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One time a well-known rabbi in our area was asked why Torah-observant Jews don't eat shrimp. The reporter may have expected a reference to cholesterol, or some other health-related justification. Instead, he said, "Because God said 'No.'" If you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, and he said that God told him LDS were to abstain from coffee and tea, then abstain you must.

Forgive Forgive, The scripture seemed to read As once again I looked. Forgive, The scripture clearly read Annoyed I closed the book. Forgive, The Spirit softly said Started, I did fear Forgive, The Spirit louder spoke I pretended not to hear Forgive, The Savior said to me I quickly quested; Why? Forgive, The Savior said again "For this I came to die". Then bitterly I cried out How can thou know my pain, The wounds that I have suffered My tears that fell like rain! Then quietly he spoke my name And said, "I understand". Reached out that he may lift me With wounds in both his hands. Ashamed, I said how can I? He reminded me again "For he who will not forgive, In him lies the greater sin". Forgive, The scripture seemed to read As once again Looked, Forgive, The scripture clearly said I then embraced the book! Forgive, The Spirit softly spoke, Now I did not fear, Forgive, The Spirit louder spoke Once deaf, I now could hear. Forgive, The Savior said to me, "To you this gift I give". Forgive, The Savior said again, "For this I came to live". William E Lee Copyright 1996

Your syntax is quite good for a 15 year old. I'm impressed.

I disagree with this author's overall point. He has equated THE Sacrament with A Sacrament, saying that all types must be "partaken of" regularly. Here is Elder Holland's original explanation of the term: There is nothing in there at all about it needing to become a habit or something to be regimented or kept track of. And with that, I think the rest of the article is pretty much left unfounded. Yes, intimacy is important for the health of a marriage and its members. But it is not sinful to let that aspect of a marriage dwindle a bit, just so long as you are as united as you can be in other aspects. My parents have been living apart for almost 12 years. My father has been trying to find gainful employment in the US during all that time, but has been working in the Middle East the rest of the time. By the definition quoted in the article, their marriage is completely sexless, they only see each other one month or so out of every year. But they are more united than they have ever been, I think.. having to manage their household, the family, and their lives just by phone and email contact, and they are making it work. They aren't living in a state of sin by omission. Neither are any other couples who may have grown together toward "sexlessness." Obviously there are exceptions, but that's because there are other bigger sins in the lives of one or both members. Pornography use might have a lot to do with most of these instances, I would guess. But couples who have one or more members who are suffering from depression or other prolonged illness, or disability.. these people are not to be held accountable before God for their sexlessness. Even less so by a blogger without a degree in counseling or psychology or any other certification, or any other kind of "wise fool."

Personal observation about coffee, in particular: On the advise of a doctor I went without coffee for a year. He thought it might be causing me digestion problems. After the year, we determined that coffee was not the issue, and I resumed my joyful consumption. All that to say that the greatest benefit for LDS abstaining from coffee and tea is probably spiritual, not medical or physical.

And again...the ONLY proceeds that were to be donated were those from the box office tickets. Also I don't think there was any agreement that ALL profit would be donated. Only the profit that the Church made. And of course theaters are going to make some kind of profit off of showing it. That's what they are in business for. Unless you are suggesting that the church should have paid the theaters to show the movies. Which would cover all of their overhead. Then what kind of proceeds to charity would there be left. Not much.

The church made no profit off the ticket sales (it gave the money to Red Cross), and at this cheap of sales, I don't see them making money off the DVD's. Will Amazon make a little money off of it? Sure. Just like the movies theaters made a little money off of ticket sales. That's just how distribution works. It's not exactly like the church can say "no Amazon, you're not allowed make money from selling this movie!". The goal of the movie was to make a good movie about Mormon people, and not have it be a for-profit Church venture. The goal was never to rack up money for Red Cross (that was a nice side effect though).

