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I haven’t been involved nearly as much as I use to. some observations that may attribute to this: - A LOT of politics, and in any community if you aren’t participating in the echo chamber, you get booted out. That being said I agree with virtually all of the conservative Political views held in here... but I don’t see the need to participate in The political echo chamber we have, nor engage in frivolous political debates with those I disagree with. TLDR: Online political discourse bores me - The topics I see I have little interest in. Either they are of little value (white supremacy in the Book of Mormon, nature of angels, nature of deer stones) or I read the thread and feel I have nothing to add from what was already written - I have transcended the need of gospel discussion with you mortal heathens despite that, I do agree with your observations . I will try to spark some interesting conversations based on my studies.

Many regular users have left the site, some thankfully (IMHO) others are missed. I still read the site daily, but only comment when I feel I have something to add. While the communication here has slowed, I personally feel it is much more faith-centered and less distracted by trolling and inactive Saints offering seedy advice and opinions that don't firmly side with Church teachings. Im not the site owner or administrator, but in the past I've stepped back from the site several times due to the conversations. Now, much of what is posted goes over my head but I still learn by reading.

Paid off our car a few months ago 🤘 also saved up enough money to buy a minivan with cash. Time to have a 3rd baby!

It will be next year that my wife and I will have been married for twenty years. Hopefully our marriage sealing will be sealed by the Holy Spirit in the next life if we continue faithful to life eternal. We also now have just reached one full gross year of income saved for in our emergency fund and retirement combined. Please share any milestones or goals reached if you wish.

Also Anatess seems to have been banned. I'm not asking why, so please keep your hair on - I'm just commenting that this forum won't be the same without her.

There's no need for anyone to be abrasive @Earl LDS Christians obviously have different views on things than Baptists Christians, which both differ from Orthodox Christians, etc. Yes, everyone believes their beliefs are the most correct. And we can all treat each other with respect.

I’ll bite I would argue yes, but not in the sense of killing is violating commandments. Limiting your children for financial reason Or just not wanting children so you can play won’t damn one to an eternity of fire and brimstone, but it will prevent certain blessings from being realized. A distaste for children and family may also prevent one from entering the celestial kingdoms, But not out of punishment, but out of the fact that such a person would not be happy there. The celestial kingdom and exaltation is all about family

Book of Mormon By Joseph Smith and The Jaredite Records by Mosiah

Because you said both are fully worthy then that is all we need to know. But what qualified each as fully worthy from a practical standpoint is going to vary. We will be judged according to our ability to do. A wealthy person obviously has the ability to do more with his wealth than a poor person. A healthy person has the ability to do more with his body than a sick or injured person. And so it goes with knowledge, freedoms, upbringing, historical setting, etc. We will each be judged accordingly.

I’ve struggled with prayer for a long time. Still do, in fact. Recently I’ve been studying the General Conference talks of Neal A. Maxwell. It has been of great help because he has such a wonderful, true perspective. Here are some things I’ve learned. The world would tell you to take time for yourself, to find yourself, to love yourself. That’s only descent advice if you know which self to do that with. Hint: It’s not the self the world is usually talking about. We mortals are dual beings. We have a natural/fallen man and a divine child of God wrestling for the supremacy of our soul. The scriptures tell us what to do with the natural man. We are to “put it off” and to “deny ourselves” (see Mosiah 3:19; Luke 9:23). The self we should nurture is our divine self. We do this by following the first great commandment and through the atonement of Christ. We put God first. We strengthen that relationship first. Remember that “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6). Start small. You already have the desire to live with God in the Celestial Kingdom. Let that desire work in you (see Alma 32:27). Talk to Him through prayer. Don’t mince words. Just tell it like it is, as you have done here. He already knows, of course, but it’s important that you acknowledge that you know it, too. Ask for strength. And then watch, observe. He works by small means, too, and you have to pay attention to the subtle ways He will let you know what to do. Keep hanging on even if it’s just by a thread. Here is a wonderful talk where Elder Maxwell talks to people in exactly your situation. Read it over and over. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1991/04/lest-ye-be-wearied-and-faint-in-your-minds?lang=eng I hope this helps, even if just a little. I hope you are able to find peace.

The trouble I have with answering the question is, it assumes “salvation” is merely the act of achieving a “finish line” that leaves all who cross it in identical situations more-or-less on the same timeline. Thus, the correct answer (“yes”) sounds horrendously unfair. ”Salvation” is maybe better perceived as a process of “becoming”, and that’s going to be a very individualized process. What works to fully refine one person, may not work for another; and thus it probably isn’t particularly useful to get hung up on the idea of “fairness” or “equality” where the experiences of mortality are concerned.

