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This is a full scale rant. You have been warned. In a little corner of my basement, in what was once a darkroom before I bought the house, is my vintage computer workshop. And on a counter in that workshop are a couple of Commodore 64s, some disk drives, a disassembled Commodore 128, and a flat screen monitor that has been adapted to accept video inputs from machine that were old when Bill Clinton was President. Yet just 10 or 15 feet away at my desk, is an HP laptop with processing power and memory that is several orders of magnitude more than all the computers in my workshop combined. Next to it is the gaming rig I built last year to do my Christian game reviews, which itself has - literally - a million times the RAM, moves over 3 billion times faster than the old CPUs, and has a hard drive which has over a billion times the capacity of the floppy disks used by the old machines. And yet, I love my Commodores far, far more... even though I'm a software engineer and I work in modern software development, not vintage computing. Why? Because this is 2019, where every computerized device we own is constantly screaming for our attention every minute. I went on a rant about this last night and I think for a moment my wife was getting nervous that I was having a mental breakdown it was so intense. When I wake up in the morning, my phone is already slamming out the notifications. Formula 1 practice sessions are starting! You have an E-mail! Text text text text text!!!! That thing you bought on Amazon is gonna arrive today and YOU NEED TO KNOW IT RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH, AND I'LL REMIND YOU 5 MORE TIMES TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My car alerts me that it wants an oil change when I get in it to go to work, or when the fuel is low, or when a tire is low, or when my parking brake is on... You know, I'm old enough to remember when a couple of gauges and dash lights were sufficient to relay this information to me... but I guess this is 2019 where somebody believes I'm too dumb to understand unless a computer slams it in my face with some kind of digital screen and forces me to hit an 'OK' button so that I can go back to what I was doing... My work computer yells at me all day that I have E-mails, Skype messages, it wants a software update, it wants a restart to apply updates... etc. Every other webpage I visit both at home or at work has ads that pop up in my face. I get home and my computer is screaming at me that I have E-mails and Skype messages and oh, I WANT UPDATES TOO. (To be fair, my regular computer at home runs Linux and isn't nearly as obnoxious as Windows... But when I turn on that gaming rig, which runs Windows... ) My phone meanwhile has alerted me to messages form my kids' school about insipid nonsense I can't be bothered to give a fig about, like how some kid found a garter snake in his locker but not to worry, no kids were hurt and the snake was let go back in the woods. And of course those messages come in via text AND phonecall/voicemail so there's NO WAY I CAN GO UNINFORMED ABOUT THE GARTER SNAKE. I'm even getting notifications about notifications. Meta-notifications? Mind you, I do not have Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If I did, I'm sure by now all the additional notifications would have driven me into full-on insanity. Yes, I'm aware that notifications can (usually) be turned off... but we're always installing and updating applications, and sometimes their notifications settings reset when you do this, BY DEFAUT. I even have a notification on my phone to tell me my "do not disturb" is on. I sometimes want to rage against the noise and scream I. DO. NOT. CARE. I do NOT need to know the second every single E-mail hits my inbox. I will check E-mail when I check it and not an instant sooner so why do I need this? I don't CARE what you want to sell me and I don't CARE that F1 practice starts in 5 minutes I only watch the races. And I don't CARE about an Amazon shipment changing hands in West Undershirt, KY I only care about when it'll hit my front porch and yes, I know exactly where to go to get that information when I want it. No, Waze, I don't need to know about the traffic volume generated by a Redskins game when I'm not even going anywhere NEAR it today. No, Windows I don't care that Cortana has some tips for organizing my desktop and quite frankly if I could uninstall it I would. I feel mentally exhausted by the constant need, by every device I own more complex than a toaster, to get my attention... ...but not my Commodore. It just sits there quietly, ready for me when I want to use it but staying silent otherwise. It doesn't shout at me. It doesn't block what I'm doing to show me messages, it doesn't fill its screen with icons. It just does what I want it to do and not one. single. thing. more. I know that notification settings can be adjusted. I know there are ad blockers. I know I know I know... But these ads, these apps, these websites... It's like an arms race where they try to come up with ever more sneaky sophisticated ways to get around that and clamor for attention anyway. You can get some peace and quiet for a while, but only as long as it takes one of them to figure out how to push through your shields and get you that INFORMATION THAT YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE RIGHT FREAKING NOW!!!!!!! We live in a world where human attention has become a commodity, and many of these things are efforts to harvest it right from the source: us. Ads, notices about ads, offers, deals, special events... all of it is getting bolder, louder and more ubiquitous... and our electronic devices are the highway from them to our eyeballs. So yeah. That's why I buy and restore vintage computers. They remind me of a time when computers in the home were our servants, and not delivery systems for advertisements.

