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  1. Yeah, and in Hebrew the word for stone ('even) is feminine too. Does that mean rocks are female, or just rocks in Israel? And in Greek, Spirit is neuter, and in Latin it's masculine. And, ruach is masculine in Numbers 11:31 and Isaiah 57:16. Gendered words are hardly uncommon, and just because you have a gendered noun in another language, doesn't mean that word refers to something that is male or female.
    2 points
  2. The speaker could have easily added a clarifying statement to her comments - one that could have changed the tone of having her on stage to begin with. One that could have even given hope to individuals in her shoes. Something like..."While I do experience feelings of same sex attraction*, I married my husband several years ago. We have a great life and I love him dearly**". Omitted by accident OR design? I suspect the latter. Why not share how you have moved beyond your struggle and not let it constantly become your identity? * She explains in a North Star bio. ** She shares her marriage with her husband on her FB page.
    2 points
  3. Some thoughts on the matter... I suppose that I also instinctively fall in line with @Vort’s way of thinking on this matter. However, as I thought about how the church leaders view these matters, it led me to thinking about it in terms of how alcoholism is discussed and viewed. The world tends to associate healing from our base level desires by identifying oneself as the problems and addictions we face. For instance, it is not uncommon to hear someone say they are an “alcoholic” and haven’t had a drink in X number of years. Likewise, it is not uncommon to hear evangelicals refer to themselves as “sinners” when preaching. I suppose then that, due to the commonplace discussions of LGBTQ in the world currently, we should not be surprised to find such self-identifiers within the church as well. In my view, as we know that the Lord has the power to change our hearts and we become His sons and daughters as we strive to be like Him, we should also identify as such. We covenant to take His name upon us as new creatures. I believe THAT is how we should not only identify ourselves but also how we should view ourselves and others. That being said, I suppose it is wrong of me to judge those who self-identify as their problems. Their addictions and issues might plague them to the point to where they truly believe they ARE that trial. Hopefully they are able to allow God to change their natures and eventually be healed.
    2 points
  4. askandanswer

    Matthew 11:29 - 30

    29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (New Testament | Matthew 11:29 - 30) Last night I was asked to give a sacrament talk in two weeks on Matthew 11:30. While thinking about it this morning, I came across a possible difficulty. At the moment, I would find it difficult to agree with the proposition that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” When Christ says “my yoke is easy” I’m interpreting this to mean Him saying that living the gospel is easy, or keeping the commandments I have given you is easy. It must be true because Jesus said it, but at the moment, I don’t understand how it is true. I, and probably many others, find that there are times when it living the gospel is not at all easy and that it requires real work and effort. If it was easy, it would not be a growth promoting gospel. I see a major disconnect between what Christ said – “my yoke is easy” and the lived experience of many, many people and I’m not sure how to reconcile this lived experience with what Christ said. For me to feel comfortable giving a talk on this topic, I would either need to find a way to reconcile these two positions, or find a way to give this talk without committing myself to either positions, and of those two possibilities, the former is far more preferable. I acknowledge that living the gospel gets easier the longer we have been in the yoke, but I think that for some people, maybe for all people, there are aspects of the gospel that will always require work and effort and that never really become easy. So I guess my main question is how do I reconcile Christ’s teachings that his yoke is easy with the lived experience of many people that it is hard?
    1 point
  5. Just_A_Guy

    Commercial Racism

    I’d vote for “fired”. And the company needs to be sued, and the media alerted, if you don’t get proof that it’s happened. This is not someone who was simply “uneducated” or didn’t take enough sensitivity trainings. She went out of her way to be cruel. So, make it hurt. She needs to remember you, viscerally. By the way—what was “Shayna’s” race?
    1 point
  6. Methinks e v e is no kind of linguist. Your observation is probably lost on her.
    1 point
  7. the OT gives the NT her legal right… so the greek or latin are not relevant. Um, ok, so, how about: Yeah, and in Hebrew the word for stone ('even) is feminine too. Does that mean rocks are female, or just rocks in Israel? And in Greek, Spirit is neuter, and in Latin it's masculine. And, ruach is masculine in Numbers 11:31 and Isaiah 57:16. Gendered words are hardly uncommon, and just because you have a gendered noun in another language, doesn't mean that word refers to something that is male or female.
    1 point
  8. beefche

