Finrock

I think this is good advice: "You need to support your wife. I don't know how old your youngest is. But, eventually these children will be grown and gone. They need to know that you and your wife are a team. Your wife needs to know that the two of you are a team and that she is absolutely number one in your life. Your children, you and your wife all need to become a team/partnership--a family." Thanks classylady, for posting it. Regards, Finrock

I appreciate the counsel of President Hunter: “Let me offer a word of caution. . . . I think if we are not careful . . . , we may begin to try to counterfeit the true influence of the Spirit of the Lord by unworthy and manipulative means. I get concerned when it appears that strong emotion or free-flowing tears are equated with the presence of the Spirit. Certainly the Spirit of the Lord can bring strong emotional feelings, including tears, but that outward manifestation ought not to be confused with the presence of the Spirit itself” (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, 184)." I think too many people confuse sentimentalism with the influence of the Spirit. President Hinckley said the following while referencing Moroni 7:13, 16-17: "That’s the test, when all is said and done. Does it persuade one to do good, to rise, to stand tall, to do the right thing, to be kind, to be generous? Then it is of the Spirit of God. . . .If it invites to do good, it is of God. If it inviteth to do evil, it is of the devil. . . . And if you are doing the right thing and if you are living the right way, you will know in your heart what the Spirit is saying to you. You recognize the promptings of the Spirit by the fruits of the Spirit—that which enlighteneth, that which buildeth up, that which is positive and affirmative and uplifting and leads us to better thoughts and better words and better deeds is of the Spirit of God” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 260–61). Regards, Finrock

Maybe I'm missing some insight, but it appears that a group of you have taken Rabboni's posts, reduced it to a sexual joke, and are then as a group using it to attack Rabboni's character by implying that he is an abuser. Am I missing something? Regards, Finrock

You can be overweight and still be perfectly healthy. Regards, Finrock

Good afternoon rameumptom. I hope you are having a good day. :) I do appreciate what you are saying. There is no doubt that exaltation, in the end, is a function of grace. If I accept your logic, then I would also have to accept that Jesus Christ is somehow still not equal to God the Father. I believe that Jesus Christ could not have completed his work alone and needed Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ owes his exaltation to God the Father. Regards, Finrock

I have no problems with the idea that we can be equal with God. I believe God is a man. A Man of Holiness, but a man. He is the epitome of man. He is perfect in every way possible. He is glorified, exalted, and immortal. He is omniscience and omnipotent. However, I see no reason why God, who has nothing to worry about, would have a problem allowing us to be like him in every conceivable way possible. I can't imagine that God would restrain any portion of his blessing to those who faithfully obey and endure to the end. Regards, Finrock

Hi Backroads! I hope you are doing better today. :) In my opinion, this sounds like one of those situations where your experience was primarily controlled by your attitude. Regards, Finrock

2. Provide useful, quality products/services with honesty. Regards, Finrock

Good afternoon Vort. I hope you've had a good week! :) In what sense do you think this statement is true? Can you clarify this position any or do you feel that it is a self evident truth? In what way is God's relationship to us "intimately different" from that of a biological father to his child? Regards, Finrock

Hi someldsdude. It is a pleasure to meet to. I don't think we can expect to ever eliminate the triggers, or the temptation. We can learn to adapt how we react to the triggers, over time. It is very similar to changing the amount of food you eat. Initially the temptation to eat more is difficult to resist. However, if you do not give in to the temptation, over time, your body and your mind will adapt to having less food and this results in it being easier to not eat. You may find one day that you have no desire to eat beyond what is proper. In the same way, you will need to learn strategies to cope with the triggers and to resist them. So, dont so much focus on eliminating the temptation but focus more so on gaining power to overcome the temptation. Also, address the underlying issue of coping with stress. Once you are able to address your stress issues you will probably do much in addressing the porn and masturbation issues. Applying the atonement in these cases is key. You will need power beyond your own to win. Regards, Finrock

And you never know if God is releasing you for some purpose that will greatly benefit you. Even if others may have acted hastily towards you it does not mean that God's purposes are not being served. God uses flawed individuals to bring about his purposes. Have faith and continue doing what is right. What is true, is true and none of these circumstances change what the truth is. Regards, Finrock

Good evening applepansy! I hope you are well. :) I can only assure you that my intention is not to judge you, but I would like to sincerely understand what about this situation is inappropriate? Or, why would this make you mad? Regards, Finrock

What you've concluded isn't what I am asking or saying. I want to know what the statement means to you as opposed to knowing what you think the statement means to me. Or, I could say that I want to know what people understand the statement to mean, with the statement standing on its own merit. Or, I want people to ignore the person who is writing the statement or any speculations about what the author might be getting at and simply share, if they so choose, what that statement means to them. Makes you wonder why I didn't just say that in the first place. However, we are beyond that point now. I have already polluted the minds of the audience by revealing more detail of what I have been thinkin about. One example of what I was trying to avoid is seen with Sharky's post (not to imply that I do not appreciate Sharky's post and input or that I did not find it helpful. I do and it was.). In the case of Sharky's post he stated that after reading my thoughts and others' thoughts he decided to change from what he initially felt the statement to mean. I suppose there is some part of what I'm saying that means euphemisms can be bad, but I don't mean to say that they are intrinsically bad, or bad in an absolute way. The use of the word euphemisms was a bad choice in my initial statement. It, ironically, was really being used to represent all the deceptions, fantasies, lies, illusions, delusions, rationalizations, or any other rhetorical/mental constructs that serve to minimize to any degree what the reality of a thing is. Regards, Finrock

