Coming home from work yesterday in rush hour traffic, cruising along at 70mph with cars all around me, I had a blowout!  This was no ordinary blowout though, and in fact I didn't know what it was at first.  There was a loud explosion sound followed by my car shaking violently.  My first thought was a tire blow out, but my car wasn't running anymore either!  Then I thought maybe my engine finally died, and there was smoke that I thought was coming from under the hood.  Anyways, I was lucky to be able to control the now-dead and shaking car enough to get off the freeway without accident.  Lucky for me, it was just a blowout, that happened on the tire right under the battery and I guess it must've just shocked the battery or cables to cause the car to die.  I got all my tires replaced (they were all in need of replacements, I have just been lazy lately) and learned my lesson about driving with tires that are balding. 

I also learned the following about blowouts from the experts:

• In any blowout situation, it's most important to first remember the 2 things you should NOT do:
• Do not step on the brake. As instinctive as it may be, it's the worst mistake you can make in any tire blowout situation. Applying the brakes will cause an even greater imbalance on the vehicle's stability.
• Do not abruptly release your foot from the accelerator. This is the second worst mistake you can make. Rapidly releasing the accelerator causes the vehicle to transfer more of its weight from the rear tires to the front tires. With a flat tire, this can lead to loss of control of the vehicle.
• Instead, in any blowout situation, you should follow these 3 steps:
• Gradually release the accelerator .
• Correct the steering as necessary to stabilize your vehicle and regain control. Look where you want the vehicle to go and steer in that direction.
• Once your vehicle has stabilized, continue to slow down and pull off the road where and when you judge it\'s safe to do so.
• Remember, no matter which tire blows out -- front or back -- the do's and don'ts for safely maintaining control of your vehicle are exactly the same. The only difference between a front and rear tire blowout is that you will feel the force of a front blowout more in the vehicles steering, while you'll feel a rear blowout more in the seat or body of the vehicle.

So this morning I was doing some work and looked out the window and saw several cops blocking off our parking lot.  What is going on, I thought to myself!? Some co-workers and I went down and then knew something big was happening... there were about 30 police cars, a life flight helicopter landing and cops taping off a huge area.  As it turns out, the police captain pulled someone over just before 9 am (I had got to work about 15 minutes before that).  For some reason, she opens fire, hitting the police captain in the head.  Other officers who were just arriving on the scene engaged the woman in a firefight where she was fatally gunned down.  So when me and my co-workers go out to the gas station just north of our parking lot, theres a dead lady in the road and a cop being put into a life flight helicopter.  Whaaaaaaaat!?  I am seriously in dis-belief still.  What would possess this lady to shoot a cop for getting pulled over!?  There must be some more to this story, drugs, alchohol or something... I will be watching the news tonight for sure.   It was kind of surreal to have the police officers scouring our building looking for witnesses and looking for clues to where some of the rounds may have hit! 

Thousands killed by huge China quake

• Story Highlights
• NEW: China says at least 8,600 dead but it expects figure to rise
• 900 children also buried when a school building collapsed, 50 bodies found
• State news agency says several schools collapsed after 7.9 magnitude quake
• NEW: China releasing $2.89 million to respond to the disaster, Xinhua reports

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Thousands of people have been killed by Monday's powerful earthquake in just one affected region of central China, its government said, with the toll expected to keep rising as bodies are retrieved from schools, homes and factories.

The Chinese government said at least 8,600 people were dead, but that the death toll was sure to rise as authorities began to reach some of the worst-hit areas. Thousands more were believed to be injured.

Xinhua, the state-run news agency, reported that authorities were yet to reach Wenchuan County -- which sits at the epicenter of the 7.9-magnitude earthquake with a population of about 112,000 -- because of damage to roads.

In Beichuan County, close to Wenchuan, the number of deaths was estimated at more than 3,000, with 80 percent of the buildings destroyed. Watch as the death toll rises »

In addition, at least 48 people were killed in the northwest Gansu Province, Xinhua said.

Several hundred students were also feared to be buried in collapsed school buildings, the agency said.

China's Seismological Bureau said the earthquake had affected more than half the country\'s provinces and municipalities.

U.S. President George W. Bush released a statement saying his country "stands ready to help in any way possible."

"I am particularly saddened by the number of students and children affected by this tragedy," Bush said.

China\'s government is releasing $2.89 million to respond to the disaster, Xinhua reported. China\'s Red Cross has dispatched 557 tents, 2,500 quilts and other aid to the disaster zone, Chinese television reported. Impact your world

The state relief disaster commission declared a level-two emergency, the second-highest level out of four, to cope with the aftermath of the quake, Chinese television reported.