Yes there is an onus to be where God wants you to be. I could go to a`bar instead of church on Sunday but that would be wrong to deny God's direction. I am going to slow down and seek the Lord's guidance rather than just go off of my own feelings. As fallen people our feelings can be deceiving.

My mom came to visit me yesterday I guess her mom sense told her I was sad because she surprised me. I actually feel a lot better now though

There are not different standards. There are different ways of meeting the (one) standard. I disagree with EM that "release time is really the only option"—I don't see why every stake in Utah couldn't operate its own early-morning seminary, just like almost every other stake in the world not located in the Mormon Corridor—but that is not the issue. In Utah and Idaho, many children have the option of attending seminary during their regular school day. When this can be an option, why would anyone seek to disallow it? How does it hurt you or your children if the children of Utahans attend seminary in the middle of the day instead of early morning? It's more convenient for them, they want to do it, and the schools are willing to accommodate. Where's the problem? If they offered release-time seminary around here, I expect almost all the kids in the stake (including mine) would want/have wanted to attend.

A fair vent. A lot of the time what people do is not really evidence (let alone scientifically) derived, but instead more emotional driven. So no, they don't have scientific proof of anything (there's no solid scientific studies on this). However, that fear that there *might* be a correlation really scares people. So they don't vaccinate their kids-- because they fear the possibly of brain damage (and they have seen kids with real disabilities) more than the fear the disease the vaccine is meant to prevent (a disease which is extremely scary, but they don't fear it because they've never seen it). And then you had the human nature I-need-to-justify-and-defend-my-choices trait.... it just becomes a huge mess. I could also go of on my soap box about how being different does NOT mean damaged or lesser. We know so little about how our human brains and spirits work. And that kid who does get a very visible injury that gives him a 'disability' is in NO way worthless than a 'healthy' kid.

It might surprise you then that Protestants and Catholics share beliefs, as in the Trinity. What you seem to see as heretical may just be a different style of worship (liturgy) or a misunderstanding of Catholic belief. M.

Oh sure, next you'll be expecting a bunch of Utah kids to stop drooling on themselves and licking the windows.

https://conservativememes.com/i/never-be-afraid-to-stand-up-for-what-you-believe-23e5482329bf489697849a4fcb9d3504

My stake president has asked to speak with me in front of the high council. But I'm not nervous. I know at least a couple of them put pineapples on their pizzas. Plus my stake president is a Harley guy, and I suspect he's eaten more than one Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza in his time.

And in this, from a Baptist point of view, your heart would dissuade you from doing such things. A Saved individual has their heart turned towards the things of heaven rather than the things of the world. You should probably do as you feel in your heart (as a Saved individual) rather than that where the world tells you. Something that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has as an idea or Article of Faith goes as follows... You need to follow the dictates of your own conscience in where you will worship and how you will do so. Hopefully you can find a place when you get married where you can do so. Finding a wife (and if your girlfriend is the one to do that, it is good, but if not, than hopefully you will find another that you can do so with) that can worship alongside you can be an important facet and foundation of marriage. You are still young though, so you still have a lot of time left in front of you for weighty decisions, no need to rush headlong into it. Take time to make sure she is the right one, and that you and her share the right values that you want to have in a spouse.