That is a much better support. President Nelson is clearly warning and forewarning in his latest talks. Given that the Lord had is all figured out on how to fulfill every prophecy and tells us he will tell his prophet we should be listening to that. If it turns out that it is not the 2nd Coming that President Nelson warning us for, we are still better off preparing as if it was. Because such preparation will see us through what ever it is President Nelson is trying to get us ready for. Wereas if we think is it impossible for the Lord to speed up his work, therefore do not heed the warning... Well second coming or not whomever has that mindset is going to be very much screwed when whatever it is we are being warned about comes.

To say I'm sorry to hear these things is an understatement. I'm sorry for your pain. You may not like my advice, either. Change is hard. Change often hurts. I can, however, tell you what built my faith as an adult convert. First, I had a testimony that the Book of Mormon was scripture. However, that was the ONLY thing I believed to be true. I had a testimony of nothing else. With that established, I worked to establish testimonies of other things. I lived as HE wanted me to live. What do I mean by that? Well, I read my scriptures daily. I served my brothers and sisters every opportunity I had, and looked for more opportunities. I didn't wait for the EQ President or the Bishop to call me, I called THEM. I was relentless in my ministering. I lived the Word of Wisdom, gave up bad habits I had, lived the Law of Chastity, and gave it everything I had. With that, I began to build my faith. I was receiving more than I was giving. I was converted more each day. When I back off from that, I notice a distinct difference in my life and relationships. Take that for what it's worth. I'm not an authority on anything.

Hi ByAThread, Sorry to hear your story. A few things: - You are not alone. Over the last five years, for whatever reason, I've met well over a dozen men in similar situations. I personally know four LDS guys, three of them in my ward, who would resonate personally with your story. - We all NEED love, acceptance, friendship, joy, companionship, fulfillment, spiritual/emotional/physical intimacy. We need relationships, friendships, contact with other humans with whom we can connect on various levels. - Soul-crushing loneliness is soul-crushing. I'll go one step further, and say you, as a child of God, deserve these things. And you can pursue them in ways that do not violate any covenants, or make you a bad example for your kids. To the contrary, if you treat yourself as God would have you treat yourself, you are being a good example to your kids. The trick is to find legitimate ways to meet your needs. Here's a list of priorities: God first, you and your spouse second, your kids third, and you fourth. If you're doing right by God, if your efforts are not fruitful with your spouse, if you are doing right by your kids, then absolutely you should be taking care of yourself. Find a divorced dude at church and invite him to lunch. Open up to him a little. Can you hug your kids more? Create and nurture friendships with other guys. Meaningful service to others might help. Not sure if you're a cat person or dog person, but you can find basic physical touch and affection from animals (and unconditional love from a dog). I'm just some random guy on the internet, so take this for what it's worth. Bless you brother, and I'm sorry.

I agree, to a point. You can disagree without being disagreeable. However, some topics pushed to the forefront are just volatile topics. Additionally, many of our adversaries are pushing their agenda violently. We've failed to protect our borders, and we now have the adversary attempting to convert our children and weaker members from within. You even see it on this forum. I've seen otherwise faithful members of my own small ward striding down the path of progressivism. I will never be ashamed to actively correct false doctrine, whether stated or hinted. I will never be ashamed to actively correct those preaching bad habits and to follow the flesh, or to propose keeping BYU pure.. I will never be ashamed of identifying and inserting myself into conversations intended to sway weaker members or youth. If that means you think I'm part of the problem, I'm willing to entertain you may be correct. I don't think so, though. I'm willing to stand in front of my Savior and declare my pure intentions were to save my brothers and sisters and help all endure to the end. If I am wrong, I'll face his judgment, as will those who turned their backs to their brothers and sisters who were being led away from Him.

First of all, I'm moved by your saying you feel like your faith has died. I'm sorry for the loss of your daughter, especially at such a young age. I know that my faith was jarred when one of my favorite CTR-4 students was diagnosed with cancer; I cannot imagine how shaken yours must have been. If there was a time in your life you know that your faith was strong, go back and read your journals from that time in your life. If you haven't kept very good journals, start. It's okay to reminisce in your journal; write about the things that you remember doing, thinking, and feeling during that time when your faith was strong. Mosiah 18:30 talks about how beautiful the waters of Mormon are to those who came to know of their Redeemer there, because that's where they came to know their Savior. If at all possible, physically return to those places in your life. For me, it's my college campus and the grounds of the Winter Quarters temple. Read your patriarchal blessing. View it as a way to see yourself and your life the way that God sees it. Recognize that it's going to take time to regrow your faith and be patient with yourself throughout the process. Surround yourself with uplifting, positive media and entertainment. Keep note of what the things you are reading, watching and listening to are causing you to feel. Even if you are only consuming "church approved" media, it can still cause you to feel hopelessness, especially due to your situation. You may find that, for the time being or years to come, there are lessons you skip over. I still get kind of prickly when I hear talks geared towards parents of wayward children because it reminds me that there are so few resources for children of parents who have gone astray. (The closest I can get is a scripture somewhere in the NT about loving God more than your parents and that Elder Oaks was raised by inactive parents, but there are no "this is how you deal with this issue" talks that I've found like there are with wayward children. So, if anyone has any....) I'm a lonely gal myself. Some years moreso than others. (Unwed, childless, seasonal depression.) When I catch myself feeling this way, I think about all of the people I've done proxy temple work for. I imagine at least some of them would like to greet me, shake my hand, give me a hug. I feel they are my friends and are cheering me on in my righteous endeavors. Even though I can't see them and can't remember most of their names, they know who I am and they love me for what I have done for them. They are the friends I know I have when I feel I don't have any.