In Sichuan\'s Shifang city, the quake buried hundreds of people in two collapsed chemical plants, and more than 80 tons of ammonia leaked out, Xinhua said.

The local government evacuated 6,000 civilians from the area after homes and factories were also destroyed. See CNN\'s interview with an American in Chengdu. »

The quake was "felt in most parts of China," Xinhua reported, with the confirmed casualties in the provinces and municipality of Sichuan, Gansu, Chongqing and Yunnan.

Xinhua said several schools collapsed, at least partially, in the quake.

At one, as many as 900 students were feared buried. At least 50 bodies have been pulled from the rubble at the high school in the Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City in Wenchuan County.

"Some buried teenagers were struggling to break loose from underneath the ruins while others were crying out for help," Xinhua reported.

"Grieved parents watched as five cranes were excavating at the site and an ambulance was waiting. See a report on rescue operations at the school. »

"A tearful mother said her son, ninth-grader Zhang Chengwei, was buried in the ruins."

President Hu Jintao ordered an all-out effort to help those affected, and Premier Wen Jiabao traveled to the region to direct the rescue work, Xinhua reported.

"My fellow Chinese, facing such a severe disaster, we need calm, confidence, courage and efficient organization," Wen was quoted as saying.

"I believe we can certainly overcome the disaster with the public and the military working together under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the government."

Peter Sammonds, professor of geophysics at University College London, called the earthquake "tremendous." See workers in Chengdu hiding under their desks during the quake. »

"Particularly in the more remote, the more mountainous part where this has taken place, a lot of the buildings are built on sediments that are quite unstable. They\'re probably liquifying, causing the buildings to collapse," he said.

"You might expect landslides to occur, which could actually stop the relief efforts going through on the roads, so this could be very grim in the remoter, more mountainous parts of this province."

While many of the most immediate efforts were focused on Sichuan Province, Xinhua reported that there were dead and injured also in Gansu, Chongqing and Yunnan.

Scattered stories of destruction poured in from around the country. Xinhua said one person was killed in Santai County, in the city of Mianyang, when a water tower fell.

A provincial government spokesman said they feared more dead and injured in collapsed houses in Dujiangyan City in Wenchuan County.

A driver for the seismological bureau said he saw "rows of houses collapsed" in Dujiangyan, Xinhua reported. Read an explanation about earthquakes. »

"Wenchuan is home to the Wolong Nature Reserve, China\'s leading research and breeding base for endangered giant pandas," Xinhua reported. The condition of the center was not immediately known because all communication services were cut off.

Bonnie Thie, the country director the Peace Corps, was on a university campus in Chengdu about 100 km from the epicenter, in the eastern part of China\'s Sichuan province, when the first quake hit.

"You could see the ground shaking," Thie told CNN.

The shaking "went on for what seemed like a very long time," she said.

"This is a very dangerous earthquake," said Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, which updated the magnitude of Monday\'s quake from 7.8 to 7.9.

The quake had the potential to cause major damage because of its strength and proximity to major population centers, he said.

In addition, the earthquake was relatively shallow, Presgrave said, and those kinds of quakes tend to do more damage near the epicenter than deeper ones.

An earthquake with 7.5 magnitude in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan killed 255,000 people in 1976 -- the greatest death toll from an earthquake in the last four centuries and the second greatest in recorded history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Tangshan is roughly 1,600 km from Chengdu, the nearest major city to the epicenter of Monday\'s quake. Quake victims have been sleeping outside in Chengdu. »

After the first quake struck Monday, the ground shook as far away as Beijing, which is 1,500 km from the epicenter.

They felt "a very quiet rolling sensation" that lasted for about a minute, according to CNN correspondent John Vause.

"Our building began to sway," he said.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Beijing high-rises immediately after the earthquake.

At least seven more earthquakes -- measuring between 4.0 and 6.0 magnitudes -- happened nearby over the three hours after the initial quake at at 2:28 p.m. local time (0728 GMT), the USGS reported.

A spokesman for the Beijing Olympic Committee said no Olympic venues were affected by the earthquake. The massive Three Gorges Dam -- roughly 600 km east of the epicenter -- was not damaged, a spokesman said.

The earthquake was also felt in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, and as far away as Hanoi, Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand, according to the Hong Kong-based Mandarin-language channel Phoenix TV.

CNN's John Vause and Jaime FlorCruz contributed to this report.