1 Corinthians 13:4-74 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

It is well deserved, you have a great gift...rejoice in it. :)

There is a scripture where Adam is asked, "Why do you offer sacrifice"? He answers, "I know not save The Lord Commands me". This is why we do things we may not understands, because The Lord commands us. In time spiritually maturer will come and the maturer of age will bring understanding will come. We do not live in the dark forever, though it seems at times we do. I would not drink milk if commanded not to. You are young...wisdom will come, I promise. God loves you enough to make it so...this is my faith that he will, as he has in my own life so often.

These are the things that I agree with from President's Uchtdorf's talk. The Savior’s Atonement cannot become commonplace in our teaching, in our conversation, or in our hearts. It is sacred and holy, for it was through this “great and last sacrifice” that Jesus the Christ brought “salvation to all those who shall believe on his name.”6 I marvel to think that the Son of God would condescend to save us, as imperfect, impure, mistake-prone, and ungrateful as we often are. I have tried to understand the Savior’s Atonement with my finite mind, and the only explanation I can come up with is this: God loves us deeply, perfectly, and everlastingly. I cannot even begin to estimate “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height … [of] the love of Christ.”7 Because we have all “sinned, and come short of the glory of God”10 and because “there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God,”11 every one of us is unworthy to return to God’s presence. Even if we were to serve God with our whole souls, it is not enough, for we would still be “unprofitable servants.”12 We cannot earn our way into heaven; the demands of justice stand as a barrier, which we are powerless to overcome on our own. But all is not lost. The grace of God is our great and everlasting hope. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the plan of mercy appeases the demands of justice13 “and [brings] about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.”14 Our sins, though they may be as scarlet, can become white as snow.15 Because our beloved Savior “gave himself a ransom for all,”16 an entrance into His everlasting kingdom is provided unto us.17 To inherit this glory, we need more than an unlocked gate; we must enter through this gate with a heart’s desire to be changed—a change so dramatic that the scriptures describe it as being “born again; yea, born of God, changed from [our worldly] and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters.”21 Another element of God’s grace is the opening of the windows of heaven, through which God pours out blessings of power and strength, enabling us to achieve things that otherwise would be far beyond our reach. It is by God’s amazing grace that His children can overcome the undercurrents and quicksands of the deceiver, rise above sin, and “be perfect[ed] in Christ.”22 Though we all have weaknesses, we can overcome them. Indeed it is by the grace of God that, if we humble ourselves and have faith, weak things can become strong.23 Throughout our lives, God’s grace bestows temporal blessings and spiritual gifts that magnify our abilities and enrich our lives. His grace refines us. His grace helps us become our best selves. Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God.26 Brothers and sisters, we obey the commandments of God—out of love for Him! Trying to understand God’s gift of grace with all our heart and mind gives us all the more reasons to love and obey our Heavenly Father with meekness and gratitude. As we walk the path of discipleship, it refines us, it improves us, it helps us to become more like Him, and it leads us back to His presence. “The Spirit of the Lord [our God]” brings about such “a mighty change in us, … that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.”28 Therefore, our obedience to God’s commandments comes as a natural outgrowth of our endless love and gratitude for the goodness of God. This form of genuine love and gratitude will miraculously merge our works with God’s grace. Virtue will garnish our thoughts unceasingly, and our confidence will wax strong in the presence of God.29 Dear brothers and sisters, living the gospel faithfully is not a burden. It is a joyful rehearsal—a preparation for inheriting the grand glory of the eternities. We seek to obey our Heavenly Father because our spirits will become more attuned to spiritual things. Vistas are opened that we never knew existed. Enlightenment and understanding come to us when we do the will of the Father.30 M.

The professional health community disagrees with you. M.

I know plenty of people who consume minor to moderate amounts of alcohol, are just fine, and don't destroy their lives or families. On that view, we can't even say alcohol automatically ruins lives. Different drinks have been around for ages. Sure, there's always been caution against excess and modern medical science has shown dangers of over consumption, but my point is we can't always search for satisfactory logic to explain commandments. We just obey them first and foremost.