I looked into this a little more - since I know nothing about Netflix. Though I am concerned with the trend, I am not surprised. I have a beautiful daughter that was very into dance when she was growing up. She still is. A few years ago she tried out for a TV show called "So you think you can dance". She did not make the first cut but was told that she showed promise and should work and try out again. As a mother of 4 she decided to let go of that dream. I gave this little back story because 20 years ago this daughter was very into dance. Of course as a dad, I supported the dreams of my little girl. Did you see that part about 20 years ago? I remember going to a competition while this daughter was still in grade school. Engineers do not know a lot about dance - but I like to think I am a quick learner. I also married a cheerleader - though I never saw my wife cheer live. By college she had backed off from cheer-leading. Anyway watching my little daughter was a bit of a culture shock for me. Once these little girls get beyond the toddler stage and into serious dance - there are three things that greatly concerned me. #1. the makeup and hair. This is way over the top but it is considered part of the training. #2. are the costumes. Like the make up the standard is - in my mind - how can I say this??? In the dance world; sexy and cute are synonymous. I was surprised to learn that part of training a dancer is getting them over the inclination of being embarrassed wearing a costume. #3. the dance moves. All of it seemed a little too sexy to me. Especially for little girls. The problem in defining a line between what is acceptable and not acceptable - there is not that much difference between almost to the line and just over the line regardless of where the line is drawn. And so for my final thought I will quote - Confucius Says: The Traveler

We paid off our car today. No more car payments! Yippy! There is only about 59,000 miles on the odometer presently as well.

I have some buddies on the left who are making me think a thread like this is timely and necessary. To start out on the right foot: I'm worried about the upcoming election. - If Trump wins, the 'rise up against oppression by burning down our own cities' folks will be energized and grow (hopefully for just a short time). - If Vice President Kamala Harris (and Joe) wins, well, you've got a lot of folks ticked off at inadequate government response to rioting, and a lot of folks ticked off at executive public health orders. Should we get more blue in charge, and less government standing against rioting, I expect to see an increase of people taking things into their own hands. - No matter who wins, if the results are in question because of election fraud, well, losing faith in our institutions weakens us as a nation. Remember Gore vs. Bush decided by the supreme court? Think about that, but people are in the streets lighting crap on fire and shooting at each other. Not good. So, in an effort to help mitigate all that, I'm starting this thread to tackle hoaxes and dumbness. Hoax and dumbness #1: "Trump has put a 10' concrete wall around the White House in order to stay in office." Pushing this notion is meant to make the president look like a banana republic dictator, unjustly ruling in defiance of the public will. The reality, is that plans for this latest construction, with new anti-climb features, were started back in Obama's 2nd term. Cool history of the White House perimeter, involving Nixon, Clinton, GWB, and Obama: Business Insider - The White House is building a massive 'anti-climb' wall following protests. These photos show the evolution of White House fencing over the years

I keep trying to build up my food storage stocks. Presently I believe we are up to 120 days of food storage and we have a water purification system that will make a few thousand gallons of water drinkable. My wife's health is not good so it is hard to build up more food storage as we are spending thousands of dollars now on treatments trying to get her well. But we will keep trying and working toward a six month supply of food storage.

During the campaign Harris will be the attack dog. Biden can't get out of his own way, so the media will keep him out of the spotlight because Trump will destroy him. Harris will mostly ignore Pence and campaign as though she is running for President. She'll attack Trump relentlessly. If Trump attacks her using the vulgarity he has in the past, then those attacks will be pushed by the media as misogynist and racist. It's their best plan, really,

Brigham Young once observed that any woman can spoon money out the kitchen window faster than any man can shovel it in the front door. Your accomplishments are not that of one but of two. It seem to be more and more difficult in this world to get two to work together long enough to accomplish anything close to what the both of you have accomplished. My father told me that there are two things most people will look you in the eye and lie about. #1. Is how well they manage their money and #2 Is how well they get along with their spouse. What I did not realize at the time was how much the two are related to each other. The Traveler