[Ready to start dating and finding "the one"]

Hey all,

I've been through some difficult struggles in my life which have put a delay on dating. I have been pondering this for some time, but I feel as this is the right time to begin dating. The question is, where do I begin???

For me just talk to people, observe those people you talk to to see if they have somthing that you are attracted to, and lastly be straightforward about how you feel.

If you are talking then you will get to know the person and see if it is worth pursuing. If you are observing then you will see if what they do matches what they profess or believe. And if you are straightforward then you get the ill-intentioned people or others who are focused on the wrong things out of the way.

The last one will also build trust which is what allows growth.

My last thing is have one attribute that is the most important thing to you. If the person doesn't have it, then forget the person and move on. It only wastes your time and money and theirs as well.

What that thing is also does make a difference. Because your relationship will most likely build on that. If it is looks, then lust will one day creep in and destroy your relationship. And so on. Really take some soul searching, and time to ponder and discuss with Heavenly Father what is really important in life and then focus your life on it and look for it in your spouse.

[differential requirements for salvation?]

When I went to High School (O.o revealing age here) I actually had to go to the library, find the books I needed, find the quotes physically, hand write my quotes and references, to use them on the typewriter (that did not have a spell checker - but the dictionary sitting next to the typewriter) and spend 4 to 5 hours writing the term paper. Nowadays, my children that are in High School, hop on the computer, find 3 or 4 papers that are already written on the topic, cut and paste quickly found information with the references embedded on the web page put into the reference page automatically, with spell and grammar checker fixing all their mistakes automatically and finished with a similar paper within a half hour. Are they expected to do more work? Probably. Do we get the same diploma in the end? Yes.

I would just suggest, I think you did more than your kids. You actually learned the material, put in much effort to learn the material and put it together. The effort made you stretch and grow. It changed who you are.

I think our culture is so about finding the easy way out, and now everyone thinks they dont have to work to get anything. This life isn't about getting things done, but it's about becoming Christlike.

I think this just says that the challenges are different. But they are hard for everyone to an "equal" degree. Everyone is supposed to offer sacrifice just as Abraham did. In other words, the hardest thing for everyone. It's different but there is always a hardest relative to the person. The fact that there is a "hardest" for everyone, then everyone has the "equal" challenge.

[Need advice on a bewildering relationship]

How would you suggest I gain such confidence? By the way, thanks for commenting :)

What has worked best for me is putting a lot of effort into developing myself spiritually.

There is the verse in D&C that says let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, THEN shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.

virtue is not just sexual purity, though it does make the largest effect on your virtue. Virtue is you possessing spiritual strength. Read in Mark 9 the account of the Savior and when the woman touched His garment. It says virtue went out of Him and the footnotes gives another translation from greek saying strength. So strength went out of Him, His spiritual power.

Everything to do with commandments affects your virtue. The more closely you keep the commandments, the more exact in your obedience(2000 stripling warriors), the greater your virtue and thus a greater confidence. The reason is you will have a greater outpouring of the Spirit in your life, which brings peace, confidence, happiness, joy, comfort and more. What is not to be at ease in that situation?

Just dont go nazi with the letter of the law. This is just for you(meaning don't force it upon others what you feel is the law) and, if you find it helpful, you tell someone. Dont beat yourself up over failure. You will fail, we all do so don't worrry about it. That's life.

Obeying with exactness is how I have increased my self-confidence and self-worth.

And I had a similar experience as far as feelings go. You feel she is so good that it make you nervous. There was a girl i dated before my mission that what you said was exactly how I felt. She seemed too good to be true, but I was nervous all the time. I thought way too much into things, what I said or did what she said or did. Like everyone said take a step back, relax, if it is going to work it is going to work.

I met my wife at BYU-I, I wasn't expecting it. In fact we were only together for about 6 weeks, she left to go back home and earn money and I was there for another semester. We felt it was right to get married, so we did at the end of that semester. So just over 6 months. The long distance relationship is HARD, but if it is going to work out, then it is going to work out.

That 6 week period was so important for us to build trust and faith in each other. From the get go we were very open and honest with each other about how we felt. When she said something, I trusted what she said. Not the lame retarded singles game of I don't like him enough to marry him but let me go on 2-3 more dates and slowly pull away and hope he gets the message. Well, I got that vibe, but why did you keep accepting my date invitations? That's MY MONEY that I felt and believed was worth giving up for this person when they were pretty much taking advantage of. I could have used that money with for my wife and believe me being married it would be nice to have.

If there is no trust, then there will be no growth in your relationship. You gain trust by saying you want to be open, and then meaning completely and fully what you are saying. So if she is not feeling good about something and you comfort her and tell her everything will be alright, it is because you DO feel everything will be alright. Not because that is the thing to say so she likes you.