    Commercial Racism

    Wow. Just wow. I honestly would give a complaint to not only the store manager, but at corporate as well. And I would provide names--this is seriously unacceptable. They should not be in any type of customer service job if they can't serve everyone with respect--they can think what they want, but they shouldn't treat someone like that while at their job. I wouldn't want them to be doxed but they either need to be reprimanded or fired.
    1 point
  9. Actually, it wasn’t. That’s anti-Semitic claptrap that was invented by Luther and his intellectual heirs to try to gain a moral edge over their Catholic foes. Jews of the first century CE understood “grace” surprisingly well; they simply saw it as being mediated through scripture itself rather than in the form of God-made-flesh. In a parallel vein, Christians of the first century were covenant-oriented in a way that would make the modern Protestant cheap-gracers weep piteously.
    1 point
  10. They absolutely exist. I have looked them in the eye on a number of occasions. It absolutely exists. I have looked it in the eye on a number of occasions.
    1 point
  11. dprh

    Matthew 11:29 - 30

    My wife and I cringe every time we hear someone at church say "Jesus never said it would be easy, he just said it would be worth it." because (as far as we know) he never said that. A yoke, is was a piece of wood that is fastened to the necks of two animals and then attached to a plow or cart. It is not the burden itself. It is the method of uniting two animals together. In addiction recovery, we often say "One day at a time." When I first started, my wife was often upset that I couldn't/wouldn't promise to be clean the rest of my life. I could promise that today, I will be good. I start my mornings dedicating the day to the Lord and asking for His guidance and help. Every morning, I yoke myself with Him and it's easy to do. There may be difficulties and at times I want to fight or pull away, but when I tie myself to Him, it works out.
    1 point
  12. The thoughts that came to my mind: The yoke of keeping the Word of Wisdom is easy compared to the burden of addiction, cost to support the bad habit/s, withdrawal, staying clean, etc. The yoke of doing family history work is easy compared to the blessings you get in return = light burden. The yoke of emergency prep is easy when you consider the peace of mind you have. Being unprepared for what is to come is the heavy burden! Regarding your statement that the gospel is hard to live - it's harder for those who look at it that way. Maybe Christ saying this is to help us look at things differently since the world/Satan would have you believe otherwise. Also, growth doesn't always have to come from hard work/experiences. There is also growth when you say 'no' to things (ie gambling, tattoos...) and live with integrity and a clear conscience. Hope this helps a bit and that your talk goes well.
    1 point
  13. Perhaps if we compared it to the subject that it is most comparable to (in the context of the LoC): Heterosexual Lust. And here, I merely mean "powerful sexual desire" not necessarily going into actual activity or indulging fantasies in our minds. Even if we give the benefit of the doubt to the sister who called herself "queer", the best interpretation would be that she experiences same sex attraction, but she's committed to not acting on those impulses. If that is so, then what is the closest parallel to heterosexual attraction? ************************************************* If she were a married woman, would anyone ever ask her to come to a forum such as the Women's Conference and express in an equally matter of fact manner that she often finds herself lusting after other men (even though she remains faithful to her husband) ? Why not? It is just stating that she has a weakness. But she's never crossed the line. I don't think anyone would be asked to do that. I don't think many women would be willing to come out and say that publicly. What about a single heterosexual woman? Would she be asked to come to a public forum and express that she has a craving for the flesh (but she never acts on it)? Similar for men. In fact, I've seen videos on the Church website where men are asked to talk about their struggle with pornography and self-abuse. But their voices are not real, they are actors (as far as I can tell) and they show no image of the speaker. This is what makes me go "huh?" Why are these men given privacy in the discussion? Yet this woman proudly stands in front of the whole world and announces her struggle with sexuality? ************************************************* It is the "normalization" of SSA that is disturbing. So, why is it that we seem to be going out of our way to "normalize" same sex attraction? And if it is by its nature sinful, normalizing it would be worse than expressing simple heterosexual (sexual) attraction. With heterosexual attraction, it can be expressed within the bonds of marriage. So, as long as it is controlled within the boundaries that the Lord has set, then it can be the source of strengthening the bonds of marriage. So, if anything, we SHOULD be encouraging the normalization of heterosexual attraction. NOTHING good can come from same sex attraction. Because of that one quality, it is by nature sinful. Don't misinterpret me here. I'm NOT saying that simply having the attraction necessarily means one is committing sin. I believe the words of prophets and apostles have characterized this "trait" as something that is in its own category. The trait is something that has no spiritually beneficial side. But it has a strong propensity to drive one towards sinful behavior. As such, if possible, one should fight and struggle to be rid of that trait. Yet, merely having the trait is not, in and of itself, sinful. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that is like that. But why the normalization of proudly declaring SSA. But hide and protect the identity of a man struggling with pornography and self-abuse?
    1 point
  14. The quote attributed to Joseph Smith comes from Joseph Smith and William Clayton's journals (as well as others present when Joseph Smith allegedly said it) It was in the funeral of judge Elias Higbee, his children were what we would consider "wayward" and the prophet even offered sealing ordinances to some of Higbee's daughters in law. The problem is that when historians tried to reconstruct the story, made the text sound like the sealing ordinance of children to parents seems to guarantee them exaltation regardless of how bad they lived and the knowledge they possessed. However, in Howard and Martha Coray's notebook (present at the funeral) the quote actually talks about kids who have NOT transgressed. Ehat and Cook made a remarkable point that is more consistent to LDS doctrine:
    1 point
  15. Carborendum

