ruthiechan

Read the preface to the hymn book. It is awesome.

Please keep Gwen's advice in mind.

I am assuming this is unusual behavior. Contact the school and see if they can determine whether or not he's been attending classes. Call the police. They would have more luck with finding out whether or not he's been attending classes and going to work.

Oh, it makes perfect sense, to me at least. But that might be because I can relate. PM me if you want. :)

Are you addicted to sex, or are you addicted to sex with him? Or, do you simply really enjoy sex with him? If he dies are you going to real soon find another guy, have sex with him, stay with him for a long time and then have the same question for us? OR will you grieve and simply miss him and intimate moments with him but be able to manage life without him and without sex? Or, what if something terrible happens between you two and you break up? Will you be able to live life without finding some nice guy to have sex with? Your answers will be telling, but you do not have to answer to me or to anyone on this board. You can simply think about it. Sometimes it's the person your with that makes the difference. I know one gal who was able to keep your boyfriend's hands from roaming too much and helped him to go on a mission. Same gal dated another guy and boy was there a lot of sex in that relationship. She was sexually abused as a child. My sister got pregnant out of wedlock. She married the father. A year and a half later they were married in the Temple. Their Bishop was so proud of them and so happy. So were we all. They are still married, and happily, with four children. Definitely talk to your Bishop. You'll have to one way or the other if you want to get married in the Temple.

I never donate. But it doesn't mean that they're all nutbags or that everything they do is not of worth. MOE: I've heard of health care professionals who are assistants being told that if they didn't assist a doctor performing an abortion they would lose their job. I don't want to see that happening again. As I understand it an assistant is not directly performing the abortion and are therefore not protected under the old rule.

Sorry I got back to this so late. The impression you gave me was that you hated CCM because of the hypocrites who listened to it, not because you didn't like it for sundry reasons. I don't know exactly what goes on in Protestant churches. But I do know that at Church hypocrites can feel the Spirit with others listening to the same talk or singing the Spirit of God, and then go home and engage in horribly sinful activities. It doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the person giving the talk or with the hymn. The problem lies in the hypocrite. Yes, music CAN drive away the Spirit. There are lots of things I don't listen to because it drives away the Spirit and even mucks with my ability to think. It has to do with the specific characteristics of the band or songs. It doesn't have anything to do with the genre. Too intense? "The Spirit of God like a fire is burning." Does that count as too intense? I ask because I find some hymns to be rather intense. What about Mormon Rap? There's a section at the Mormon book store filled with it. Granted, most rap music is full of sex and violence, so finding the good stuff is a pain, but rapping is not evil. From wikipedia: Rapping "Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in Hip Hop music, but the phenomenon predates Hip Hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area among speech, prose, poetry, and song. The use of the word to describe quick speech or repartee long predates the musical form,[1] meaning originally "to hit".[2] The word had been used in British English since the 16th century, and specifically meaning "to say" since the 18th. It was part of the African American dialect of English in the 1960s meaning "to converse", and very soon after that in its present usage as a term denoting the musical style.[3] Today, the terms "rap" and "rapping" are so closely associated with Hip Hop music that many use the terms interchangeably. For purposes of clarity, this article focuses rapping, as a technique or activity. For more info on the music genre see Hip Hop Music." So, how is that evil? You can always try playlist.com. Of course not. Hymns are vital. It's very sad to me that any church would disregard traditional hymns in favor of more modern music. Of course we should not condone everything given within a genre. If that were so the Church would sing every hymn ever created. But we don't. We sing the ones that are doctrinally correct. There's great uplifting music in every genre, but all of it is certainly not that way, and some genres having very little in the way of uplifting music. It's called reverse psychology. Instead of rebelling against God and doing evil, rebel against Satan and do good. It can be very helpful when dealing with teenagers or with people who are on the fence about whether or not they want to follow God's commandments. It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction and anything that helps someone make righteous choices is good. Extreme metal? What do you view extreme metal as? Pornography uses imagery of beautiful women in its content. Does that mean all images of beautiful women are pornographic and therefore evil? These secular groups and Christian bands may not have all the truth but God will use whatever he can to help His children, including using the metal genre. Each person operates differently. For example, I have a sister who could not feel the Spirit while I played the song Let Go by Frou Frou. To accomodate her I would only listen to it on Sundays with head phones or not at all. I have a brother who introduced me to What I've Done by Linkin Park. While listening to it, I realized what the song was about. I started saying, "hey, did you notice-" He interupted and said, "Yeah, it's about repentence." It was a spiritual moment for the both of us. You do not find rap or metal to be uplifting at all but find other music that you enjoy to be uplifting. There's nothing wrong with that. So you think that rapping, as defined above is evil? You think that dense bass and drums are evil? That loudness in music is evil (metal is traditionally loud)? That these individual musical characteristics you've listed are evil and should never be used in music? The notion is baffling to me. Satan gets us all worked up over evil things, using our own beliefs against us. Then we start making blanket statements and in so doing offend people. We need to not be offended, BUT we also need to not make blanket statements. To avoid this we need to think beyond our personal preferences, assumptions and fears. Music is a very subjective and personal thing. To say that all music in a particular genre is evil is to say that anyone who listens to that genre is evil or dabbling in evil. You may not think that's what you are saying but it is what is heard by the person who enjoys the genre that you profess to be evil. This hurts, offends, and puts that person on the defensive. It shuts people off who like supposedly evil music. They stop listening to you. Let me give you a real life example. I remember sitting in Young Women's listening to a leader speak. It was about looking for good things out in the world. It was great, I was feeling the Spirit, and then I wasn't anymore because she told us that rap was not of God and should be avoided. I must say that at this time I had no interest in rap. I didn't like it (was only exposed to "gangsta" rap at the time.) I must also say that I am the sort of person who looks around at other people while listening to, and looking at, who ever is giving the lesson. I knew that others were feeling the Spirit as well. I also knew that some of the other girls listened to rap. The moment this leader spoke out against all rap, the spirit receded from me, much to my surprise. I looked at my fellow young women who enjoyed rap. Their body language changed. They were sitting with arms folded, legs crossed and sitting back. Their expressions were closed expressions. I knew in that instant they would reject much of what this leader had to say to them. On the other hand, take my older brother for example. He was totally into metal (he still likes it but is rather selective about it). My mother, in her wisdom, would sit down with him and listen to his music. She would say things like, I like this because and tell him why, I don't like this one because, I don't like this band because they swear far too much or they're very negative, etc. Because my mother did not outright reject my brother's taste in music he was far more likely to listen to her. Sometimes he wouldn't, as all teenagers do, but what she said was always there with him and had an effect on the musical choices he would make. This in turn affected my older sister and me and everyone else in my family. It made us aware of not only the music itself but of the lyrics as well. We discovered that you can listen to something that is musically beautiful but the lyrics were not. Which approach do you think is the more righteous, more helpful, approach?