Hope that wasnt too long, and made sense. I kinda had a few rants in there from stuff that annoyed me when I was single.

[Question about the Spirit World]

So if we can touch and interact with one another in the spirit world. That would mean we actually could do Baptisms. Could it be that, although we can perform Baptisms while in our spirit forms. Gods law forbids it, and that is why the living perform Baptisms for the dead? Brother Ray

Yes, I can see in theory, we would physically be able to perform a baptism. But like james was explaining, it would not be in the same medium as the physical body.

The commandment is for us to be baptized with a physical body here in this life. After the resurrection and this life are the only times we have a physical body.

For those who pass on, it is still necessary that the physical body be baptized, so it is done by proxy in temple.

Does that make sense?

[Incorrect teachings and doctrine]

Anyone holding keys does not have the responsibility to correct false doctrine in every meeting that they attend. The presiding officer is the person who is responsible for ensuring that doctrine is correct. A key holding deacons quorum president is not responsible for correct teaching in any meeting but a quorum meeting in which he presides. One need not hold keys to preside in a meeting. When a bishop is away, his counselors can preside in his place with delegated authority, but they hold no keys.

I dont think he is asking anyone with keys can correct false doctrine. I think he is asking for which specific authority holds the keys. So Deacons Quorum President, Teachers Quroum President, Elders Quorum President, Bishop, Stake President, or the Apostles, or the President of the Church. Also, Mission Presidents. There may be seventies that hold keys, im not sure, i dont think so though.

For instance, when there is a baptism in the church, the keys are held by the Bishop. A convert baptism takes place through the keys that the Mission President holds. You and I can administer this ordinance because we have authority by virtue of the office that we hold in the Priesthood. However we have to be delegated by the one who holds the keys to administer the ordinance. Like keys to a door.

So we all have a responsibility to correct doctrine, but under authority of the one who has the keys. The presiding officer is the one who is delegated to do this right? But where does the delegation come from?

It seems to me that it is probably the Stake President, It makes sense to me anyways. I'll have to do more to look into it.

[Question about the Spirit World]

I have a question that I dont necessrily have an answer to. Who says that even though we do not have a body, that it means that we can't physically touch and move things? Do we necessarily have to have the sense of touch? We can still do things, but just lack the feeling? I think we often think of Spirits almost like ghosts(like casper) when no where in the scriptures does that seem to be indicated.

just food for thought

[Legal marijuana]

Why not use 1 Corinthians 6:12?

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Hope I do not come across as blunt, but I was just erading the verse and this verse has a footnote for the Jospeh Smith translation that says something else. I'm a slow typer so I'll let everyone look it up. :)

[Legal marijuana]

well colorado and washington legalized it i thought.

I don't think there is anything explicitly said about it, other than we are to avoid drugs that take away our use of agency. that's how i understand part of the spirit of the law for the word of wisdom. Also, drugs, even though america is notorious for using them (otc, prescription, recreational, etc.), to me are destructive in nature, they temporarilly change the chemical balance in our bodies. Some people need them, but the food we eat makes a huge difference in how the chemicals are produced. If you avoid genetically modified foods, and processed foods, and any food sensitivities whetherr it be gluten, soy , lactose, nut intolerances or whatever else, then you will notice a difference in your health where you have more energy, alertness increases, central nervous system health increases, thus ability for the body to fight germs and other stuff so you don't have the headaches that lead to pills or whatever else.

Also, there are other natural healing methods like chiropractic that helps realign your spine and thus nerves aren't pinched causing bladder control issues or pain, along with other thing that might be related to your issue.

I believe there are so many things that we can do to help our body without popping a pill or taking some other form of drug. My experience is judgment decreases, patience decreases, Godly attributes decrease. To me that sounds completely contrary to the point of this life.

I have so few drugs taken in my life that when I went to the dentist, they put me on nitrous and I nearly passed out in the chair. I noticed a difference in feeling the Spirit too. Before the apointment I felt the tingling sensations all throughout my head and my body when I would study and the Spirit would testify of the truth. However, after I only would feel the tingling on one side of my head. And it wasn't some light tingle. I was getting a very strong tingle but the left side of my head wasn't getting it.

Let me tell you I was pissed, I have never had nitrous since. It is not worth it to lose the ability to recognize the Spirit. I was lucky it was only for a period of time and it only on one side of my head at the time.

[The Greater Advantage]

Here is a quote from Joseph Smith in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p297. This is not the sunday school manual but quotes compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith.

"It is not wisdom that we should have all knowledge at once presented before us; but that we should have a little at a time so we may comprehend it. President Smith then read the 2nd epistle of Peter, 1st chapter, 16th to last verses, and dwelt upon the 19th verse with some remarks.

Add to your faith knowledge etc. The principle of knowledge is the principle of salvation. This principle can be comprehended by the faithful and diligent; and every one that does not obtain knowledge sufficient to be saved will be condemned. The principle of salvation is given us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ."