Associated Press - 5/7/2008

WASHINGTON —  The top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar says the death toll may reach 100,000 from a cyclone and its aftermath. She said the country\'s military junta is "paranoid," about the United States but is not blocking American aid in retaliation for past criticism.

U.S. charge d\'affaires Shari Villarosa estimates show 95 percent of buildings in the affected area are demolished, bridges are washed out. She called the situation outside the former capital Yangon "increasingly horrendous," citing relief agency reports of shortages of food and drinking water.

"There is a very real risk of disease outbreaks as long as this continues," Villarosa told reporters in a telephone call from Yangon. The death toll could hit or exceed 100,000 as humanitarian conditions worsen, she said.

She said that almost all the deaths are in the delta area. In Yangon, some 600-700 people may have died, she said.

The U.S. military has put people and airplanes into position to work on any relief effort, as officials awaited word on whether the Asian nation would accept American help.

Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that Myanmar must let the international community in to help. She said the aid is to meet the needs of a humanitarian crisis, and not a matter of politics, Reuters reported.

Villarosa did not sound optimistic.

"It\'s a very paranoid regime," she said. "They are very paranoid about the United States."

She said lower reaches of the Myanmar regime appear to recognize the magnitude of the problem, but the senior leadership is isolated and has not yet announced a final decision on how to handle outside aid.

She said she met with three ministers this week and is pressing hard to allow U.S. aid into the country. The junta is blocking aid from other nations, and does not appear to be singling out the United States because of the White House focus on human rights and other abuses in Myanmar, she said.

 

 

Every once in awhile, some misunderstanding or mormon myth may give us a bad name among some of our Christian neighbors.  I found this from some links once, and thought to save it.  Original source is : http://www.antiantimormon.com/

Answers to 50 Anti-Mormon Questions

Anti-Mormon literature tends to recycle the same themes. Some ministries are using a series of fifty questions, which they believe will help "cultists" like the Mormons. One ministry seems to suggest that such questions are a good way to deceive Latter-day Saints, since the questions "give...them hope that you are genuinely interested in learning more about their religion."

This ministry tells its readers what their real intent should be with their Mormon friend: "to get them thinking about things they may have never thought about and researching into the false teachings of their church." Thus, the questions are not sincere attempts to understand what the Latter-day Saints believe, but are a smokescreen or diversionary tactic to introduce anti-Mormon material.^[1]

The questions are not difficult to answer, nor are they new. This page provides links to answers to the questions. It should be noted that the questions virtually all do at least one of the following:

1. misunderstand or misread LDS doctrine or scripture;
2. give unofficial material the status of official belief;
3. assume that Mormons must have inerrantist ideas about scripture or prophets like conservative evangelical Protestants do;
4. apply a strict standard to LDS ideas, but use a double standard to avoid condemning the Bible or their own beliefs if the standard was applied fairly to both.

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Questions About LDS Prophets

1. Why does the Mormon church still teach that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God after he made a false prophecy about a temple built in Missouri in his generation (D&C 84:1-5)

This was not a prophecy, but a command from God to build the temple. There\'s a difference. Jesus said people should repent; just because many didn\'t doesn\'t make Him a false messenger, simply a messenger that fallible people didn\'t heed.

Learn more here: Independence temple to be built "in this generation"

2. Since the time when Brigham Young taught that both the moon and the sun were inhabited by people, has the Mormon church ever found scientific evidence of that to be true? (Journal of Discourses (1870), 13:271)

In Brigham (and Joseph\'s) day, there had been newspaper articles reporting that a famous astronomer had reported that there were men on the moon and elsewhere. This was published in LDS areas; the retraction of this famous hoax never was publicized, and so they may not have even heard about it.

Brigham and others were most likely repeating what had been told them by the science of the day. (Lots of Biblical prophets talked about the earth being flat, the sky being a dome, etc.—it is inconsistent for conservative Protestants to complain that a false belief about the physical world shared by others in their culture condemns Brigham and Joseph, but does not condemn Bible prophets.)

In any case, Brigham made it clear that he was expressing his opinion: "Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is." Prophets are entitled to their opinions; in fact, the point of Brigham\'s discourse is that the only fanatic is one who insists upon clinging to a false idea.