Just know that if he's not getting continuous care afterwards he'll very likely regress after he gets out of the mental hospital. This is something you could encourage your parents to do for your brother.

I got this from the AFA today. Obama seeks to take away religious rights of doctors and health care providers who refuse to perform abortions Urgent: send your e-mail to the White House today! According to several news agencies, President Barack Obama will rescind the "conscience rule" that protects health workers who refuse to participate in abortions or other medical procedures that go against their moral and religious beliefs. If the rule is rescinded, doctors, nurses and other health care workers could lose their jobs or be punished professionally for adhering to their sincerely held religious convictions. Obama's proposal would take away their religious freedom. The current rule empowers federal health officials to cut off federal funding for any state or local government, hospital, clinic, health plan, doctor's office or other entity if it does not accommodate employees who exercise their right of conscience. It applies to more than 584,000 health care facilities. The Obama administration is doing the bidding of pro-abortion advocacy groups who seek to penalize health care providers who refuse to participate in abortions. According to The Washington Post, Obama administration officials stressed that the proposal will be subject to 30 days of public comment. That is why it is so very important for you to let the White House hear from you today. Go to this link to send your letter: AFA - American Family Association - Activism

My mother told me a story about a couple who waited to have children until everything was perfect. When they tried to have children nothing came of it. They asked their Bishop for a blessing. He said yes. He started the blessing but then stopped and said, "I can not give you this blessing. The children you were supposed to have needed to come to earth sooner than you were willing to have them so they were given to others who were willing." I have witnessed a blessing being given by someone not prepared, not worthy. My ex was to give a blessing to a friend. I knew my ex and knew that he needed to pray first. I mentioned it. My brother, who was the annointer, said, leave the man alone, he knows what he's doing. My ex, said, yeah. Pride entered the scene, which caused him to no longer be worthy of administering the blessing. I knew it, but I said nothing. The blessing didn't work. I was hoping it would anyway, but it didn't. My friend was not healed. Later I tried to find someone else to give a blessing, but to no avail so I gave my friend a blessing myself by the power of my faith. My friend was well enough to be baptized and after the baptism the healing was complete.

Agreed. However, I do believe that the Spirits guides us in who to ask for the blessing. Some people make better vessels or conduits than others in different times and situations.

