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Posts Tagged ‘Book’

New video:

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addresses the question of whether there is scientific proof of The Book of Mormon. For more information, visit www.newsroom.lds.org. © 2007 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

A question from a reader: I want to know about religious symbols, specially about the application of Pagan symbols in christianity. What is the best reading material ? I mean the most authentic and widely acclaimed? Could u site the name of the publisher also, please.

Thank you all

A question from a reader: When you see pictures of Jesus coming to the Americas, you see pyramids similar to that of Myan quality step pyramids. THough they did have primitive triangular shaped mounds, the Myans didn’t really begin constructing step pyramids until about the 7th-9th century AD….the Aztecs even later…but nothing really that complex in the 1rst century by Jewish tribes called the Lamanites or the Nephites…or Native Americans called “Jaredites.” Mormon Anthropology Hmmmm……

A question from a reader: I am not a Mormon but am reading the Book of Mormon to learn about the religion and am having trouble understanding what part of the world these first two books are set in. Also, if anyone can explain to me who Nephi was, that would be great. Thanks in advance.

A question from a reader: In the older Book of Mormon editions the phrasing “dark and loathsome” was used to describe the skin color of the unrighteous Lamanites. Does anyone know why those adjectives were changed in the newer editions?

Have you felt your message was insignificant in an over crowded market place? A client of mine said, “I’ll probably never write a book because there are already too many books on every subject I can think of.”

The truth is many successful authors have felt their message insignificant in the LARGE scheme of things. But at some point they had to realize what I’m about to tell you, “With all the great books in the marketplace, there’s only one voice that’s uniquely yours.

I am convinced there are people waiting for your perspective, your solution, or your message. They’re waiting to be inspired, entertained or helped by YOUR book.”

The way to make your book stand out in a crowded market is to target a niche market related to your book’s topic. Identifying a niche is really hot in the marketing world right now and rightly so.

Simply put, to target a niche market in your book’s topic area: Identify a problem/solution and research your competition. Then develop a different approach. With all the books in the world on your topic, it’s not enough to know the solution. You must present the solution in a different way than existing books do.

Develop a way of making your book different. You need a different viewpoint, a niche, or a different spin on perhaps the same information. Examine the problem again. Look at the solution your book solves with the goal of coming up with a way to present your knowledge differently than existing books.

Here are seven simple ways to do this:

Market Segment.

You can develop a niche by focusing on an occupation, sex, or age group, i.e. Lose 14 Pounds in 2 Weeks: A Guide for Women Above 40, Lose Weight Safely Before, During & After Pregnancy.

Broadening Market.

Consider appealing to a broader market: Lose 14 Pounds in 14 Days: A Guide for Working Class Men & Women.

Focus.

Attack a big problem by emphasizing a particular tool or technique that you have experience with. For example, show how heart attack survivors can lose 14 pounds in 2 weeks by eating only fish, white meats and walking 10 miles a day.

Program.

I love this one. Base your solution on the way you solve a large problem by breaking it into steps, i.e. Write Your Best Book Now: An 7 Step Program for book writing.

Expertise.

Base your niche on your market’s previous experience with a topic, i.e. The Last Business Book You’ll Ever Need!

Goal.

Organize your existing information around benefits of achieving the goal: Free Again, Healthy Again!

Affinity.

Perhaps you have a relationship with a high visibility organization that has benefited from your ideas; you can reframe your knowledge by leveraging off your association: The Bank of America Financial Program or the Southern Methodist University Weight Loss Program.

You may have noticed in each one of the above examples of the same market, the contents of the book would probably be the same! The books would contain the same basic ideas, suggestions, tips, etc.

For example, all the books about diets would probably stress the importance of eating right, choosing the right foods in right portions and daily exercise. Yet, each book presents a different viewpoint targeting a different market.

So BE BOLD; have no fear about approaching the same subject as existing books. Focus in on your unique ideas and viewpoint. Remember, according to the writer of Ecclesiastes, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”

Bernice Fitz Gibbon said so eloquently, “Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were only thought up only little more than a century ago.” Now go start your successful book journey. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.

This is a new series (1-33) of Verse No. in the Bible versus the Quran.

Verse No. 33 in the Old Testament says: And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Verse No. 33 in the New Testament says: He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Verse No. 33 in the Noble Quran says: Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable– (that of) a gnat or any thing above that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their lord, and as for those who disbelieve, they say: what is it that Allah means by this parable: he causes many to err by it and many he leads aright by it! but he does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors; Allah misleads many and guides many. ‘ but he misleads none except the evildoers,

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The verse No. 33 in the Old Testament is Genesis 2:2

The verse says: And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

It is very clear that God Rested!  Herein, there are some questions:

What is the physiology of Rest?