• Learn more here: Brigham Young and moonmen
• Learn more here: Joseph Smith and moonmen

3. Why did Brigham Young teach that Adam is "our Father and our God" when both the Bible and the Book of Mormon (Morm. 9:12) say that Adam is a creation of God? (Journal of Discourses (1852) 1:50))

The problem with "Adam-God" is that we don\'t understand what Brigham meant. All of his statements cannot be reconciled with each other. In any case, Latter-day Saints are not inerrantists—they believe prophets can have their own opinions. Only the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve can establish official LDS doctrine. That never happened with any variety of "Adam-God" doctrine. Since Brigham seemed to also agree with statements like Mormon 9:12, and the Biblical record, it seems likely that we do not entirely understand how he fit all of these ideas together.

• Learn more here: Adam-God

4. If Brigham Young was a true prophet, how come one of your later prophets overturned his declaration which stated that the black man could never hold the priesthood in the LDS Church until after the resurrection of all other races (Journal of Discourses (1854) 2:142-143)

Peter and the other apostles likewise misunderstood the timing of gospel blessings to non-Israelites. Even following a revelation to Peter, many members of the early Christian Church continued to fight about this point and how to implement it—even Peter and Paul had disagreements. Yet, Bible-believing Christians, such as the Latter-day Saints, continue to consider both as prophets. Critics should be careful that they do not have a double standard, or they will condemn Bible prophets as well.

The Latter-day Saints are not scriptural or prophetic inerrantists. They are not troubled when prophets have personal opinions which turn out to be incorrect. In the case of the priesthood ban, members of the modern Church accepted the change with more joy and obedience than many first century members accepted the extension of the gospel to the Gentiles without the need for keeping the Mosaic Law.

5. Since the Bible\'s test of determine whether someone is a true prophet of God is 100% accuracy in all his prophecies (Deut. 18:20-22), has the LDS Church ever reconsidered its teaching that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were true prophets?

Believing Christians should be careful. Unless they want to be guilty of a double standard, they will end up condemning many Biblical prophets by this standard.

• Learn more here: Joseph Smith and prophetic test in Deuteronomy 18

6. Since the current LDS prophets sometimes contradict the former ones, how do you decide which one is correct?

Most "contradictions" are actually misunderstandings or misrepresentations of LDS doctrine and teachings by critics. The LDS standard for doctrine is the scriptures, and united statements of the First Presidency and the Twelve.

The Saints believe they must be led by revelation, adapted to the circumstances in which they now find themselves. Noah was told to build an ark, but not all people required that message. Moses told them to put the Passover lamb’s blood on their door; that was changed with the coming of Christ, etc.

No member is expected to follow prophetic advice "just because the prophet said so." Each member is to receive his or her own revelatory witness from the Holy Ghost. We cannot be led astray in matters of importance if we always appeal to God for His direction.

7. Since there are several different contradictory accounts of Joseph Smith\'s first vision, how did the LDS Church choose the correct one?

The First Vision accounts are not contradictory. No early member of the Church claimed that Joseph changed his story, or contradicted himself. Critics of the Church have not been familiar with the data on this point.

The shortest answer is that the Saints believe the First Vision not because of textual evidence, but because of personal revelation.

The Church didn\'t really "choose" one of many accounts; many of the accounts we have today were in diaries, some of which were not known till recently (1832; 1835 (2); Richards, Neibaur). The 1840 (Orson Pratt) and 1842 (Orson Hyde) accounts were secondary recitals of what happened to the Prophet; the Wentworth letter and interview for the Pittsburgh paper were synopsis accounts (at best). The account which the Church uses in the Pearl of Great Price (written in 1838) was published in 1842 by Joseph Smith as part of his personal history. As new accounts were discovered they were widely published in places like BYU Studies.

• For the most common claim about a contradiction, see here: Only one Personage appears in the 1832 account
• Many questions about the First Vision are addressed here: First Vision accounts

8. Can you show me in the Bible the LDS teaching that we must all stand before Joseph Smith on the Day of Judgment?

This is a misunderstanding and caricature of LDS doctrine. There is, however, the Biblical doctrine that the apostles will help judge Israel:

Ye [the apostles] are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28-30; see also Matt. 19:28)

Since the saints believe in modern apostles, they believe that those modern apostles (including Joseph) will have a role in judgment appointed to them by Jesus.

Those who condemn Joseph on these grounds must also condemn Peter and the rest of the Twelve.

• Learn more here: Joseph Smith\'s status in LDS belief

Questions About LDS Scripture (excluding the Bible)

9. Can you show me archeological and historical proof from non-Mormon sources that prove that the peoples and places named in the Book of Mormon are true?

