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In this day and age.... I don't see why one could not reach out to their "real bishop" and get help/advice/council... No matter how far away one might be geographically.

This is another of these articles where, after reading it, I say to myself, "Self, that was a pretty good article, and I mostly agreed with it, but I wouldn't have put it that way." One of my Muslim friend's articles of faith was that Allah could do anything. Literally anything. He was I Dream of Jeannie God. You name it, he can do it. In contrast, our scriptures leave no doubt that there are things God cannot do. Not merely chooses not to do, but cannot do, like save people in their sins. My Muslim friend would undoubtedly have said that God can save whomever he wants, including infidels, but that for the most part, he chooses not to. Allah could save the sinful people into a wonderful paradise if he chose to do so. But orthodox Latter-day Saints simply do not believe such things. God is indeed limited, not by a deficiency of power or of knowledge, but by our agency and by the simple meaning of words. Thus, God CANNOT "save" a sinful, unrepentant man, because the term "salvation" implies sinlessness—it's sin we are being saved from. Far from being a deficiency in God's power, it's just a word game: God "can't" create a rock so big that he "can't" lift it, because if he did, it would mean there's a rock too big for an All-Powerful God to lift. So either God is deficient in lifting power of sufficiently huge rocks, or else God is deficient in his ability to create such sufficiently huge rocks. Baloney. This is no longer a discussion of God's abilities, but of how we choose to define and parse words. There are plenty of meaningless "things" that God can't "do". One of those "things" might be "do something for someone that he can do for himself but refuses to do." One non-existent thing that God for sure cannot do is give us a blessing from heaven without our having fulfilled the divine law attached to that blessing. Bottom line: God isn't I Dream of Jeannie. We would do well to come to grips with that simple fact. (Not God)

I saw that guy the other day walking around the grocery store without clothes on. He seemed a little out of his mind. Hope he is ok.

From a 10 year old post. There was an excellent study done to test the placebo vs. knee scopes for mild arthritis. It was a single blind study where the patients were treated with a spinal anesthesia and then they either had a real knee scope with 1) a debridement or 2) a sham operation (the docs made a real incision and made a fuss about squirting some water and pulling the leg around but no scope or debridement was performed). Results - no difference. Both groups of patients reported a significant increase in knee funciton and decrease in pain. Many of the patients who were in the sham group even stated that they would recommend the operation to their family members. Why did it work? Because the patients believed that it would help them to feel better. And it did. John 9: 6-7 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. I think that Christ applied clay to the blind man's eyes not because the clay had special medicinal properties. Possibly, Christ knew that the blind man did not have enough faith to be healed and needed this outward display of action to boost his faith. Christ created worlds without number. Pretty sure He could have performed this small miracle without spit, mud, or washing in a pool.

The worst is during a blessing or ordination some know it all tries to correct the poor brother speaking: "By the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood..." vs. "By the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood..." Another example is after the sacrament is finished and a member of the Bishopric stands up and says: "We would like to thank the Priesthood for administering the sacrament today..." vs. "We would like to thank those brothers holding the Priesthood for administering the sacrament today..."

We can't really have them here. But I've seen some real doosie discussions on Reddit or the like. Sounds like you're well aware of current directions given then. I don't think it's challenging. If the church leaders wanted it known and understood, point blank, that certain specific activities even within the bounds of marriage were explicitly forbidden they would make it known. They have not. They did not. Even that letter wasn't meant for the general public. It was, later, clarified that leadership was not meant to ask intimate detailed questions of couples. The current counsel, and therefore the doctrine, of the church is simple. It is between man and wife and the guidance of the Spirit. I don't think it's helpful to speculate on "the letter" beyond that. I don't think it's appropriate or useful to claim it was "just an opinion" or that it was "inspired revelation meant for all people for all time." It is, plainly, irrelevant to us. What is relevant are the teachings of our living prophets and apostles in regards to intimacy in marriage. Respect. Holiness. Purity. And that is to be worked out between husband and wife. If and when a living prophet declares that any given activity is inappropriate I will follow. When Brigham Young counseled people to make sure their ten year old sons were up by 4 a.m. working in the fields I'm pretty sure that no longer applies. But the general principle can be applied, as can President Kimball's principles. I don't know if his views and teachings were just for that time and no longer apply or not. I don't think it's important to work out, because it's not how our living prophets and apostles are directing us. That's doesn't mean it was just his opinion, that he was wrong, or anything like that. Of course that COULD be the case. But I don't see any reason to suppose it was the case, and, in fact, see a very good reason to stand in defense of the leaders of our church.