So our knowledge grows with time right? Read D&C 93 and it talks about light and truth and intelligence. Intelligence is light and truth(v36). D&C 93 teaches that truth is a knowledge of things as they are, were, and will be. In other words, an unchanging principle or piece of knowledge. God lives, Jesus is the Christ, The Spirit testifies of truth, etc.

D&C 88 teaches about laws, and how people who inherit the various kingdoms do so because they abide by a certain law. We inherit the celestial kingdom by abiding by the law of Christ(v 21) and this allows us to receive the full measure of the blessings of the atonement and thus are sanctified from all sin.

This goes back to the quote where if we are faithful and diligent then we receive salvation. Abiding by the law can only occur because we have learned the truth and decided to live it. Right? That is what John 17:3 is saying right? How can we abide a celestial law with Him if we do not know the law ourselves. And truly this teaches us that by living and abiding the law, we know exactly who God is.

That is the key. When we have a greater knowledge and intelligence, then we are closer to being like our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.

[30 years after his speech and 27 years after his death, Elder McConkie]

I have read through the posts. I have also read the talk. Elder McConkie taught the truth and I know it's true.

[True or False?]

So going to you MP's comment "If you dont make a success out of everything you do, then you will never make a success out of anything you do."

I agree with it though I think it is worded awkwardly. I agree when you define success correctly. In my opinion, it is narrow-minded to say I didn't get baptisms so I failed. I didn't make my omelet correctly so I failed. I didn't make the light bulb so I failed.

People can be narrow-minded regarding perfection. This example shows someone who doesn't know what perfection is. I was talking once about perfection, and then I did something where I got it wrong, I think it was I dropped something. The girl said I wasn't perfect. That is not what perfection is about(though Im sure we won't drop anything when we are). perfection is about being united with God, so that we possess the same attributes, characteristics, talents, abilities as Him and we live eternally in a family unit. However people view the things you do or say, and then they make a judgment to say whether you are perfect or not. No matter how meaningless that task or comment was.

In my opinion, success is when you accomplish something. wouldn't you say? So what did you accomplish when you didn't get any baptisms? If you were working, then you probably developed patience, long-suffering, and charity, and hope. You might have touched a number of lives along the way who have had their seeds planted. The list can go on and on.

Failure grows when you have less of a window of success. Think of a pie chart where the .01% is a bright green against a red pie. If you are trying to hit that sliver of green all the time and define the red as failure , then probability says YOU WILL FAIL. Many many more times than you have success.But if you broaden your scope and range of success then you will obviously hit the green more and more.

So, the key is being able to turn anything you do into a success. If you can then you will succeed in everything.

Look at the 13th article of faith.

[True or False?]

I get where you can see where your mission president seems like baptisms and numbers might have been what he was about.

I served in our mission office for about 4 and 1/2 months. I got to see my mission president nearly every day. There were a lot of things that not being in the office it was harder for me to grasp and catch his vision(the one he received from God). I'll just say, he was definitly inspired.

I know there was a period of time that he was focusing on the numbers. I say that as he was trying to figure out how to increase the activities connected to the numbers not the numbers themselves. I knew his heart, he made it evident to us. He loved the people, he was the 15th missionary to serve in the country in the early 70's. He felt apart of those people. However, he was strict and similar to the "no-nonsense approach you described. When I was with him in the office, the numbers had dropped significantly from the prior mission president. The area authority presidency asked why the numbers dropped, and the reason was because the way we were now counting numbers. We were now counting how preach my gospel says we were supposed to. The reason our mission president made that an important emphasis is because "these numbers mean what they actually say they mean, and now we can train where we need to."

After this another nearby mission was having absurd success. So, the assistants called them up and they explained that they recorded daily results not just weekly. There is the quote that says where performance is measured performance improves, where performance is measured and reported performance accelerates. I helped collect those daily results, and the results did improve. However for some missionaries they didn't respond well and the performance decreased.

I think to a number of missionaries to whom I talked to, they wondered why there was such an emphasis on numbers.

The truth was that it wasn't for the numbers sake. It was because when you are accountable for what you do, then you strive to do your best to fulfill your accountability. The numbers were just the outward reflection of what you do. It is the only measuring stick the mission president has, and the area presidency has, and the quorum of the twelve and the President has. Numbers come as you do what you are supposed to.

Mission Presidents would love to focus on helping you grow inwardly in your work, but that is for individual interactions(interviews and discussions at the table for meals at zone conference) and occasionally the group(ZC and other meetings). Often that is why there were zone leaders to help with that.