It is my understanding that anything done by the authority of the Melchezidek Priesthood is a blessing. There are dedicatory blessings, patriarchal blessings, blessings given by brother or father, etc. All of which are done without anointing with oil. It is only healing blessings where oil is needed.

We can have a Priesthood blessing on homes. HOMES! Why not animals? It never made sense to me. I wanted a Priesthood blessing on a cat once, but was told it wasn't done. I was given the explanation that Vort gave, but it didn't make sense to me. We bless homes, we bless babies, we bless people who do not have faith while their loved ones do. I remember my daughter being only a few days old receiving a blessing. "by your faith you will be healed." I was floored. She was a baby! But in that instance, they meant MY faith. Later, when she's old enough, it will be based on her faith. I remember my husband got a blessing. He did it only for me. I told the Priesthood holders that I had enough faith for the both of us and that's what they based his blessing on. MY faith. Why can't the faith of the person who loves the bird be used for the Priesthood blessing? Our pets are a part of our family. Time, resources, love and lots of energy are poured into them. There's no good reason not to give our beloved animals a blessing if they are in need.

Maxel, no one here is suggesting that we should replace Hymns with Contemporary Christain Music. CCM is supposed to be supplementary to hymns. I am sorry you've had such negative experiences, but hating a genre of music because of a few people who sucked liked it strikes me as close minded. A friend in my ward hated most hymns because they were bright and happy hymns, hopeful hymns. It took her a long time to appreciate and love those hymns. Why? Because hymns like I Am A Child Of God where it says, "Has given me parents kind and dear" were lies to her. Abuse at home. Love at church. Should she right off that hymn and all hymns because of the mixed messages she received growing up? There will always be hypocrits. Always. There will always be people who go to church and seem kind and wonderful helpful people only to find that at home, at work, they are very very different people. They're only wonderful on Sundays or for showing off. It doesn't mean that Christ's Gospel is bad. This right here says to me that you have a problem with specific genres that do not fall in your personal category of spirituality. I stand as a witness that no genre of music is inherently evil. It's what people do with such genres that make it evil. How many fights do parents and kids get in with each other over music? If your kid likes rap find uplifting rap music, the kind that's not full of violence and sex. If your kid likes metal find the uplifting metal that's not satanic or hailing oden. Parents and children would both be happier if they did this. Did you listen to the songs I posted links to on page two of this thread? You know, the ones where I've felt the Spirit? Allow me to give you the genres of each. Let Go by Frou Frou is a sort of new age pop with techno ambient influences. See Who I Am by Within Temptation is operatic metal. Aurora by Origa (a Russian woman of Japanese descent) is classified as pop, but clearly has celtic and ambient influences. What I've Done by Linkin Park is a mixture of rock and rap. Midnight in a Perfect World (Gift of Gab Mix) by DJ Shadow is classified as turntablism. Though this particular mix is more rap. Another piece of music that I didn't mention previously that I feel the Spirit when I listen to it is God Moving Over The Waters by Moby. It's techno. And for the record, none of these are Christian groups. I find To Hell With the Devil by Stryper, a Christian metal band, inspiring because it encourages you to rebel against Satan as opposed to rebelling against God. How can that possibly be a diabolical thing? A lot of evil is perpetuated in Rap, R&B, and Hip Hop. A lot of evil is perpetuated in metal and hard rock/rock. There's evil in every musical genre. It does not make the genre evil. To say such genres are evil because evil is present in them is like saying that the internet is evil because there's evil on the internet.

I would've left the caption. But, anyway, you've already apologized twice. It's her choice to still be angry. I wouldn't worry over it. Forgive her for being full of pride and idiocy and go your way. You've already done all you can in this situation.

If you need to have a starbucks fix nab the blended cremes. Those are tasty. Well, except for the tea one, the Tzao Tai Tea or whatever it's called, it's loaded with caffiene and it's an actual tea as well I believe.

How about another option? No, but we need some government intervention to prevent another Great Depression.

No, I would not pray for the Second Coming to come sooner. Each person needs as much time as possible to have a chance to come unto Christ. Pray for everyone to have enough time to make the change.

I have a book called The Jabez Prayer by Bruce Wilkinson who is the founder of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries. It is such a powerful book. The Spirit has directed me to give it as gifts to a few LDS people.

Heritage New Media Partners, Inc. - NMA TV - Preteen pro-life speech goes viral It's supposed to be up on YouTube, but I've not been able to find it. *shrug* It's a very good speech though.