This question is based on the mistaken assumption that the Bible message that Jesus is Christ and Lord is somehow "proved" by archeology, which is not true. It also ignores differences between Old and New World archeology. For example, since we don\'t know how to pronounce the names of ANY Nephite-era city in the American archeological record, how would we know if we had found a Nephite city or not?

• To learn more: Archeology and the Bible
• For physical Book of Mormon evidence specifically, see:
  • Old World geography
  • Warfare

10. If the words "familiar spirit" in Is. 29:4 refer to the Book of Mormon, why does "familiar spirit" always refer to occult practices such as channeling and necromancy everywhere else in the Old Testament?

The term "familiar spirit," quoted in the often-poetic Isaiah (and used by Nephi to prophesy about the modern publication of the Book of Mormon) is a metaphor, not a description of any text or its origin.

• To learn more: Book of Mormon as a "familiar spirit"

11. Why did Joseph Smith condone polygamy as an ordinance from God (D. & C. 132) when the Book of Mormon had already condemned the practice (Jacob 1:15, 2:24)

The critics need to read the next verses. The Book of Mormon says that God may command polygamy, just a few verses later. (Jac. 2:30).

• To learn more: Book of Mormon condemns polygamy

Many Biblical prophets had more than one wife, and there is no indication that God condemned them. And, the Law of Moses had laws about plural wives—why not just forbid them if it was evil, instead of telling people how they were to conduct it?

• To learn more: Polygamy not Biblical

And, many early Christians didn\'t think polygamy was inherently evil:

• To learn more: Early Christians on plural marriage

12. Why were the words "white and delightsome" in 2 Nephi 30:6 changed to "pure and delightsome" right on the heels of the Civil Rights campaign for blacks?

The critics have their history wrong. The change dates to 1837. The change was made by Joseph Smith in the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon, though it was not carried through in some other editions, which mistakenly followed the 1830 instead of Joseph’s change. It was restored in the 1981 edition, but that was nearly 150 years after the change was made by Joseph.

This issue has been discussed extensively in the Church\'s magazines (e.g. the Ensign), and the scholarly publication BYU Studies.

• To learn more: Douglas Campbell, "\'White\' or \'Pure\': Five Vignettes," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 29:4 (Winter 1996): ?. off-site

13. If God is an exalted man with a body of flesh and bones, why does Alma 18:26-28 and John 4:24 say that God is a spirit?

In Alma, the reference is to Jesus Christ, who before His birth did not have a physical body.

John 4:24 does not say God is "a" spirit, but says "God is spirit." There is no "a" in the Greek. The Bible also says "God is truth" or "God is light." Those things are true, but we don\'t presume God is JUST truth, or JUST light—or JUST spirit.

As one non-LDS commentary puts it:

That God is spirit is not meant as a definition of God\'s being—though this is how the Stoics [a branch of Greek philosophy] would have understood it. It is a metaphor of his mode of operation, as life-giving power, and it is no more to be taken literally than 1John 1:5, "God is light," or Deut. 4:24, "Your God is a devouring fire." It is only those who have received this power through Christ who can offer God a real worship.

- J. N. Sanders, A Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, edited and completed by B. A. Mastin, (New York, Harper & Row, 1968), 147–148.

• To learn more: God is a Spirit

14. Why did God encourage Abraham & Sarah to lie in Abra. 2:24? Isn\'t lying a sin according to the 10 commandments? Why did God tell Abraham and Sarah to lie when 2 Nephi condemns liars to hell?

In the Bible, there are accounts of God commanding or approving less than complete disclosure. These examples seem to involve the protection of the innocent from the wicked, which fits the case of Abraham and his wife nicely.

• To learn more: Why would Abraham lie?

15. Why does the Book of Mormon state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem (Alma 7:10) when history and the Bible state that he was born outside of Jerusalem, in Bethlehem?

The Bible also says that Bethlehem ("the city of David") is at Jerusalem. (2_Kings 14:20) Was the Bible wrong? (Bethlehem is in the direct area of Jerusalem, being only about seven miles apart.)

• To learn more: Book of Mormon anachronisms:Jerusalem vs Bethlehem

16. If the Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, as Joseph Smith said, why does it contain over 4000 changes from the original 1830 edition?

Christians should be careful with such attacks. If they don’t want to have a double standard, they\'d have to realize that there are more differences in Biblical manuscripts of the New Testament than there are words in the New Testament! Yet, Latter-day Saints and other Christians still believe the Bible.

Most of the changes to the Book of Mormon were issues of spelling, typos, and the like. A few changes were for clarification, but the original Book of Mormon text would easily serve members and scholars.