What is the Linguistics of Rest?

Does God Rest? The Bible: Yes, the Quran: Never Ever.

Does God Sleep? The Bible: Yes, the Quran: Never Ever.

Why this Topic is very important and risky?

The physiology of rest:

Rest (and recovery) is so important and is an essential part of the fitness equation. By balancing the appropriate amounts of stress and rest in your workout program, you will minimize fatigue and your body will grow steadily stronger. It is assumed that the rest reaction is to a large extent a reaction of the cardiovascular and respiratory system in the period immediately after the effort has ceased.

The Linguistics of Rest:

Rest as a noun is defined as the refreshing quiet or repose of sleep, the refreshing ease or inactivity after exertion or labor, a period or interval of inactivity or repose, cessation or absence of motion, etc.

Rest as a verb is defined as to relieve weariness by cessation of exertion or labor, to be at ease, to be quiet or still, to cease from motion, to become or remain inactive, to stay as is or remain without further action or notice, to lie, sit, lean, or be set, to be, become, or remain temporarily still, quiet, or inactive, to take a short break from one’s activities in order to relax, poetically, to be dead (in dust it is our final rest).      

However, the verb rest also means to slumber, to lie down, especially to sleep; in addition it means to sleep.

In the Bible: Does God sleep?

Psalm 78:65 says:

New International Version

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine.

New American Standard Bible

Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, Like a warrior overcome by wine.

English Standard Version

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine.

King James Version

Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.

This means that God, the Lord, was sleep then He awoke as from sleep.

It is interesting that the Bible declares that God, the Lord, awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine, Like a warrior overcome by wine, like a strong man shouting because of wine. 

So, God was drunken stupor; that means a state of unconsciousness.

In the Quran: Does Allah Rest?

Verse 50:38 says:

QARIB: in six days we created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them and no weariness touched us!

SHAKIR: and certainly we created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six periods and there touched us not any fatigue

PICKTHAL: and verily we created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days, and naught of weariness touched us.

YUSUFALI: we created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six days, nor did any sense of weariness touch us.

The verse means: And verily Allah created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them of created beings and marvels, in six days,

It is said that each day the equivalent of 1,000 years of present days,

Allah was not tired and no weariness, no fatigue, touched Him

The preclusion of weariness in His case is absolute on account of His transcending of the attributes of creatures and the non-existence of any contiguity between Him and other beings

In the Quran: Does Allah Sleep?

Verse 2:55 says:

QARIB: Allah, there is no god except he, the living, the everlasting. neither dozing, nor sleep overtakes him.

SHAKIR: Allah is he besides whom there is no god, the everliving, the self-subsisting by whom all subsist; slumber does not overtake him nor sleep;

PICKTHAL: Allah! there is no deity save him, the alive, the eternal. neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh him.

YUSUFALI: Allah! there is no god but he,-the living, the self-subsisting, eternal. no slumber can seize him nor sleep.

The verse means that slumber does not overtake Allah nor sleep; no slumber can seize Him nor sleep.

Why this Topic is very important and risky?

The first pillar of Muslim’s faith is DO Not mess up with Allah, your Lord.

Allah is not like us, no deficit(s) like rest, nap, slumber, sleep, eating etc. can touch him. He does not need any of that things that we need.

What if one believes that Allah, the Lord does any of the above or the alike? Then he destroys the first pillar of faith; this means ,clear cut, that he becomes unbeliever and he deserves severe Punishment in the Afterlife.   In other words, it is Unforgivable Sin that shall not be forgiven unto man to say or to believe that the Lord, the Creator, rests, slumber, sleep etc.  Such sin(s) will lead to the Eternal Fire.

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The verse No. 33 in the New Testament is Matthew 2:8

The verse says: He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

The verse means that King Herod sent the Magi to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently, make a careful search for the young child (the Lord Jesus); and when you have found him (As soon as you find him), bring me word again (report to me), that I may come and worship him also.

However, it is said in the explanation of the verse that, though Herod was very old, and never had shown affection for his family, and was not himself likely to live till a new-born infant (the Lord Jesus) had grown up to manhood, he began to be troubled with the dread of a rival.