Remember those numbers are just tied to the activities you are doing. Are you doing anything? If you have some numbers then yes. You don't need to have baptisms for you to have the evidence that you are working. If you are getting lots of lessons or new people investigating, then you are working to find people but no baptisms suggest you need to improve your teaching, or transiton from just meeting people to building firm relationships, or getting members involved.

[Dreams]

my super crazy dreams come when I am exhausted and I haven't been getting sleep, and then I finally have time to let myself crash and I do and I dream about crazy stuff.

Last week I had a dream that I was at the mall where I worked and I was at my car with the doors open, I was standing and yelling, then I walked away and went back and then I left again and then some robbers came and stole my car. I didn't have a gun but they did and so I ran and my manager came out and said forget the car and run. I ran behind another car out of sight and I was planning how to get back my car. I was crouched and planning like I was in trenches in a war. And the dream kindof fell away there.

I have had other good dreams that have taught me some things, and some coincide with these tired ones. However unless I am tired like this, I never remember my dreams. I think a number of them are pointless but some teach us things.

[God in the Old Testament]

Sorry, my sentence from "but we understand it today to be pronounced Jehovah(Since the Doctrine and Covenants says it that way)" should have been worded differently. *We, in english, use the form Jehovah. The Doctrine and covenants uses that form.* The reason I think the doctrine and covenants usage is important is because Joseph Smith the prophet reveals the english rendering.

I agree it is not the actual rendering of the name. I am not sure we even know that, we just have transliterations from one language to the next, as we see with the russian, english and I can witness to the thai translation as well (phrayayhowah the phra at the beginning is the way thai people reference and speak about royalty).

Alma 29:8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true.

[God in the Old Testament]

It's also anytime you see the word "LORD" in all caps then it means Jehovah. Not just anytime you see lord in the bible.

The reason, if I remember correctly, the Hebrew word YHWH was translated by the KingJames translators as "LORD." YHWH is the word that the actual pronunciation was lost because the vowels were not written, but we understand it today to be pronounced Jehovah(Since the Doctrine and Covenants says it that way).

[Questions about a website]

I stumbled across a website called FamousDeadMormons.com. In this website, it lists many, many people who have been converted to Mormonism after they died. A few names mentioned were George Carlin, Carl Sagan, Saint Ambrose and Óscar Romero, a man who was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador and became an Archbishop later on.

I don't understand why the 1st two people I mentioned were converted, and I certainly don't understand why the last two were. They belonged to a different faith, but they were converted to a religion they didn't want any part of. I understand if people react negatively to what i'm about to ask, but how is this ok? Another person on the list is Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers was a Presbyterian minister. Why would you make Mr. Rogers a mormon? Why is Babe Ruth or George Orwell on this list?

Again, if this breaks the 1st rule of the site, them i'm sorry I did so, but as someone who has genuine questions about religion, I just wanted to ask it. Thank you for reading this. Have a great day.

Hey how are you doing?

So, to answer your question it's not that Mormons believe that they are converted after they die. I'll give you some context of what we believe and how that fits in with your question.

We believe that we lived with God before this life. He setup a plan that we could choose to follow or not, and if we followed it then we would be happy for the afterlife. We came to this earth to basically see if we would keep His commandments and follow the plan. When we are here we can choose to follow Him or not. Now not everyone knows what He wants us to do. Think of Africans who live in the country and are nomadic with little foreign interaction; they probably have never heard of God. That leads us into the afterlife. When we die, what happens immediately after this life before the final judgment is God makes sure that everyone has an opportunity to follow Him or not.

So, what Mormons believe is that God commanded us to be baptized along with other simple sacred rituals. The rituals might sound weird, but they are quite simple, baptism is being immersed in water by someone who has authority from God to do so. Receiving the Holy Spirit is done by a person with authority from God and laying hands on the head and pronouncing a blessing from God. These are quite simple things, but their meaning is substantial. Each one of these signifies an increase of desire on your part to follow God and live closer to His precepts. Some of the rituals will require a little more than others, but they all bring us closer to God and to the eternal happiness He wants to give us.

With that backdrop, Mormons baptize people as a representative for a deceased person. I.E. A person who is alive was baptized representing Carl Sagan and these other men.

The reason is to give them the opportunity, which might have been missed in this life for whatever reason, to follow God and get closer to Him.

We don't know if they accept the proxy ordinances. We just want all people to have the opportunity. God doesn't force us, we choose to follow or not. Same with those who have passed away. These men can choose to accept these proxy ordinances or not. We do this because we love our fellow brothers and sisters and want them to have the same opportunity to be eternally happy.

I hope that helps, feel free to ask any more questions that you may have.

[Tempted Beyond Our Capacity?]

Sorry, I didn't read all the posts, but I don't think one ever totally loses the light of Christ. It is always there, but it can be dimmed and blurred so we don't feel it unless we ask ourselves questions like what should I do with my life or what is the right thing to do. Then we may get a small thought which may or may not be extremely difficult to recognize.