There isn't anything inherently wrong with Christian music. There are Christian metal bands, some of which are persecuted by their metal peers for being Christian. Yes, really. One of my favs is "To Hell with the Devil" by Stryper. In fact that album remaines the best-selling Christian metal album of all time. Yes, it's that good. There are other bands, not necessarily Christian, whose songs will fill me with the Spirit. I will name a few. The first three I am giving you videos because these where how I was first introduced to those songs and the Spirit's impact was enormous for the first two. The third one the Spirit was testifying to me about the artist's quest for truth and enlightenment. The last two were very powerful as well, but did not accompany videos. Let Go by Frou Frou See Who I Am by Within Temptation YouTube - Falling Dreams - Kingdom Hearts Aurora by Origa Here is the English translation (scroll down) Origa - Aurora - Lyrics from LyricWiki What I've Done by Linkin Park audio music tracks on Project Playlist | Music Playlist || Facebook, Tagworld, Stickam, Hi5, Friendster, Infieldparking.com, Xanga, Myspace Music Playlists (click on the first one) Midnight In A Perfect World (Gift of Gab Mix) by DJ Shadow Though with this one there are couple of lines where I don't feel the Spirit so much because it's not doctrinal. Here are a few lines that particularly strike me with truth. "And all you had to do was live today for your tomorrow. But now it's over and you're drowning deep inside your sorrow . . . So just don't say you gave it all if you ain't gave it all . . . No more time I tried to warn you all it's now approaching midnight" I can't seem to find the Gift of Gab Mix for you to listen to, though there is the original version on the album Endtroducing you can find. It's very good. Here are the lyrics however for your reading pleasure to the Gift of Gab mix of Midnight in A Perfect World. DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect World (Gift Of Gab Mix) Lyrics There will always be extremists in every group. Ignore them. I hope this helps.

If you're anything like me, then you probably need to read this article too. Link to Article Peter Walsh's Surprising Way to Clean Up Clutter By Jessica Winter Organizational expert Peter Walsh helps tidy up our cluttered thinking. As leader of Oprah's Clean Up Your Messy House Tour on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Peter Walsh is carving order out of chaos in scores of domestic disaster areas. In his latest book, Enough Already! Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You, he makes the link between a disorganized home and the untidy thoughts that can muddle our relationships and well-being. O: Enough Already! treats clutter not just as the physical stuff in our homes but as a metaphor for our lives. Walsh: My clients say things like, "I was buried under all that stuff," "I was drowning," "I feel like I'm suffocating." We use those metaphors because clutter robs us of life. It robs us socially, when we're too embarrassed to have people over. It robs us spiritually, because we can't be at peace in a cluttered home. And it robs us psychologically, by stealing our ability to feel motivated in our space. O: And the term "clutter" is all-encompassing. Walsh: It means anything that stands between you and the vision you have for your best life. It could be a pile of inherited furniture or a jumble of kids' toys all over the living room. But it could also be the constant self-doubt that creeps into your decision-making, anger about how you're treated at work, shame about your weight or looks, or a tendency to respond defensively and critically when your spouse challenges you. Whatever the case, you have to ask yourself, "Does this item or thought or response move me closer to my vision for my best life?" If it does, great. If it doesn't, what is it doing in your life? O: So your house could be neat as a pin and you could still be in a badly cluttered relationship. Walsh: Maybe your partner says something you don't like and your immediate reaction is to attack. But if you insert a question—"Will my response help create the relationship I want or damage it?"—that's a transformational moment. You have to remove the clutter of competing egos and miscommunication, the clutter of assuming your partner might want to hurt you deliberately. A decluttered relationship is one in which you trust that you and your partner want each other to live your best lives. O: But what is the difference between a vision for your best life and an unattainable fantasy? Walsh: We have an infinite capacity for self-deception, yes. A lot of clutter is a lack of acceptance that a moment has passed. Maybe someone has kept all her college English papers because she wanted to be a writer, but she never put in the time and energy to make it happen. O:One of the unnerving things about physical clutter is that it's stealthy. You clean the house, but two days later it's a wreck again, and you don't know how it happened. Walsh: Ah, that's the cycle problem. If you put a load of clothes in the wash, and halfway through you turn the machine off and leave it for a few days, you will come back to a mound of smelly laundry. You have to finish the cycle. When you have a bowl of cereal, does the box go back in the cupboard? When you bring in the mail, do you immediately open and sort it? At night, do your clothes go in the hamper or on the floor? We have a choice: to be mindful and complete the cycle, or to end up with a stinky load of washing in the metaphorical machine. Inside we're all 8-year-olds expecting someone to pick up after us. Those days are gone.