Get ready to breakdance: the new hymnal is coming on... Well, we don't actually know when. ...and it probably won't include any crunk songs, so I guess you can just forgot what I said about breakdancing. But while we don't know the exact date of the new hymnbook's arrival, there are lots of things we do know, too — and the first thing is that submissions are due JULY 1! Quick Facts This hymnbook is going to be the same across the world (although obviously languages will vary), so no national anthems will be included. You don't have to submit music — you can also provide feedback on songs you'd like in the new hymnbook, songs you'd like taken out, and general commentary on the current hymnal. The new hymnal is being compiled/revised by committees working "under the direction of General Authorities and General Auxiliary Leaders. The committees are composed of Church employees and called members with expertise in a variety of areas, including music, education, literature, world cultures, and Church... View the full article

Hi @isacarrot - 1) We all have a responsibility to make sure correct doctrine is being taught. 2) We all have a responsibility to seek to understand what our leaders/neighbors are actually trying to say. I remind you of Moroni's words when speaking with the Lord and talking with the Lord regarding his weakness in writing. We all can read and understand what the Lord said to Moroni. 3) Not everything though needs to be corrected in public or private. There are times where one might say, "I would have used a different word, but I understand what he was meaning." Remember, we can always ask for further clarification without saying "You're wrong!" An easy raise of the hand in this situation would be, "Hi, I am not sure I am understanding your statement, can you clarify what you mean by unhappy forever, or forever unhappy"? At times, this may provide the teacher an opportunity also to think through what he/she said.

Step 1: Be a person who enjoys Oreo's in your ice cream. Step 2: Observe that Oreo's in traditional cookies and creme ice cream are generally more chewy than crunchy. Step 3: Ponder if there is a way to add extra Oreo's into your cookies and creme in a way that will provide a similar experience. Step 4: Fill a cup with Oreo's and then pour in some milk to surround them so they will become soft. Step 5: Confirm Oreo's have softened with a spoon, then drink excess milk. Step 6: Compact Oreo's in the cup only to discover they absorbed more milk than anticipated, which can no longer be separated. Step 7: Place semi-liquid Oreo concoction in fridge to come back to it later. Step 8: (Later) Remove cold Oreo concoction with intent to freeze in preparation to add to ice cream. Step 9: Decide to microwave Oreo/milk concoction to evaporate a small amount of water prior to freezing. Step 10: Remove cup from microwave and observe an unusual swelling at the top which has a cake-like texture. Stir and repeat step 9. Step 11: Observe effects of step 10 increased, and consider it is unlikely that 1.5 minutes of total microwave time would have evaporated the water. Step 12: Take a bite . . . discover you have created a cake by accident. Step 13: Research this phenomenon online only to discover that others have also discovered this and call it Oreo Mug Cake. Step 14: Mix it into your ice cream as you intended from the beginning. Step 15: Indulge 😋

"Discountenance". The world would be a better place if folks had a personal list of those.

I did the same. I loved playing with GI Joes. Like you, I would spend hours having them embark on clandestine operations and engage in heroic battles. Don’t forget though, “Knowing is half the battle.”

There you go, ruining my morning with your facts. I'm never going to get that flying carpet I keep asking for😉.

I will take the less popular opinion here and say that you should speak to him. But what you are offering is not a correction, and her certainly wasn't teaching any false doctrine. What his statements needs is a brief statement of nuance. I have used that same scripture to make the same exact point. However, I always add the caveat, "barring cases of mental health and/or depression, those who find themselves happy in this life are likely to find themselves happy in the next." The important part is to focus on the behavior of doing our best to live the gospel and repent--doing so brings lasting joy through eternity. While I have no doubt that your stake presiden(t/cy person thing) would agree, I believe that words are important. Especially when they can affect some of our most vulnerable saints. Adding that one simple caveat is, I feel, a reasonable protection to keep those with mental health struggles from further despair.

How much experience do you and your wife have finding words to describe the bloody details of molestestation with a 7 year old? Hopefully none. But that experience makes a WORLD of difference when finding words to talk to a hurt kid. My parents never lacked love, but they did lack this experience. I have seen cases of abuse wherein the child did have someone to help them find the words, so that they and their parents could build that bridge and communicate that love. A therapist is never going to take the place of a loving parent, but rather helps the parent better be there for their child (versus like in my case where they couldn't be there because we didn't have words). You are. Yes, there are bad doctors out there (including ones that treat mental wounds), no denying that. But to blanket scorn ALL doctors of a certain profession and scorn treatment.... I find such a path to be HIGHLY unwise. The daughter, and the son, both NEED treatment here.

How is this messing with God's planning? How do you know that God does not want her to date and/or marry him? We are all equally children of the same Father. He is no less entitled to marry her than is someone of her own race. If he treats her right, if he's a good person, and if they both feel they are supposed to be together then that's all that matters. You may not consider yourself a "racist", but you are showing a form of racism here. Humble yourself.

For those that pay attention to current events (beyond Macbeth): Corduroy pillows are making headlines! and if you are thinking about getting a yardstick you better get one now because they aren't going to make them any longer. The Traveler

apostate. 😉

So these the kind of jobs that create Trumps' economic boom. Call it what you will, but even in these wicked times no one would deny that it's really... THAT DOES IT! @Just_A_Guy - Anatess has convinced me to join your side!

It's the sort of joke that your kids, once they hit a certain age, cease to find funny. For example, this conversation with my 14-year-old daughter: *Sigh*