I do agree that we get so far chained in our sins that we have no self-control. The sin keeps us down and we obviously aren't living with the Spirit. So what feelings and impressions do we receive? When we turn our minds and souls in the right direction. We accept and confess with ourselves that what we have done is wrong, and then the automatic question is, "what should I do?" That is when the faint light of Christ is brightened enough for us to recognize what we need to do.

At that point, often because what has been done has dug a deep hole that looks nearly impossible to climb out, the impression of what to do is ignored. Continuing us into the spiral of sin. The light of Christ is there until you turn your mind again to improving and changing your life, and then it will tell you what you should do. Once you accept the tough decision/impression, then the light of Christ will grow bigger and brighter until the time when you can get the Spirit into your life.

[Lost]

Sorry this might be a little random.

One of the greatest truths we have is that God loves all His children. We make mistakes, sometimes really bad ones. We may feel the vilest of sinners. But there is nothing that we do that the Atonement cannot cover, except for the unpardonable sin.

I know pain for mistakes, and it feels a hopeless cause. There is doubt, uncertainty, disappointment. Especially when you keep repeating things.

Just take things a little bit at a time. And there is a grand key that I think is often overlooked. It hinges on what are you seeking. Do you seek forgiveness, or do you seek true freedom? Often I think we want peace and forgiveness. This comes as we repent, but once we feel we have it, we slow down our efforts and relax and think I'm okay I can do this or that until we slip.

Seeking true freedom is different, it is something that encompasses our whole lives. We don't just focus on one point. You recognize you have a problem and want to change so badly, that you are willing to give up anything to achieve that. That results in a change of lifestyle, not just actions regarding one activity. When we just seek forgiveness, i feel we often just seek to change in one area, but the reality is that true repentance will change many things about our lives.

When we have this attitude, we put forth the effort to change, and we are sincere about it. So when we are done with it, we really do change. It is over, its in the past, you are forgiven and you have peace, but additionally you are changed so you don't do it again. And the greater peace will come knowing you are changed and you won't do it again, and further knowing you have control over your decisions that you won't make the mistake again.

This may not seem like much or might be confusing. It's just that this is a pretty fine distinction that I have realized lately isn't very well understood. Someone who repents of pornography should know better than to hear sexual jokes on a TV show and think that it's super funny. If you really felt pain for your sins and wanted nothing to do with them anymore, then you always make that effort to stay away. Therefore those sexual jokes are a flag for the person to get away, let alone think they are the most hilarious jokes on the planet. This is a real story that Ive experienced, and it still boggles my mind that the person acted that way, on multiple occasions.

So as I've pondered and studied since then and talked with a friend who needed help, Ive realized there is a difference in attitude which I have tried to convey, and it opens the door to real sincere change. I look back in my own life and that is the way its been. When I have really changed, It affected many areas of my life rather than just the one i kept slipping up on.

Well, I hope you feel better and that this helps. I know the Gospel is true and that the power of the Atonement is real. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior.

[Mohawk and sacrament?]

It has been an interesting thread to read. I grew up and was taught that I needed to dress my best for Sunday. And especially if I was participating in the Sacrament. Did I always do that? Yes and no. I was fortunate to have a suit growing up, so I was dressed nice in that manner. However, I was a teenager when it seemed people were letting their hair get pretty shaggy and the skater mentality was big in my area. So I let my hair grow out, and I've seen pictures looking back and I don't think it looked the most appropriate thing. Why? Because I looked like a bum. Now my hair is just barely long enough to part.

I dont think my situation isn't going to be any different from other times. I didn't live in the 70's or 80's, but I'm sure there were various hairstyles that were "extreme" but at the time seemed okay but are now out of style. I can't imagine people with mullets passing the sacrament. it would seem pretty weird to me. But it might be a natural look at other times, and wasnt distracting.

Another type of haircut i think is interesting. Maybe there is a family that cuts their kids own hair. Some of those kids hair might be distracting because of how lopsided it is. It however is no way an attempt to disrespect the Priesthood or the ordinances.

One last point, I served my mission in a 2nd world country. People don't have money for suits, their hair was generally longer than it is here in a America. However, they did try to look good, and respect their priesthood. I mention this because we sometimes get conditioned to see things a certain way, so we think things need to be a certain way and respect things a certain way. However, I think there are a lot of cases, where we need to realize that for some people, that is all they have. They are doing their best. *That is giving people the benefit of the doubt* *That is also a more truer show of love and charity than saying the person is a problem for being different.*

My conclusion is thatLDSkid, you should pray about it and do what you feel is best. I believe you will make the right decision. Recognize that you are a representative of the Lord. But be it also noted that you are also an imperfect instrument. That is a point which SHOULD be remembered, but sadly isn't. People forgetting that point are the ones who get distracted and judgmental.