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Verse No. 33 in the Noble Quran is 2:26,

Chapter 2 is Surah AL-BAQARA (THE COW),

The background of the verse 2:26:

And when the disbelievers said, ‘Why does Allah strike a similitude about flies, where He says, And if a fly should rob them of anything [Verse 22:73]

and about a spider, where He says, As the likeness of the spider [Verse 29:41]:

what does Allah want with these vile, low and degraded  creatures?

Allah then revealed the verse 2:26

The verse says: Surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable– (that of) a gnat or any thing above that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their lord, and as for those who disbelieve, they say: what is it that Allah means by this parable: he causes many to err by it and many he leads aright by it! but he does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors; Allah misleads many and guides many. ‘ but he misleads none except the evildoers,

The meaning of verse 2:26

:

Then Allah mentioned the disbelievers’ objection to the Quran’s similes, saying: (Lo! Allah disdained not), He cannot abstain from coining similes, and how can He disdain mentioning something that if all created being were to join forces to create, they would not be able to do so. Allah does not disdain (to coin the similitude) Allah does not disdain explaining to people a similitude (even of a gnat), even regarding a gnat, (or what is above it) let alone a simile of something greater than a gnat such as a fly, or a spider or even smaller than a gnat. (Those who believe) in Muhammad and the Quran (know that it), the simile, (is the Truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve), in Muhammad and the Quran, (say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such similitude?)

Say: O Muhammad! What Allah wishes by such simile is that (He misleads many thereby) of the disbelievers from the true Religion, (and He guides many thereby) of the believers, (and He misleads thereby), by such similes, (only miscreants); he misleads none except the evildoers.

In other words, the verse says:

Allah is not ashamed to strike, to make, a similitude even of a gnat, that is, small flies; or anything above it, that is, larger than it or smaller than it.

As for the believers, they know it, the similitude, is the truth, established and given in this instance, from their Lord; but as for disbelievers, they say, ‘What did Allah desire by this for a similitude?’

Allah then responds to them saying: Thereby, that is, by this similitude, He leads many astray, from the truth on account of their disbelieving in it, and thereby He guides many, believers on account of their belief in it; and thereby He leads none astray except the wicked, those that reject obedience to Him.  Allah misleads many and guides many. ‘ but he misleads none except the evildoers,

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Verse No. 33 in the Old Testament, the New Testament in four different versions of the Bible; and in the Noble Quran in Four different Translations

Verse No. 33 in the Old Testament

Genesis 2:2

New International Version:

2] By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

New American Standard Version:

2] By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

English Standard Version:

2] And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

King James Version:

2] And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

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Verse No. 33 in the New Testament

Matthew 2:8

New International Version:

8] He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

New American Standard Version:

8] And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”

English Standard Version:

8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

King James Version:

8] And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

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Verse No. 33 in the Noble Quran

Chapter 2:26

Surah AL-BAQARA (THE COW)

QARIB: Allah is not shy to strike a parable whatsoever a gnat or larger. those who believe know that it is the truth from their lord. as for those who disbelieve they ask: ‘what could Allah mean by this parable? by it, Allah misleads many and guides many. ‘ but he misleads none except the evildoers,

SHAKIR: surely Allah is not ashamed to set forth any parable– (that of) a gnat or any thing above that; then as for those who believe, they know that it is the truth from their lord, and as for those who disbelieve, they say: what is it that Allah means by this parable: he causes many to err by it and many he leads aright by it! but he does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors,

PICKTHAL: lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. those who believe know that it is the truth from their lord; but those who disbelieve say: what doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? he misleadeth many thereby, and he guideth many thereby; and he misleadeth thereby only miscreants;

YUSUFALI: Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things, lowest as well as highest. those who believe know that it is truth from their lord; but those who reject faith say: “what means Allah by this similitude?” by it he causes many to stray, and many he leads into the right path; but he causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the path),-

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It is very premature to ask this question:

Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?

Wait and you will see.

A question from a reader: The book of Mormon is supposedly the most perfect book on Earth although at 2 Nephi 30:6 talking about the Lamanites (native Americans) in translations older than 1981 it says their scales of darkness will become WHITE & DELIGHTSOME but in recent editions it says PURE. Why is this?

A question from a reader: After having read the Book of Mormon, I found it to be the word of God, to complement, not contradict the King James Version of the Bible…just wondering who also had the same feel feelings?

A question from a reader: Since I am not a Mormon, I’ve asked if there is doctrinial differences in the Book of Mormon itself, not in the Pearl of Great Wisdom, or from any of the Mormon prophets. If you would like to provide a source to these other witnesses, please do so.

Could you also please be as specific as possible in your answers.