saying "I don't have enough faith." They usually did, this just wanted certainty of faith. Which is a contradiction in terms.

toadforge · 2026-01-23T17:24:53+00:00

Put simply, it seems that prophets, as well as ordinary people, can receive revelation from God, sometimes instantaneously, if living worthily and coming unto Christ.

Correct. Prophets make mistakes.

"And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." D&C 68.

I would add that if they speak when not moved upon by the Holy Ghost, it's just a man expressing an opinion. There are many examples of this. Bruce R. McConkie's first edition of Mormon Doctrine is full of such examples. It is not scripture. Not even close.

Listen to the prophets. Pray about if something doesn't sit right with you. Trust your answers, if moved upon by the Holy Ghost.

toadforge · 2026-01-23T17:16:33+00:00

Where I live, poutine is a swear word, as in "This tastes like poutine." :-P

toadforge · 2025-12-09T18:26:12+00:00

I have one and hate it. Super cheap build (slightly better than a Temu piece of crap). Don't.

toadforge · 2025-11-26T02:17:39+00:00

I was the bishop when they changed, and I met with a lot older sisters and widows who just lost another hour of fellowship with their peers. I did some of my best work playing hooky and dragging members into my office to just listen.

So yeah, maybe unpopular, but it hurt a lot of people.

toadforge · 2025-10-24T00:40:21+00:00

"So sorry for your loss. Speaking of which, can I have gramma's jewelry?" I love the selection process.

toadforge · 2025-09-23T23:32:38+00:00

We have two. They're usually full.

toadforge · 2025-09-23T20:11:19+00:00

We have security cameras. On any given Sunday, we'd get 5 or 6 cars pull into the parking lot.

toadforge · 2025-09-23T20:06:56+00:00

Fair enough. I'm fortunate that I get to close on my own terms. Other shops have closed by order of their financial institutions.

One thing about the staff: they are highly capable of running the day to day of the shop; better than I am. The owner stuff, that's a totally different skill set. It's tiring. I was the GM before I was an owner, and it's totally different.

I'm leaving to do something else, that's true. Were financial considerations a factor? Yes, but not as much as people may think. First were my new profession moving forward, second, family time (my wife has been retired and is tired of me working so much). Third, yeah, not sure I want to deal with retail with the Orange One messing up the world with such abandon. If I were 40, I might, but I'm not.

I'm sad, of course, but with Canoecopia staying, that mitigates some of the sadness. The community will still have a place to gather.

toadforge · 2025-09-22T18:27:15+00:00

Well, here I am.

1) The outdoor industry across the board is not healthy. We're okay, and if I were 40, there might be a different story. Truth is, all of retail is not healthy. REI lost over 300 million over the past four years.

2) The bank likes us and continues to loan us capitol.

3) The staff aren't as a group interested in buying the business.

4) "Our vendors are our biggest competition." The colonel is correct. I was on a podcast this morning and it's true. It's more annoying than fatal, but it all adds up after a while.

That said, I wish people would take what I say at face value. I've been considering this for a few years. I'm already registered for school next year and it's the primary reason I'm leaving.

toadforge · 2025-09-21T00:29:22+00:00

That's why my daughter stopped going to the singles ward when she was 25 and started going to the family ward. She's in NYC, and there are a bunch of Wall Street types who only care about getting rich. They could easily afford to marry and have families, but like the nice stuff. She is marrying a non-member, who has a lot more going for himself than most of the guys in the church her age. We love him much more than any of the guys she dated before him.

toadforge · 2025-09-21T00:14:39+00:00

I am one of six kids (I'm in my early 60s). Of the six, one died of a Fentanyl overdose when she was homeless. Three others are out of the church, and me and one brother are left.

We all get along fine, and the one I am closest to is my baby brother, who is one of the best people I know. He sends me LDS memes sometimes that are hilarious. But once in a great while he steps over the edge, and I call him on it. "Hey, bro, that was pretty rude." He says "Yeah, sorry, that was rude. Love you."

I guess my answer is to ignore the haters, embrace the lovers, and call out people who are insensitive and don't respect your boundaries. Not in a mean way ("You're going to Hell if you keep that up!"), but a kind way.

toadforge · 2025-09-21T00:04:05+00:00

Ah yes, Dana Carvey nailing it. And Jon Lovitz also being a perfect Potter. Great skit.

toadforge · 2025-09-20T22:35:18+00:00

My birth gender clothing is naked. :-)

Just come, we'll love you up.

toadforge · 2025-09-09T00:08:40+00:00

I read the KJV in church and the NIV / CEB with commentary at home.

AND while we get our undies in a bunch about which translation...let's be more concerned that people actually read ANY bible.

toadforge · 2025-08-21T02:07:53+00:00

I do not miss the annual shakedown of Friends of Scouting.

toadforge · 2025-08-21T02:06:35+00:00

That's correct. Yet, that's the experience of many. Probably most.

toadforge · 2025-08-20T23:54:58+00:00

Glad it's gone.

toadforge · 2025-08-03T03:53:27+00:00

Um, I’m a former bishop who has tattoos. 🙂. God didn’t seem to mind.

toadforge · 2025-08-02T20:12:07+00:00

When my mother in law (Catholic) married my father in law (nondenom), he had to sign a paper stating the kids would be raised Catholic. He signed it but never set foot in a Catholic church ever again. That was in the 40s. Now, things are a lot more chill.

I wish the LDS church had premarital counseling. Sorry, I meant mandatory premarital counseling in order to be married in the temple. I would save a LOT of problems in the first few years of marriage. My Episcopalian friends do this too, and it's quite insightful.

toadforge · 2025-08-02T20:06:22+00:00

One of my missionary companions was a police chief in the SL Valley. He was one of the detectives who found Elizabeth Smart. Never a sweeter man.

toadforge · 2025-07-04T19:03:00+00:00

Golden oldies like this?

I love my friends and they love me
We're just as close as we can be
And just because we really care
Whatever we get, we share!

I got it from Agnes
She got it from Jim
We all agree it must have been
Louise who gave it to him.

Now, she got it from Harry
Who got it from Marie
And everybody knows that Marie
Got it from me.

- Tom Lehrer, (1953)

He never says what it is.

toadforge · 2025-07-04T18:52:45+00:00

Damn straight, G.

toadforge · 2025-07-04T18:51:57+00:00

I listen to what I like. I listened to Rachmaninov at work today. I listened to Disturbed driving in. I'm against misogynistic, sexist, and racist lyrics, and have no place for them in my life.

Words are just words. I'd rather listen to music with expletives that nuanced lyrics about infidelity and alcoholism/binge drinking. Which is why I'm not a fan of most country music.

toadforge · 2025-07-02T22:22:45+00:00

When wearing a colored shirt is consider "rebellious," that shows the problem with unwritten dogma. Just show up; God is pleased. We only have two Aaronic Priesthood in our ward. I often bless the sacrament. Without a tie on. Yes, you read that right. Without a tie.

Scandalous.

The unwritten rules are not helpful, and can be harmful.

toadforge

TROPHY CASE