One additional note. The decision to be distracted is on everyone. I see people pass the sacrament in "distracting attire" from time to time. However I don't go to church because a deacon or a priest. I go for Christ, and to worship Him. I am not distracted because Christ is a real purpose i.

Forgive me if I phrased anything offensive, I'm a little tired. No offense was intended. I was just trying to make some points to help think about the issue.

[Repentance vs Never Sinned]

I was really saddened by what I read in this thread.

I have sinned in various ways, but I don't consider myself an untrustworthy sinner. To the contrary, because of my repentance, and the fact that I know my repentance is genuine, and my resulting actions show that, I trust myself. (Let it be known that I still sin.(I thought that earthshattering revelation might hurt:eek:))

The question is not whether you can trust others, but can you trust yourself. When pornography is shown to you, what is your reaction?

It should be an INSTANT flip the head away, if appropriate situation(meaning by yourself), then you RUN! LITERALLY! If with others maybe you don't "run" but you do things that is an expression of mentally running. If that is your course of action then there is no question of trust with yourself. Gen 39:12 Furthermore, the answer is to always flee. The only question is whether that is mental and still exemplified by your a turning of the head and eyes, or if it is literally physically running and fleeing.

Now, say someone had such an issue with pornography. Then they repent and follow this course. What if additionally the repentant sinner wasn't even shown outright pornography. What if it was just an immodestly dressed person. Yet, the repentant sinner turns his head and runs. However, there is someone who has never commited the sin and "puts on the blinders" and does not look away. He might still manage clean thoughts, yet subjects himself to temptation. Who would you hold more trustworthy? I would hold the repentant person more trustworthy. He knew something was dangerous and he ran. The other says oh I can stay here because it is just what i have to deal with. Or, no I can fight and I can win. In some cases yes, others no. It would depend on the situation but the principle would be like me going to a bar where there is drinking and smoking and some lewdness, even though I do not do any of those things. Why go into that situation? It is an unholy place. Stand ye in Holy Places is our command. If it is forced upon you then you might have to analyze the situation. If it is work, then there might not be much you can do about it, but to fight thoughts with your mind, hum a hymn. However if you are out shopping and are presented with inappropriate material whatever it is, then you turn and run. Anyways we have some counsel from our prophet.

President Monson said, "Do not subject yourself to the filth of the world."(that was Priesthood session BTW and slightly paraphrased). Anyways to trust the repentant sinner to stay away from first the sin and more than that, the temptation is a greater sign of desire to follow God. The supposed person who has not sinned, may still not be sinning, however he is subjecting himself (of his own choice) to a situation filled with temptation. One day he will fall because he was so foolish to keep putting himself in that situation repeatedly.

The WHOLE POINT OF LIFE IS TO REPENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alma 34:32-34. Can a person be set behind because he sins a certain sin? It literally depends on what sin it is and if the person is willing to repent. Unpardonable sin, Murder are the only two that really set you back, because one of them there is no repentance. The second depends on the case and the extreme degree of sincerity in the repentance. If they were sincere, I would trust them, but to truly get to that point of forgiveness, is YEARS of devotion and sacrifice for the Gospel and God. In other sins, Law of Chastity included, the only condition is if there is sincere repentance. That is the only question, is the repenatnce sincere? If it is then they are changed. Mosiah 4:1. Then what is there to not trust? His disposition is to do good not evil. His dispositon is not do that sin, which he fell to. That dispostion is presumably the same as any other person who has not priorly committed that sin.

So where is the repentant sinner farther back than one who did not sin? There is no difference, other than mere factual past. whoopdeydoo. God does not care about the past as much as he cares about the now and the future. Too many people in life get caught up with the past. The "glory days." The past is their highlight of life. Shouldn't the last day of your life be the biggest highlight when you can say. "I did it!" (you might actually be dead at that point;)) Some people talk about their mission as the high point of their life. I sure hope not! Time being with an eternal companion whom you love with all your soul in comparison with the time spent with assigned companions, that might not like you or don't want to work or obey or do what they are supposed to. I will pick the first. Yeah that mission time is special and was big in my life. However, there are better things out there for me in the future.

Hopefully it can be seen, that there is litttle if any difference between one who repents and one who does not commit the sin.

Now, I did not fully proofread this, I am tired and ready to go to bed, but hopefully I did not miss something mentioned from earlier. Forgive me for my errors in writing this.(that is inclusive of semantics and grammar, not in content)

[Eternal Loneliness - Or being single and Mormon]

Hey ZSedwardson, I thought it was kindof funny, you said you were from NC. And so am I. I live in the triad area. Anyways, that must be a difficukt situation. I'm sure it can be hard. I served my mission in an area that the ratio of female to males was between 3and 4 to 1. So for many of the faithful women to find faithful men who were not already married was kind of hard. A branch may only have one single male and two females between the 20 and 35 range. However personalities don't match and the male doesn't have time. the next closest branch is three hours away, but this is a poorer country, so traveling is harder. So they have to live faithfully in their area until an opportunity arises to move or court whichever comes first. Anyways hopefully, that illustrates a roughly similar situation to yours(not economically) but as far as finding a faithful woman to marry in the temple in an area that doesn't have that many opportunities.