    Commercial Racism

    I'd like to share an experience about "commercial racism". DESCRIPTION: We know about violent racism. We also know about stereotypes. We know about ethnic jokes. And we know about those individuals who, well... bless their hearts... just don't know how racist they sound when they say or do certain things. COMMERCIAL RACISM is what I'm calling those things that people do in commerce/business/employment, etc based on race. While I've experienced this before, there was always some shame in it. They always hid it in such a way that there was a small (sometimes tiny) level of plausible deniability. Yesterday, I came across blatant, open, admitted commercial racism. I have a Sam's Club membership. As such I have a credit card that provides a lot of cash back. Every April/May I cash in (that's the cycle I'm in). I went to the club to get a few things. I went to a checkout line that had the "open" sign on. I began to unload when the checkout lady (let's call her Shayna) said that she was closed. She was just standing there doing nothing. Just waiting for... something. Then as I moved away another woman came with her cart and began to unload. Shayna began to help her unload and started checking her stuff. I waited in another line and checked my stuff out there. I asked about cashback. They said that I could cash out at the membership desk. Once all loaded up in the car, I went to the membership desk and asked for my cashback. The lady there said that she couldn't do it at the membership desk. I told her what the checkout lady said. She told me that I'd been misinformed. I needed to go back to the checkout area and speak to someone in a green vest (one of the supervisors). I found that Shayna had a green vest. So, I began waiting at her line. When she was all out of customers, I asked her about he cashback. She said that she was not going to help me. Then she proceeded to wave someone else forward to unload. I asked her why she told me she was closed earlier. She said, "I don't want to serve you people. You're the reason we've got COVID." "I'm actually Korean, not Chinese." (in some half-effort to appeal to her). "Same difference." She then began to ignore me and got the next person to unload. Just then I noticed that another green vest came by. I spoke with him. He said that it is taken care of at the membership desk. I rebutted. He took me there personally. The lady then looked at me with some disgust and went through the motions. I got all my money. She didn't need any instruction from the green vest. She knew exactly how to do it. After it was all done, she walked briskly away from me and began a conversation with another worker until I left. As I was far away, I noticed she came right back her station again. No customer. Just the lack of "me".
    0 points
  16. well yes actually... I miss the days I thought you were a girl.
    0 points
  17. I shared that with you in secret! I don't appreciate you using it as one of your examples.
    0 points
  18. My workplace provides shower rooms in many of its buildings so that employees who bike into work (or for whatever other reason) can use the shower. About an hour ago, I availed myself of this small luxury. I put my clothes in a locker, which is equipped with an electronic, PIN-activated lock. But this being a place of business, filled with fellow adults, and with other lockers standing open with stuff in them, I felt no need to bother with locking it for the ten minutes or so I'd be in the shower. Oops. When I came back to the locker, toweling off, lo and behold, the locker was locked. And since I didn't know the PIN that whoever locked it used, I couldn't get in. To, you know, get my clothes. Or underwear. Or cell phone. So there goes Vort, parading through the office building in the nude, with only a towel wrapped around his loins, to the receptionist at the front desk, who burst out laughing and said she'd call physical facilities. Back to the locker room, head down, towel firmly in place, while others in the building try hard not to be obvious in looking at the strange naked guy walking through the place. (Fortunately, I only "squat" in this building rather than work here permanently, so I don't actually know anyone.) An eternity later (actually about 20 or 30 minutes -- not sure, seeing as how my watch was locked in the locker, but it sure seemed like an eternity), the physical facilities guy showed up to let me in my locker. Keys, phone, wallet with credit cards still in place. Ha, ha! What a great joke! I'm sure I'll be laughing about it sometime in the 2020s.
    0 points