Seer stones ARE Urim and Thummims. If you look up seer stones in the Topical Guide it tells you to see Urim and Thummim in the Topical Guide and in the Bible Dictionary. A Urim and Thummim, meaning Lights and Prefections in Hebrew, is a seer stone, of which there are many. So, if there is a seer stone that came from the Chase well, then it is a Urim and Thummim. They are the same thing with different names. I take issue with your source Just_A_Guy. This alternate spelling of Gazelam that is allegedly in the Doctine and Covenants is not to be seen. The scriptures referenced are a list of servants, including Joseph Smith, which could be appropriate in that Gazelem is a servant of God. However, that could simply be another title, and thus anyone could be Gazelem, of which, the name Gazelem is only referenced in Alma 37:23. Also, using quotes by people who fell away from the church after they fell away does not work so well in my book. People who are excommunicated are prone to misremembering things, especially if they have hard feelings against the Church. They'll change things or word things so that the most negative possible spin is put on the Church, even unto falsehoods. I know this because of things I have read by excommunicated members and because of some experiences I've had with excommunicated members. Notwithstanding, even your own article eventually states that Urim and Thummims and seer stones are the same thing (see end paragraph of page 61 and end paragraph of 63). I am sure that configuring seer stones in a specific manner, such is in a bow or a breast plate or like a pair of glasses are done so as to obtain a specific result. Mayhaps the stones in the bow (and I'm imagining a bow and arrow type bow) were done because it was easier to carry during ancient times or it could be it better helped the seer, or prophet, obtain good food. I don't know. Whatever the case may be it is clear that a seer stone and a Urim and Thummim are the same thing. There is a fabulous article on revelation but is called the Dual Aspects of Prayer. Here is an excerpt. "It is clear, then, that Satan and his followers, who have been cast out of God’s presence and are dead to His Spirit, are excluded from those who, by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, may know the thoughts and the intents of our hearts. So, in his wisdom and mercy, God has provided a channel of communication between him and his children on earth that Satan, our common enemy, cannot invade. This is the channel of secret prayer. The significance of this to the Latter-day Saint is profound, for by this means we are able to communicate with our Heavenly Father in secrecy, confident that the adversary cannot intrude. ". . . . "David Whitmer reported that the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “some revelations are of God: some revelations are of man: and some revelations are of the devil.” (In B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 1:163.) But while Satan can convey thoughts, he does not know whether these thoughts have taken root unless they are reflected either in words or in actions. "All this suggests that we should be wise in what we say and do. We should also be wise in the way we guard precious things that are revealed to us through the Spirit. For example, when President Heber J. Grant was a young man, presiding in the Tooele Stake, Patriarch John Rowberry gave him a special blessing. Afterward, the patriarch said to President Grant, “I saw something that I dared not mention.” President Grant later recorded it was made known to him at that moment that he would one day be the President of the Church. He never discussed this revelation with anyone, never recorded it, and revealed it only after it was an accomplished fact. (See Francis M. Gibbons, Heber J. Grant: Man of Steel, Prophet of God, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, p. viii.) How wise he was, for had he revealed it to others, his enemy, Satan, would have known and, with that knowledge, could have created unimaginable difficulties for him. "Often, we talk too much. We say things that need not be said or should not be said; for in saying them, we may open a crevice which enables Lucifer to wedge his way into our lives. We learn from 2 Nephi that Satan “seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 2:27.) Satan and his followers are persistent in their quest to drag us down to their level. They will use any device or artifice to accomplish their end. If they know, for example, of revelations such as the one given to President Grant, or if they see from our words or actions evidence of animosity or hatred or discord among us, they may capitalize on them in ways which will be detrimental to us. Wisdom suggests, therefore, that we suppress words and actions which might enable Satan to harm us or whose tendency might be to create discord or enmity." Here is the link to the entire article: LDS.org - Ensign Article - The Dual Aspects of Prayer Sorry, PC, I know this veers from your original question, but I felt this issue needed to be addressed.

I failed at a calling once as Assistant Librarian. I didn't get another one for years after that. Not until after I got married. Then, I moved and failed to attend my final Sunday which was not good (I was a Primary teacher). I got the same calling that I had failed at before. I was determined to do better, and I did, and was blessed. Librarians were at one time expected to miss Sunday School and Relief Society. Now, the Librarians are allowed to go Relief Society, they just come in a few minutes late and leave a few minutes early. So please, don't fail the Lord like I have, okay? It sucks. It weakens you. It makes you doubt your own sense of self worth. And it takes a lot of time to build that back up. So, talk to your Bishop about the burn out feeling, after all, you've only got another year, and ask for a blessing and come up with a plan to be able to attend at least Priesthood.

Your article is more like a mini book. It'll take me a while to get to the part where it talks about where Joseph supposedly found that seer stone in the ground. It'd be nice if you could just quote that part or something.