The Sealed Book Part 2

Acts of the Three Nephites

Chapter 1

This story will seem like a fable unless God lets you know its mysteries (verse 1). Those who accept these records will be able to understand the scripture that’s already been revealed. Those who don’t, will forgot what they learned from previous scriptures (verse 5). This record won’t be easy to understand. Past, present, and future will be entangled so only those will faith will understand it (verse 6). (You can say that again.)

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The Sealed Book Part 1

Joseph Smith Jr. claimed the golden plates which he used to translate the Book of Mormon had a sealed portion which would be revealed later. Maurício Artur Berger claims to have translated the sealed portion in his 2019 book, The Sealed Book of Mormon. I found a website which claims he was able to translate the Sealed Book into English even though he doesn’t speak English. Another website claimed he predicted Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in detail before they happened, although the website didn’t provide any proof of this.

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Good News Friday

  • Between 2002 and 2022, the Global Fund saved over 59 million lives through its HIV, TB, and malaria programs. Friends of the Global Fight.
  • Between 2013 and 2021, cases of measles in Indonesia decreased by 95% and rubella incidence decreased by 89%. WHO.
  • New cervical cancer therapy cut the risk of women dying or the cancer returning by more than a third. BBC.
  • Denver experimented with giving people $1,000 a month. It reduced homelessness and increased full-time employment. Insider.
  • In the US so far this year, homicides nationwide have declined 11% to 12%. Los Angeles Times.
  • Crime in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level on record. BBC.
  • 50 million more girls have been enrolled in school globally since 2015. UNESCO.
  • Half of the world is past a peak in fossil power. Ember.
  • Kids are much less likely to be killed by cars than in the past. Economist Writing Every Day.
  • Human Progress has launched a new tool with access to thousands of datasets including visualizations of the rise of global income, life expectancy, democracy, education, the end of famine, and more. Human Progress.
  • Over the last seven years, Kenya has trained over 1,200 nurses and under-five mortality has more than halved. World Bank.
  • Last year, 55,870 hectares of land were reforested in Xizang, China, employing over 1.68 million people. Global Times.
  • Between 2010 and 2020, the cost of solar fell by around 15% each year, and installed capacity rose by 25% per year. If this trend continues, solar will become the dominant form of energy for the world. Nature.
  • UK emissions fall 3.4% in 2022 as coal use drops to lowest level since 1757. CarbonBrief.
  • In August, when heavy rain hit parts of Chile, tens of thousands of people had to evacuate their homes as their communities flooded. Many got a warning a couple of days in advance, thanks to a tool called Flood Hub that rolled out in the country earlier this year. Fast Company.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

Good News Friday

  • Poland gives support to centrist opposition after 8 years of nationalist rule. AP.
  • Brazil set to widen lead as cleanest major power sector. Reuters.
  • Bionic hand solves user’s pains in more than one way. Interesting Engineering.
  • New AI tool diagnoses brain tumors on the operating table. The New York Times.
  • Boston’s high school dropout rate fell by more than half. Here’s their blueprint. Next City.
  • ‘People are happier in a walkable neighborhood’: the US community that banned cars. The Guardian.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher completely retells some of Poe’s most famous stories and contains numerous easter eggs referencing his writing and his life, sometimes directly quoting from him. Vulture has a list of many of these references, although they did miss the reference to Toby Dammit from “Never Bet the Devil Your Head” and a character wrapped up like a mummy being a reference to Poe’s story “Some Words with a Mummy”. Also, they miss the fact that several of Poe’s humorous stories involve making a deal with the devil.

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Good News Friday

  • Only 8.6% of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. This is the lowest percentage in human history. World Bank.
  • 100 million doses of a cheap, reliable malaria vaccine are in the process of being manufactured. BBC.
  • Egypt has gone from having one of the world’s highest rates of hepatitis C to being on the path to elimination in less than ten years. WHO.
  • Millions more students to receive free school meals under expanded U.S. program. PBS.
  • UK minimum wage set to rise in 2024. Euronews.
  • The monarch butterfly is no longer endangered. Science.
  • World’s electricity supply close to ‘peak emissions’ due to growth of wind and solar. CarbonBrief.
  • Wind generation exceeds demand for electricity for the first time ever in Ireland. Euronews.
  • AI predicts 70% of earthquakes a week before they occur. Interesting Engineering.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

Good News Friday

  • The US has finally destroyed all of its chemical weapons. Vox.
  • Explore how much the world has changed since you were born. Human Progress.
  • The plastic-eating bacteria that could change the world. The Guardian.
  • Girl receives UK’s first rejection-free kidney from mum. BBC News.
  • Renewable energy champion Kenya plans Africa’s biggest wind farm. Bloomberg.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.