Yes I was referencing the prologue to John but I never got around to explaining it. You are a very wise man sir. Yes I am saved and I could go to many churches or never go to church again. Although, the Lord wants me to attend a church where I will be edified and strengthened and I can worship him. I wouldn't partake in rituals at a church that I find blasphemous or heretical such as a Catholic Mass.

Thanks for explaining the garments! As with most things so far, it doesn't seem that "strange" anymore after reading your comments. But I have to admit - even though you don't see it as a burden - I feel a little bit bad that whoever invented them, didn't just use a ring or a bracelet as a reminder of your covenants instead. I agree, *just* reading doesn't bring one closer to god. And I didn't read the bible with that intention - I read it to learn what it says (before that, I only knew portions of it). So yeah.. it's not surprising that reading it didn't suddenly bring me closer to god because I wasn't, as you said, "opening up". Thinking about one of your questions.. I'd say I never had a relationship with god. Sure, as a kid I had to pray every night before going to sleep and sometimes my family went to church, but this was never very serious or important to me.

I'd assume we've read them with different presuppositions? Of course I don't know, but I guess you've read them when you were already a believer? I've read them when I was already doubting. Or we simply take different things from the stories or have different views on what we consider to be admirable. Just one famous example that's often mentioned: Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac. Many believers admire Abraham for having such strong faith while to me this is purely horrific and scary. If the translations of the bible got it wrong and he didn't actually wipe away almost all the people on earth because he regrettet making them, and he didn't create humans and helped his favorite people to kill other humans he created, and he didn't kill all the first borns in Egypt, and he didn't command the killing of people who slept with the wrong person, and he didn't give instructions on how to treat your slaves, and he didn't degrade women - ok, THEN I shouldn't take the bible as a reason to not worship god. But even if we ignore the bible stories, I would still wonder: Did he create a world that includes horrific, deadly deseases/miscarriages/natural desasters etc. even though he could have created a world without all those things? Ugh... sorry, I'll better stop my ranting now and get back to LDS-questions. I understand the words. Sadly enough, my not very helpful or explicit question was still the better option compared to the first one that came to my mind ("Whaaaat!?"). I'm sure you understand that reading something like the part I quoted sounds very alien to someone who isn't familiar with this (of course I knew about the garments, but not about this particular virtue about them) and I wasn't sure how to phrase a question without sounding derogative. But the answers you were all giving already helped!

As long as membership and good standing in the kingdom of God is not of concern, this attitude is understandable.

then why are there different standards for Utah/idaho kids and the rest of the world? Just have the kids go to their ward buildings at 6 Am and divide up into classes just like they do everywhere else? It can't be that hard.

Actually I am.

This was my jam. Besides solving almost any problem. I could play games... Roll D&D characters. Store class notes. I was a ‘scholar-athlete’ and finished with a BS in Nutrition. But I was a member of the BYU Calculator Club and learned how to make this little machine hum. I have an emulator on my iphone but it’s just not the same.

Good news! I may get a ministering sister! I called my former bishop’s wife and she feels that this can be arranged! Very happy 😊 Things are getting better!

Both. And here’s logical reasoning especially packaged for atheists (haha, tongue in cheek). When you’re mindful of doing good, the resulting consequence would be that you avoid putting yourself in places where bad things happen.

Answer this from the LDS Christian perspective: and can you tell me about your relationship with God during this time? Were you praying to have Him better help you understand things? Looking for applications? Living open and willing to act on the knowledge He gave/gives you? Do you know what His voice sounds like to you? You don't need to actually answer any of those questions on here Mim- this isn't meant to be a cross-examination. I'm simply illustrating the logical process. *Just* reading scripture is pretty useless. *Just* studying history of things is downright useless. A person cannot have a relationship with God without opening up to God Himself. And any relationship that you're not wiling to do something about and nurture, is just doomed to starve. First things first, need to state an obvious fact: there is nothing magical about the piece of fabric itself. The fabric itself does zero. The life of wherein a person chooses follow Christ, to follow His commandments, and honor their covenants with Him (which the garment reminds us of), that does make a world of difference. Walking with Him helps you be strong (He gives strength) to better resist doing sinful things, and better repent when you do screw up. By staying on His path, you'll also avoid a lot of the heartache sin / a sinful life brings about. But avoiding some doesn't mean they'll never be heartbreak in your life (because there will be): rain falls on the just and unjust. Having Christ with you helps us better endure and brings comfort during these hard times.