Hi Ryan, first of all, I am a convert who was baptized at the age of 16, close to your age (I'm much older now) - congratulations and I hope your baptism day is wonderful :) I hear you about the tea and coffee thing - it was hard for me to understand too. But, we are not the experts on what we need to do in order to live righteously in these latter-days - God is. What is important is that to commit to living the gospel fully, we have been asked by our Heavenly Father (though his prophets) to do certain things. One of those things is to abstain from tea and coffee. I wouldn't say that coffee, tea or caffeine are not harmful substances - they most definitely can be, even if in moderation they probably don't hurt anyone too much. If you do a google search on 'coffee/tea/caffeine addiction', you will find that dependency on these substances has become a worldwide epidemic. Caffeine is most definitely a harmful psychoactive substance - do a search on that one too if you are curious. All of that is just information though - at the end of the day we keep commandments because they come from God, not because there is research to back them up :)

Correct. But I've promised to take him to the new one this summer when school gets out.

I have a few questions, some what rhetorical. Are profits good, bad, both, neutral? Why does this make a difference to you? Do you see it as some sort of trickle down priestcraft? If an independent company wouldn't make money off of selling a service would they? Probably not. Considering this, the premise that they probably wouldn't sell if they didn't make a profit, And Assuming that more people would likely see the movie/buy the movie because it is provided among more non-demographic specific stores. Would you prefer that individuals who might be moved upon by the holy spirit not have the opportunity to learn and hear about a peculiar people and thus lead them to the Gospel? Some people seek out the church on their own accord without being lead by missionaries and members, but by the holy ghost. I see this as another opportunity for those who seek to find.

Wonderful...God bless.

If you really want I could look up some research on caffeine, coffee and tea, and potentially bad effects from taking them if you want. I could also look up the potentially good effects too PrisonChaplin summed it up pretty well though.

Many types of open source software which is free, can be repackaged(compiled) and sold by a company, So long as the source is provided free of charge. Is it wrong? Not really. Some people will only buy a product (as in get it only if they Have to pay) even if a free alternative exists. (Like some of my family members and anti-virus software) Independent for profit companies excel at distribution. Seeing as there is a variance of price, I would guess that this is the case.

I have also learned that some of my ancestors came to Salt Lake City with the Warren Foote Company. Last name of Blodgett. https://history.lds.org/overlandtravels/companyDetail?lang=eng&companyId=117 Newman Greenleaf Blodgett (1800-1882). Born at Chelsea, Orange, VT. Resident of Kirtland about 1836-1838. Received elder's license 18 Mar 1838. Probably expelled from MO 1839. Moved to Iowa. Resident of Nauvoo early 1840's. Died at Ogden, Weber, UT.

I am really loving reading these.

Grace to an Evangelical Christian is God's unmerited favor. Eph.2:8-9 says we are saved by grace through faith. Uctfdorf's definition seems sound from the outside. It may not be the definition of grace that separates our beliefs, but rather the definition of "saved", "salvation", and "born-again", "eternal life" and the "atonement."

I think it a futile effort. You should stand strong and give your objection to their treatment of your faith, but I think arguments are futile against them. I, for one, long ago tired of trying to defend their rights. I thought it right to defend them as people deserving dignity - and I still treat them that way myself, but I no longer tolerate their activism. I think they have too much voice and to argue with them only gives them more voice. When a 2% population gathers a 50% voice, I no longer believe they are getting the short end. I'm just tired of it all. Make it go away.

She was a great speaker, and I appreciated the message she shared. Was she the only sister who spoke this time who did not employ that terrible sing-songy, airy speaking voice? Is there anyone who actually appreciates being spoken to thusly? My sister adopts that kind of voice sometimes, on the phone and during family prayer... and it annoys me to no end. Maybe it works for some people, though I cannot imagine how.