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Did you know that there is an handy little button at the bottom of every post that is called "Report?" It there to bring problematic posts to the attention of the mods, because mods are human and have the failing of all humans. We don't read every post, we might skim over long posts, and we have our own biases that color how we see posts. Reporting gets the attention of every mod. It says "Hey this is important look at it." Mods who would never otherwise would not be at all interested in subject matter will look. Mods who skimmed over it will give it a better look over. Mods who took it one way will have a chance to ponder again. Then we all get a chance to discuss it and figure out how we want to handle it. Reporting a post does not guarantee the mods will act the way you want, in fact you might not know the mods acted at all. But not reporting and taking it upon yourself to 'correct' it is a sure way to add to the confusion, when it does get flagged for mod review.

I'm not here to argue w/you. But I want to make this clear, so maybe this can stop. Seminary, you're missing the point of why I'm offended. Believe it or not, it's not b/c I "don't have the truth" therefore I'm "easily insulted and angered". If I started taking some of your church's history (you know, the less-than-proud moments) and posted them on a Catholic forum as "proof" of how terrible your church was, and therefore, couldn't be true, you would be offended too (provided of course, that we switched spots just as an example). There are SO MANY instances in your church's history that I could use as an example, where I could just "cut" something out that Smith said or did (or Young or others) and then "paste" it on this forum without any thoughts of historical context, or justification for why said thing was said or done. You would consider this as unfair and disrespectful...but as long as it's not your church, then it must be a-okay! Why not! If they're offended, it's all their fault!! Most members here, b/c you are LDS, can't recognize the half-truths from the truths, which were simply plucked out of history and put on parade for mocking. Nor do you understand my faith and what we believe, so everything is out of context. It is frustrating, and I'm trying to respond as best I can w/o getting angry. Jesus did not teach that the seed which is sown with discord, and made up with half-truths & deception, is the best seed for spiritual growth. So how can I be enlightened through insults? How does the Holy Spirit make good fruits come from such a seed? And do you really think I have contentious motives & have problems with pride? Do you believe that I'm easily angered and insulted? Do you know me so well that you are prepared to judge me, without fear of offending, with a clean conscience?? Where is Christ in this conversation? How about we have an actual conversation again? I would like that.

Hi new buddies I'm a brand new newbie. I like wine, food, making toy houses and discussing how to make the world a better place. I'm not a mormon, but I'm not anti-mormon either. So, one of the other things I do is prep for bad times, in a fairly haphazard sort of way. One thing I have noticed is that the LDS church is well represented on prepping forums, and I'm wondering if this is a group theological thing or just a demonstration of like-minded individual common sense? If it's a group thing, does LDS teaching have an end-times position, and what is it? If it's individual common sense, does the LDS support philosophically a prepping mentality, to make so many of you so sensible? Best wishes, 2RM.

I'm present. But only for just a few minutes. I normally (now) only have time to browse for a second with no time to reply. I would be able to do more currently if there was an app for this. I sure miss everyone.

Thanks for all the responses! I've been trying not to get caught up on things like this because I really do feel like the Book of Mormon is true.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze Twas a trip back to my childhood.

Farewell Iguy2314. I would simply like to comment on your approach to finding truth compared to the one taught by our missionaries. You urge anyone investigating the Church to start with C.S. Lewis. We urge people to ask of God. There is no more fundamental teaching that our missionaries present than James 1:5-6. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." When a person seeks religous truth, whether to believe in Christ or not, or whether to accept the precepts of a particular denomination as truth, he needs to go to the source: God. I'm sure Iguy2314 did not intend this, but it'll ultimately be the outcome of his approach. His approach is to try to find the smartest guy around and then ask him for truth. The world is full of smart people who all disagree on what the truth is. Such an approach can only lead to confusion or deception. Joseph Smith, although a real person, represents all of us as a proxy in one sense: he had to find out what was true amidst the "war of words and tumult of opinions" in the world around him. He, like Iguy2314 and many of the rest of us, inquired of the smartest, educated, and most well-informed people he could find. He read from the Bible and compared the smart guy's answers to it. Inevitably, he came to the solution that any honest person would come to. There's no way to know. The smart guys were all sincere and convinced they were right. Then he read James 1:5-6. In a modern context, I would paraphrase this passage like this: If you lack knowledge about spiritual things, don't ask Google. Don't ask Yahoo Answers. Don't go to CARM, or MRM, or Ephesians2, or any of the various anti-Mormon ministries out there. Don't go to the Pope, Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, or Jimmy Swaggart. The professors of religion at the theological seminaries argue among themselves about what the Bible means. You won't get the answer you seek from them. Instead, ask of God. Joseph Smith learned firsthand that God answers prayers and grants wisdom to those who ask him for it, in faith, believing that they will receive. The one caveat to all this is to set aside your pride and promise to follow God's answer when it comes. Have faith. Asking doesn't come without a price. Revealed truth requires you to commit to it once it is given to you. Clarity comes through personal revelation from God. For any non-LDS visitor that reads this discussion, please ask yourself. Who would you trust more, C.S. Lewis or God? We urge every sincere seeker of truth to study the Bible and the Book of Mormon and then to ask of God if it is true. We ask this confidently knowing that God will never steer you wrong.

Yes, take it to the Lord. My first impression was your daughter had a moment of excitement.

I left the church 20+ years ago because of the way I was treated and I didn't have any friends here. It has been talked about in my family many times that if we would have stayed in the mission field most of us never would have fallen away. We need to remember that the gospel is true even if some of the people in the church makes us want to pull our hair out :) Yes, you are usually only a day away or even a prayer away, if you want to look at it like that. We need to follow the counsel that has been given to us time and time again, yet we seem to think that it doesn't apply to "us". Pray and study the scriptures and pray!!