On a different path, one that discusses the differences of the beliefs found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vs. that of those found in the Baptist religion, which in some ways DOES differ (most protestant religions differ in one area or another in belief, this is why there ARE different protestant religions rather than just one unified religion, though various churches [for example the Baptist have a stronger independent church tradition than say...the Presbyterians] can have very similar beliefs. To support the Trinity, there are various scriptures one uses. The most famous I would say would be as follows... Here it states that they are both separate and yet the same being in a protestant understanding. As it says, the Word was both With and WAS at the same time, Deity. And then, it says that the Word was made Flesh, and that no man hath seen the Father, but have seen the Son. There are other verses, but this is one that many Trinitarians can turn to for a particularly strong showing of scriptural backing of their belief. It does NOT state that they were ONE in purpose, but that they are actually ONE and the SAME. At the same time it also makes clear that they are DIFFERENT. At least from a basic reading of the KJV. On the otherhand, LDS take a notion of the aspect of oneness as found by a prayer known by almost every Catholic Child who has gone to the traditional school... However, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe it states something definitively different than many Catholics would interpret and in this it reveals a distinct belief about the nature of deity. In this, the question arises, how can we be one the same as the Son and the Father are One? If they are one in essence, would that not also mean that we are too one in essence? Or does it mean that we are all the same essence as believers? The church, I do not feel, teaches this. Instead... In this the Church interprets it as one in purpose, or unity. It is not that we are of the same essence in the way that a Trinitarian from a Baptist Background will believe...IN MY OPINION. It is in no wise the same as the Protestant interpretation of the Trinity. I would that all would come and believe in the same Gospel that we believe in, but I also know that many choose not too and that many have their own belief. On this board I think we can freely advocate our views, but personally speaking, I do not find the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as closely aligned to the trinity as some may express it to be in the thread. I do not think we will convince one to become a member of our church by trying to convince them that we believe the same as they do, but rather to hopefully have them read and study our beliefs and then pray about them, while understanding the DIFFERENCES between what we believe and what others believe. At the same time, building upon common beliefs is also important, and I think it is essential to having better understanding between us and others. We have some very common beliefs between each other. I'm not sure trying to convince a solid Trinitarian that their belief is the same as an LDS belief is going to work, though. Off shoot of this, we simply do not know what @AbramM girlfriend believes. AS such, we are trying to tell him our beliefs and our ideas, independent of that. This is fine, and hopefully he understands this. I'm not sure this is doing much though. On my part, ironically, I think it is easy to be Baptist and actually go to LDS services. In Baptist belief, at least some of them, you are saved. One who is saved should KNOW that they are saved. IT causes an actual change or turning of heart. Once saved, you are SAVED. You are not suddenly UNSAVED. You have been saved by the Lord and that is an act that continues. He does not suddenly discharge this. You cannot lose your salvation once saved in most Baptist doctrine. This would be unfathomable and illogical. Once saved, you HAVE your salvation guaranteed. As someone who is saved, you can go to any service you want. You can basically do what you want, though your heart will not let you do something that is completely sinful or wrong. You have been saved, your sins forgiven and the grace of the Lord is sufficient. Why, then, if it is a permanent status, would one not be able go to LDS services? Sometimes it is better to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile than to do otherwise. HOWEVER, being unequally yoked can be destructive to ANY relationship. It is good for many to seek someone who is on the same level as they are. It can be hard for any marriage in this day and time to do well, more obstacles in the mix, such as different religious beliefs can make it even harder. Abram seems to be seeking one who has the same religious beliefs as he does. Religion seems to be the foundation of his life and he would want it to be the foundation of his marriage. This is commendable. I would say if he actually wants more knowledge on LDS beliefs, reading from the Book of Mormon could be a good start. However, looking at his actual request it appears that he has gotten his answer in that regard. He is working on that aspect (his girlfriend and finding a church) already. I don't think he came here to actually investigate the church (though learning about it is good I would hope) and instead sought answers for a good church to attend that would feel comfortable for both him and the girl he was dating. The answer is we do not know, but I'd still stick with the idea that if any church would be with what she shared with him, it would probably be a more traditional Baptist church that had a more traditional feel (traditional choir, etc.) or a Non-denominational church which tries to appeal to all sorts of ideas and views. Of course, for most of us who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we would love to have him attend our church with his girlfriend. I'm not sure that is the answer he is seeking (but as I point out, I don't actually think there'd be much wrong with it from a Baptist point of view if he was SAVED already as he cannot lose that salvation in most Baptist beliefs). I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. I was able to recognize the Holy Spirit telling me that the gospel was true. This is why I joined the Church at the time, not necessarily because I understood everything about it or even agreed with all the doctrines at the time. I, personally, have felt the Holy Spirit telling me that the gospel is true. However, though I would hope all could come to the same answer and feelings I did, I also understand that what worked for me and helped me may not be what is for everyone else or even what anyone else may want to do. He has his life and has some decisions and choices to make, which I think he is in the midst of.