What seems to be the solution, though I obviously do not have the experience. It seems like patience plays a big role. Don't panic, don't fear, don't worry. (much easier said than done). Now I want you to relax a moment, and think what then needs to happen in your life in general and on an individual level(not including temple marriage), to be truly successful and go to the celestial kingdom.(let is be noted that ordinacnecese and covenants are esential but ordinacnes and covenants enable you to do the following.)

Actually take a moment right now and pause before reading on. I will explain basically what I feel is the answer to that question.

In this life, we are becoming a people that does everything we can to return to live with our Father in Heaven. 2 Nephi 2:23 We are saved by grace after all we can doTo get to the celestial kingdom, we have to do our best. That is it. Christ will make up the rest no matter how short we are. Therefore what things do we do to show our best?

1. We make God and Christ the focus in our lives.

2. We eliminate unnecessary distractions. Things that take up too much of our time, but do not really benefit us spiritually. (TV, computer, sports, certain hobbies) (Furthermore, I don't think many like this position, HOWEVER if any activity of any kind prevents you from reading your scriptures on a certain day, then we should review what we did that held us back and cut something out. You broke a commandment through ommision, because in your judgement you thought the activities you did were of more importance than reading your scriptures. As harsh as that might sound, that is the way it is, and there are days were I fail, but I try again the next day, and hopefully set aside some spirtual prepartaion time. Here is a specific example, If you watched 3 hours of tv, maybe you could watch one hour and study for an hour or more to the point that you feel closer to God.)

3. As you approach life in this manner of getting closer to God, then He becomes more of your heart. Therefore, you are more inclined in your mind to do the things you are supposed to. (Mosiah 4:1)

4. Be faithful in your callings and assignments. Learn your duty and not only do them, but seek to better them, and magnify your calling.

Ultimately these things bring you to the type of person you should be at the end of this life. and now as well. President Monson's counsel was this. Be this type of person. It is a sacrifice, but any time there is sacrifice, there will be blessings of equal or greater magnitude.(generally they are greater)

Naturaly out of the outgrowth of the person you have become. You will see, and recognize people of similar natures. SInce you will have already been filled with an inner confidence and definite knowledge that you are doing what you are supposed to(because you have been doing what is right), you'll be less apprehensive in doing what is right(which in this case would be finding someone to marry.) The miracles will happen and you will find someone to marry. Not only will you find someone, you will find someone exceptional.

Now hopefully that helps. Like I said I haven't had the experience. But that seems to be the principles revolving around the situation. I can think of one example in my mind that seems to have followed this pattern, and met his wife in an unlikely place. They both met faithfully fulfilling their callings. Doing what they were supposed to. I believe they were both about 28 when they were married. He eventually passed away in his 80s. His wife is still living and 100 years old. If you visit her, she is forgetful of a number of things. She can hardly remember my name, I have to tell her my name like three times, when I visit. However she doesn't forget the Lord. We were getting ready to leave and she said to us "Oh, please let us pray to the Lord before you go." It was her voice that struck me. More than anything it was a pleading to us, as if her life depended on the Lord and she could not do without communicating to Him. Her husband was the same way before he passed away. God was first in their lives.

Well, I pray this helps, I hope I didn't hurt or offend anyone.

[Baptismal Covenants]

I'm trying to digest the quote above. The simple reading seems to say LDS believe they have the Spirit before they are baptized? and that they believe baptism is into their Church - as some protestant denominations also believe?

Yes, we believe that we are baptized into the church.

In regards to the Spirit, we believe in manifestations of the Spirit before we are baptized. These serve to be witnesses that God lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior. And other essential truths for our Salvation. However, a manifestation like that does not mean that the Spirit is with them or us always.

Once we are baptized we receive the Spirit(always), through a covenant with God. In effect a covenant, it is a two-way promise with an individual and God. We promise to live a certain way(such as Keep His Commandments). And God promises certain blessings for living our promise. One of these blessings is to have the Spirit with us always.

Therefore, through this covenant, we can have the Spirit. However, if we do not keep our promise to God, then God cannot bless us with His blessings from His promise in the Covenant.

[What is the hardest aspect of the gospel ? In school how do you keep doing the right things ?]

I feel one of the most important things you can do as a teenager is to get a strong testimony of the Savior and your Heavenly Father. Taking the whole Gospel seriously.