• To learn more:: Book of Mormon textual changes

17. If the Book of Mormon contains the "fulness of the everlasting gospel," why does the LDS Church need additional works?

The Book of Mormon\'s definition of "fulness of the gospel" is not "all truths taught in the Church." The fulness of the gospel is simply defined as the core doctrines of Christ\'s atonement and the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. Critics do not trouble to understand what the Book of Mormon says before attacking it.

• To learn more: Book of Mormon and the fulness of the gospel

18. If the Book of Mormon contains the "fulness of the everlasting gospel," why doesn\'t it say anything about so many important teachings such as eternal progression, celestial marriage, the Word of Wisdom, the plurality of Gods, the pre-existence of man, our mother in heaven, baptism for the dead, etc?

The Book of Mormon\'s definition of "fulness of the gospel" is not "all truths taught in the Church." The fulness of the gospel is simply defined as the core doctrines of Christ\'s atonement and the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. Critics do not trouble to understand what the Book of Mormon says before attacking it. Making the same attack twice (see #17) makes it no more convincing the second time.

• To learn more: Book of Mormon and the fulness of the gospel

19. Why do you baptize for the dead when both Mosiah 3:25 and the Bible state that there is no chance of salvation after death?

The passage in Mosiah 3:25, and any passages in the Bible which also imply there is no chance of salvation after death, are clearly addressed to those who have the opportunity to repent in this life. Those who have not, by no fault of their own, embraced the everlasting gospel in this life will have the opportunity to do so after death.

The critics are on thin ice with this attack—do they wish us to believe in a God so unjust that He would damn someone for all eternity, simply because they never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus?

Why wouldn\'t members of the Church baptize for the dead, when the Bible teaches this idea? (See 1_Cor. 15:29.)

To learn more:Baptism for the dead

20. Since the word grace means a free gift that can\'t be earned, why does the Book of Mormon state "for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2_Ne. 25:23)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes the same thing about grace that the earliest Christians believed. Modern Protestant ideas are different from earlier teachings, which is fine, but it doesn\'t make Mormon ideas "false" if we agree with how the earliest followers of Jesus saw the matter.

One Evangelical Christian author wrote of his sudden discovery that his previous beliefs about salvation were very different from those held by the early Christians:

If there\'s any single doctrine that we would expect to find the faithful associates of the apostles teaching, it\'s the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. After all, that is the cornerstone doctrine of the Reformation. In fact, we frequently say that persons who don\'t hold to this doctrine aren\'t really Christians…

Our problem is that Augustine, Luther, and other Western theologians have convinced us that there\'s an irreconcilable conflict between salvation based on grace and salvation conditioned on works or obedience. They have used a fallacious form of argumentation known as the "false dilemma," by asserting that there are only two possibilities regarding salvation: it\'s either (1) a gift from God or (2) it\'s something we earn by our works.

The early Christians [and the Latter-day Saints!] would have replied that a gift is no less a gift simply because it\'s conditioned on obedience....

The early Christians believed that salvation is a gift from God but that God gives His gift to whomever He chooses. And He chooses to give it to those who love and obey him.

—David W. Bercot, Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up: A New Look at Today\'s Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity, 3rd edition, (Tyler, Texas: Scroll Publishing Company, 1999[1989]), 57, 61–62. ISBN 0924722002.

The Latter-day Saints are pleased to be in the company of the earliest Christians. And, the LDS cannot be excluded as Christians because they have not embraced the modified doctrines adopted later.

Further, the phrase "after all we can do" must be interpreted in light of other Book of Mormon passages which define "all we can do" as repentance and being forgiven of sin and cleansed of guilt (see Alma 24:10-12).

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, on of the present day apostles, spoke on these issues and doctrines thoroughly:

• Dallin H. Oaks, "Have You Been Saved?," Ensign (May 1998): 55. off-site

To learn more:

Grace wiki articles

• Does the Church neglect the doctrine of grace?
• Early Christian views on salvation
• Relationship between works and grace ^{[needs work]}
• Salvation by faith alone
• Unforgivable sin

21. Does the LDS Church still regard the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price as Holy Scripture even after several prominent Egyptologists proved it was an ancient funeral scroll?

The LDS Church announced that fragments of the papyrus were from the Book of Breathings within two months of their acquisition.

The big print in the Church magazine published as soon as the scrolls were recovered can be seen here.

Critics often don\'t tell people that we are missing at least 85% of the scrolls that Joseph Smith had. We don\'t have papyrus with the Book of Abraham on it (except Facsimile #1) and have never claimed to.