That doesn't make sense. If you doubt she has time for herself, why would she think she has time for child?

Hi @Anonymous2478, welcome to the forum! I have several disorganized thoughts here -- There's a HUGE difference between 1) being stuck in a sewer and completely content to just live there, vs 2) being currently stuck in a sewer, but knowing that this is a bad place to be and trying your hardest to get out. HUGE difference. - You can't get out a sewer by yourself. You need the Lord and formal counseling to help you resolve this addiction. Your girlfriend cannot fight that battle for you. (Not saying she is, just calling a common problem I've seen). - The phrase "he stole her virginity" is alarming. It seems to indicate rape. If so, that man has a WHOLE another level of sins to answer for. If he had pressured her into sex, but don't downright force, that's also very wrong and sinful. If you want not done either of these things, then you are in no way guilty of the sins that man did. - Spoiler alert: real-life sex does zero to alleviate porn addiction.

No it’s all part of the same ball of gum. Homeschooled and public school kids outside of Utah go to early morning seminary. Why can’t the same exact seminary program be administered to homeschooled kids in Utah? One poster said home schooled families in Utah were having a hard time figuring out when to have seminary. My answer is 6AM like everywhere else. Gather a bunch of homeschooling families together and have a teacher called by the stake or two or three stakes if the students are compiled from that many stakes. Is there some rule that the only Seminary taught in Utah has to be taught by a professional teacher? About accreditation- are ALL seminary programs accredited? If not, which are and which aren’t? If they all are, why would accreditation a problem for homeschooled families if they are taking EMS? Doesn’t make sense. If only RTS is accredited, does that mean there are no missionaries called to Brazil from , say, New York or Pennsylvania or Kansas where RTS isn’t an option?

Name checks out.

And don't forget the raspberry topping sprinkled with icing sugar.

I'm aghast that this most nefarious form of doxxing isn't specified in the site rules as a banning offense. That said, maybe this will help your Topping Aversion Derrangement Syndrome. There is no pineapple on this pizza:

My brother dated a girl who told him that she heard that Marvin J Ashton would eat Mac n Cheese w/ ketchup. If he can do that than than I can eat pineapple pizza.

Time to change your avatar.

Mario feels your pain, and only gets slightly sacrilegious at the end.

Or we could just cut the crap and conquer Mexico. Then everyone is happy!