Part of your Baptismal Covenant is to remember Christ always. As you sit in class or walk to class. Let your heart and sould be turned toward your Heavenly Father. Remember the sacrifice and pain the Christ endured for you. Remember He suffered what you are suffering.

Trust, then, that everything will be alright no matter how painful, because you are doing your best to follow Him. That trust will be your peace, it will give you strength and fill you with hope. You will believe you can endure those trials at school, and even in other places.

[Issues with Brigham Young]

Women don't get the priesthood just because the church feels they have other duties in the church so they don't get the same authority but the duties Men have don't give them any better chances of receiving salvation than women.

So we know there was a time where it may or may not have been necessary to keep blacks from receiving the priesthood, but that isn't the issue.

The issue is that Brigham Young taught that they were cursed around the time he revoked their privilages. Granted his teachings were more socially acceptable at that time then they ever would be now, however is it a teaching from God or a teaching of his own personal views?

If we really believe that blacks may be cursed we sort of contradicted some of our own teachings believing men will be punished for their own sins and not through Adam's transgression.

This is actually based on a lot of what I read in the posts, I based this off what we know. It also initially references the above comment.

It kind of depends on what is meant by curse. We usually give it a negative connotation. A curse could just be a mark that shows a certain subject. That happened with the lamanites. Their curse just showed that they were not followers of the God. A better example would be circumcision. That showed the people were of the Abrahamic Covenant. However your choices decide whether those "curses," or "marks" have real meaning. You can choose to be faithful or not be faithful.

By all that, to be cursed would not necessarily mean that they have sins or transgressions that will keep them out of Heaven. That is the point of the second article of faith. What I do is my choice and I will be judged for that, regardless of circumstances I will be in.

For instance, "Bill" could have grown up in an abusive, environment. He carries that experience with him. He doesn't choose to break the commandments, but maybe he is a little more shy or less confident because of that experience. He has been "marked" by his situation. However it doesn't mark him as the sinner for being the recipient of an abusing situation.

Now also backing up to what was said concerning whether Brigham Young said it, or the Lord said it. I think it is the same thing as, did Joseph Smith write the Book of Mormon or God gave us the Book through His own means and through His power.

We read and study then we pray. We receive an answer and that is the word of the Lord directly to you.

Furthermore concerning the reasons and possibilities for the ban. We don't know(as has been stated many times). The question of "why" can be asked for everything. Even when you have the answer you can still ask why. many a child knows this:D. Speculation(moving from possibility to possibility of why something occured, when the matter is trivial or unimportant to our salvation.) is not helpful either. When we don't know, we simply don't know. No amount of studying will bring us the answer(in this life unless otherwise given by God through his divinely appointed servants). However, it is healthy to question as that allows us to seek for answers and receive them from God Himself. With those answers our testimonies will grow.

With that point, the doctrines of the church are taught to bring us these answers more often and more readily and more powerfully. Therefore they will benefit and change our lives for the better. This is why we teach about the Atonement and faith, repentance, and baptism so often. It is because we will truly grow from studying these things. The speculative things we can study, and occasionally have a good experience. we can have our mind expanded and it can be a humbling experience to know and realize that we don't know, and we can and will trust God that He knows and He isn't burdening us with knowledge that will be useless to us on this earth-life. However we should not allow the speculation studies to become the focus of our life or a great portion of where we spend our energies.

I hope this was helpful.

[The Marriage Ordinance]

Gwen: Am I wrong in assuming the same authority will still be used in either case? When authority is given to man simply based on him/her having dominion over the earth, regardless of worthiness (after all, a justice of the peace doesn't have to go through any worthiness requirements to perform a civil marriage), it makes sense that there would be abuses of that power - whether on purpose or not - by using it against God's particular will.

I was taught as a missionary that if a missionary/person is unworthy and performs a baptism, blessing, whatever, that God will still recognize that action, but will hold the missionary/person responsible for using his authority unjustly.

Obviously we can't force God to recognize same-sex marriages, but I'm wondering the opinion of people here regarding the validity of that binding in light of such knowledge (or in the lack of such knowledge).

You all rock. Thank you for hashing this out with me. It’s been an issue that’s bothered me for quite some time, and I don't think I've ever felt as comfortable with it as I do now. I'm still not sure I could successfully argue a case for the sanctity of civil marriage, but I feel I'm having the majority of my questions answered.

I can see where your coming from. There is, however an important element. God has ordained marriage to be between a man and a women right? He has already put into operation ordinances that use His Priesthood. Any ordiance that does not follow in the appropriate way would be invalid. For instance baptism, if one is not immersed it must be redone, no matter the authority.

So when a priesthood holder exercises his authority and is not worthy, as you were saying blessings are still bestowed, however he still has to perform the ordinances in the correct manner for it to be binding on earth and on heaven.