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Many, many years ago a very good friend of mine had an abortion. She was a girl i used to hang out with a lot (not a girlfriend) and we used to watch movies together and eat pizza, and I'd go to her apartment to keep her company when she was feeling down. (And no I wasn't the father, in case you were wondering.) She didn't tell me about the abortion until afterwards, which in some ways was a good thing, because had I known I would have pulled out every stop to talk her out of it - including offering to pay for the child's upbringing myself. My own family would have then called me an idiot, but I know what I'd have told them: "All death diminishes me for I am involved in mankind" (which I've probably misquoted). As it was, all I could do was try to be supportive of her. Anything else would not have brought the baby back.

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown.

Agreed. And not only that, but the extremes seem to point at their counterpart on the other side when they're looking to get offended. Antifa and the QAnon people pay attention to and fight each other. Conservatives and Liberals stoke outrage by pointing to what the other one is doing. Democrats and Republicans spend a lot of time criticizing the other. Socialists and Capitalists attack each other and defend their own. I'm still of the opinion that my various opinions and principles which make me who I am, are more correct than those with whom I argue. But boy howdy does the whole human experience look an awful lot like this:

I totally agree with you, and to me that’s more evidence that the extremes of both sides are filled with the same types of people.

Well, to be sure, this is hardly a phenomenon from the right. It's not uncommon for me to hear my woke millennial buddies, talking about how grateful they are to live in Portland or Seattle or Cali, where people who actually care about humans are in charge, and good sane progressive policies are more abundant. They roll their eyes at Texas and Florida, wondering aloud what must be wrong with people to go live in those barbaric spaces, where the people and the government hates the rainbow and women. They're enthusiastic about Colorado, which seems to be pulling itself out of it's history of white colonization. (This is a rough summary of their comments over a few years on the topic, and yes, I've seen eye rolls.)

So sorry about your friend. That’s an awful burden to carry. Hope she found peace.

I will add what I have come to believe to this thread – for what it is worth. I believe that the logic for one true and living church is no different from the logic used for the doctrine that there is only one true and living G-d. There are, in my mind, many misconceptions both in attempts to explain what is true and living as there is in understanding what is and what divergent thinkers say on the subject. Here is my effort. If there is a true a living G-d – that being is the supreme Suzerain of law and order, especially the law and order of the kingdom over which that being resides. Note that the term “Kingdom” is not my term, but the term used in scripture to describe that which G-d defines as his standard for his realm. I understand that we are flawed beings and therefore have flawed understanding of things. Especially things pertaining to G-d and his kingdom. It is my understanding that because we are flawed beings what happens between birth and death of any individual is not sufficient to understand or prepare for that which is eternal. This is a primary reason why I understand the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and temple work and worship to be the only true and living church on the earth. It is the only church doing work to redeem the dead and seal on earth that which will be sealed in Heaven. It is also the only church I have encountered that has a good grasp on why there must be a pre-earth life existence as there needs to be post-earth live existence to prepare for eternity (though some come somewhat close). There is one other principle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I believe demonstrates why it is the only true and living expression of the true and living G-d on this earth and realm of fallen beings but that is another discussion that ties into this principle that I have already presented. Such that if one is doubtful of what has been described thus far – there is no logic to continue. The Traveler

Welcome to the forums. Excellent summary

I came in late to the conversation,but here goes: The basic takeaways I've been getting from the Church on these controversial issues are: *Be kind to everybody *Witness where/to whom you feel comfortable *Worry about your own temple worthiness and let the leaders worry about others ZealouslyStriving (Mosiah 27:35)

The washing of feet was an ordinance. That is completely not understood by wider Christianity—by pretty much anyone who is not a Latter-day Saint—though it's glaringly obvious to us. They turn the washing of feet into a cheap trope for treating strangers nicely. But even beyond that, a point that it's hard to hold non-LDS responsible for missing, the commercial is a disaster on many levels. It's condescending, filled with leftist tropes, unchallenging, hippie-Jesus, about as tasty and satisfying as overcooked pasta with no sauce or butter. Matt Walsh had what I consider to be a very good take on this.

The Church of Jesus Christ of LDS is the only church with the true priesthood and living ordinances. It obviously has not cornered the market on truth, or righteousness though.

I may not know much about bears, but one thing I have learned from the good people of Maine: you do not interfere with a mother bear's cubs, unless you want your bodily appendages seriously rearranged. So what was Walt Disney thinking of with the bear scene from Pocahontas? John Smith is about to shoot the bear, but Pocahontas stops him and leads him into the bears' den. There she picks up one of the cubs and hands it to Smith. The cub playfully pulls Smith's helmet down over his eyes. Meanwhile mummy bear is standing peacefully by, not ripping anyone's arms and legs off. The moral is, if you want to know what to do when you meet a bear, don't ask Mr Disney.