SanctitasDeo

I think I have met quite a few people who would take exception to your second sentence, the one about Mormon theology encouraging intellectualism. I agree. However, the problem with condemning intellectualism without clarification, which is what happens when people quote Elder Packer's talk without any context, is that a lot of Mormons end up thinking that any kind of intellectual thought is not okay. Often we are poorer as a people because of this trend.

I think I tend to agree with Urstadt that relational ontology seems to represent (at least my knowledge and opinions of) Mormonism best out of the four mentioned. Most of the commandments and imperatives in Mormonism involve other people and are often (thought not always) taught in such a way that can make that involvement obvious. There is not really an individualist Mormonism; it is a communal religion, even if we have stopped emphasizing/practicing the earlier communitarianism that we had.

I didn't know Roku added a Youtube app. That is great news. I have been watching Youtube videos through my Plex queue.

Ataulpa, что ты имел в виду? Есть животные в Книге Мормона.

I have a Roku. It works beautifully for Netflix. I also have Plex Media server set up on my desktop so that I can stream my local video to the Roku using the Plex app. The whole thing works really well. And as people have said, the cheapest one is about $50. I found it very reliable over wireless and rock-solid on a wired connection (I have the Roku 3). That is, I think, the cheapest way to do it, aside from the Chromecast. Internet capable bluray players tend to be more expensive, I think. I got a Chromecast for Christmas, but it came in one of the packages delivered late by UPS/FedEx, so I do not have it yet.

I'd not known my wife longer than four months when we started talking about marriage. We didn't (and don't) own a home, but there is plenty of cheap housing in Provo. We have been blessed that way; we have never paid too much for rent. We are both about to finish our degrees in a month. And we have a kid. Right now I have some prospects for jobs, and we have good future plans. And no debt. It is possible to do it. That being said, I am not you. My situation was different (and we were both already in Provo, for instance). You can't export one person's experience and universalize it. I would echo mrmarklin's advice about kids. You do not have to start having kids right away. We waited a while. It is a good idea to get to know each other better before you start changing things with pregnancy (which can change things a lot) and kids (ditto). In addition, consider your health insurance situation carefully. You may not be able to afford a kid (or insurance for a kid). It worked out for us, but we reviewed our options carefully first. It isn't important that you have nice things. It is okay to be poor. In fact, if you expect it, it makes things easier. We have a standard of living far above what I expected. But you may have to sacrifice to make something like this work. And figure out whether your philosphies about finances and spending are similar (and not dangerous). Money problems are one of the primary causes of divorce, I am told.

Also, BYU is cheap enough that you don't need to go into much debt in order to pay for it. In fact, if you live cheaply and go through school more slowly than some people/work full-time during the summer, etc. a BYU student can graduate without any debt at all. It depends on the situation, obviously, and scholarships help a lot.

For the record, I am one of those 20-somethings, and I am independent of my parents. The only financial connection I have is that I am still on the family cell phone plan. However, I pay the bill (it is just cheaper to do it that way). Of course, I am also married and have a child. I would feel strange if I was still dependent on my parents. In my opinion, those parents don't need to be paying for the luxuries (and it will continue as long as the parents are willing). College can be hard to pay for (One reason I am at BYU--I can pay for it myself). But the cable, etc. is pretty weird. I would not want that; I would feel too dependent. I don't want my standard of living to depend on someone else.

That is really cool. I am glad it was such a good experience for you.

This is not necessarily theology per se, but I have found a lot of good articles about the gospel, church history, and other things here.

Yeah, that bishopric is, I think, out of line. Especially if your soon feels he should go after a year of school. I was definitely better off for a semester of school before I left to serve. Just because he can leave at 18 does not mean he must and pressure like this is unhealthy.

Pozdravlyayoo! That is great news.

You are in the right place. Welcome.

Honestly, I think the New Testament has a lot of jokes in it, too. Jesus purposely exaggerated a lot of things to make a point with humor. This guy thinks so, too

This is interesting, but did the presidents of the United States really receive power from the Secretary-Generals of the UN? In 1945, the US had just won a war. It set up the UN while it was the biggest political power on the planet. Since that time, the UN has had a hand in US-led wars (like the Gulf War), but those were Security council actions, not iniatives of the Secretary-General. For most of its life, the UN received its authority from the guarantee of the United States, not the other way around. The numbers match up nicely, but I just don't see how one can claim that the presidents of the United States really received power from the Secretary-Generals.

I believe that the Lord could see you as worthy, though, and it is his opinion that counts most there. This sort of thing seems like a great time to teach children how to relate to people that sin. Since they will associate with people who sin for the rest of their lives (people who cohabitate, coworkers, their spouse), this may not be such a bad thing. I would add, too, that maybe if youth look at a General Authority that played football on Sunday and have a problem with it because at church they learned that playing football on Sunday is a sin, then perhaps this is a great opportunity for them to get down on their knees and ask their God what this means for them. They can study the principle and decide how to live it in their own lives based on study and prayer. Maybe it is also a good time to remind them that perhaps how the General Authority sinned or did not sin is really not their business. I agree with teaching youth how to think, not what. They need to be able to pray and study and distinguish the greys in life and learn to be understanding.

I submit that unpopular energy drinks are likely just as unhealthy.

Wanting to be informed makes perfect sense. Why don't you check out lds.org, read some of the Book of Mormon at lds.org/scriptures, or, if you time, listen to the next session of General Conference (that is what is going on right now)? And if you have any questions, feel free to ask them here.

I found this blog post a few days ago. Apparently Tom Clancy included a paragraph about the D.C. temple in one of his books.

Yeah, this ruling is correct, and in harmony, I believe, with what Joseph Smith taught about religious freedom. If the monetary damages were from a previous court ruling, then it seems that someone evidently did have a problem with it before. This is so true. I grew up in the South, and it would have been unthinkable to allow any other kind of picture. My acute consciousness of the fact that, as a Mormon, I was not one of these people is partly what fuels my belief in religious liberty today. Would that everyone could have had that experience.

I have been on a pay-as-you-go plan for a while, but I am moving back onto my parents' plan (it is cheaper when I just pay my share of it) since they are moving from Sprint to Verizon, and there is room for me on the plan again. My Galaxy S3 should come tonight, actually.

Well, it depends on what leadership means. In the BSA, leadership could refer to all adult leaders. Also, this could be problematic, depending on the implementation:

As missionaries in Russia, we drank herbal tea all the time. We would actually carry it with us, so that we could drink tea with people in their homes, since they would offer us tea anyway. I still drink it during the winter.

andypg, that sounds interesting. I served my mission in Russia, so I talked with a lot of members there who had been Russian Orthodox. I think the mix of culture and ideas that can come out of such a collision (a culturally American-born church with a culturally Orthodox Russian) are fascinating. What kinds of things do you most miss? What do you find most jarring?