You've missed my point. Outside of the forums, I was trying to formulate a statement that encapsulated a concept that I have been thinking about. I decided to post a draft statement to see what other people understood the statement to mean so that I could compare it to what I felt it meant and see if it was a useful statement. I left my intentions and my own feelings vague so as not to influence others views. In the meantime, I've abandoned my original statement because it isn't unambiguous enough or the words do not properly communicate the meaning I want them to communicate. I've now provided more clarification as to what I'm talking about or what I intented to mean with my statement. I was wanting to know how others understood my original statement. I didn't want to know what others think what I mean with my statement. Truth is knowledge of things as they really are (D&C 93:24). To know of things as they really are, is to seek and know truth? That is true, but it is also circular. I think there is something more to the concept of knowing, speaking, understanding, etc., of things as they really are. Regards, Finrock

No, I actually meant good individuals who really are good and are actually deserving of being called good. I meant people who are actively, anxiously, and with all of their might, mind, and heart, engaged in living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I may have used the quotation marks incorrectly, but I intended the quotation marks to denote our imperfection. So, the meaning of "good" would be more precisely stated as: imperfect but good. But, the point I'm interested in is to know your thoughts on what it means, in pratical terms, or really in any other terms, to know, speak, feel, understand, etc. things as they really are? Regards, Finrock

If we accept the scriptural charge that we are required to seek after truth in all things or in other words to know things as they really are, then this has many significant implications to how we should conduct our lives. It has implications that touches every aspect of our life. To name a few: It has implications to how we communicate, how we judge people, to how we interact with ourselves, to our diet, to our political views, to our religious views, etc. I don't know if most people have a true appreciation or a true sense of how important it is to seek to know how things really are in every aspect of life. Our society seems to have decided that pop culture, stereotypes, euphimisms, and other rhetorical/mental constructs that minimize reality are perfectly good ways in which to interact with the world. But, it isn't just the big, obvious ways in which society errs that is of concern. It is the fact that even "good" individuals seem content and happy to just have a superficial knowledge of things that have significant ramifications to them and to the lives of others. Regards, Finrock

You're welcome. I very much encourage you to start going back to an LDS ward. Do it this Sunday and don't stop going. :) Respectfully, Finrock

There are some scriptures that I believe speak to what I mean by my statement, or what I'm getting at, with my statement. I'm trying to capture the essence of the idea expressed in these scriptures. "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come" "for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be" What does it mean to know something as it really is? Or to speak of something as it really is? Regards, Finrock

Good afternoon mcrow. I hope you are enjoying your day! :) Thank you for posting your thoughts. Regards, Finrock

Good afternoon Vort. I hope you are well today! :) Thanks for the contribution. Regards, Finrock

Good afternoon Bini. I hope you're doing great! :) It is a statement I came up with while trying to express a sentiment in words. I want to know if people understand this statement the same way that I do. I think the expression entails an interesting concept and I want to know if anyone applies the same meaning to the words that I do. I am purposefully not discussing what I understand that statement to mean or what I want it to mean (I may have to use different words if it's meaningless to others) so that I don't influence others' thoughts. Regards, Finrock

Good afternoon Yana! I hope you've been doing well. :) I like what Windseeker says and I just feel compelled to point out to you, Yana, that the reason why you would not be happy even if you got everything you wished for, is because everything you have wished for is incapable of bringing your happiness. That is why I suggested in my first post that you need to change your priorities. Wish for things that will actually bring you happiness, work hard to obtain them, pray to God to receive them, and God will grant you those wishes. The lesson for all of us is to learn to know what actually brings happiness so that we will ask for the right things from God. You can learn to know what actually brings happiness by studying the scriptures, by listening and reading the words of modern day prophets, by going to church, by praying to Heavenly Father, and by obeying the things that you read and hear from God. It might seem so unglamorous; or it might seem mundane but, there it is, the answer to true and lasting happiness is found in those things you have probably been taught all of your life. Pray to God, study the scriptures, listen to the prophets, and obey and apply what you learn from the gospel. Trust in these things. Believe in them. Accept them with all your heart and start applying it in your life. Do it even if you don't think it will help you or even if you think that what you want right now is the only thing that will make you happy. Once you begin to accept the gospel in its entirety and you begin to trust in the principles of the gospel and you begin to apply these things in your life, then you will begin to see what so many others here see and you will understand some of the reactions you have received. But, more importantly, you will have an understanding of what it means to be really happy and you will be able to know the principles that you can use to judge the descisions you want to make in life. Regards, Finrock

What does this mean to you? I recognize that I cannot control what others post but to clarify my intentions I want to explicitely state that I am not interested, at this time, in whether a person feels that this statement is true or false. It is good for a person to do away with the euphemisms in life. Regards, Finrock

OK, I can understand the joke. I was curious to know why you felt the way that you did as your post seemed to imply that it was wrong to do it and those who were doing it were in need of help because you were offerring to pray for them. I was trying to think in my mind what is wrong with praying, for instance, to have better sex before having sex. I can't think of anything "wrong" with it other than it seems abnormal, insofar as "normal" means what most people do. However, I don't see anything intrinsically wrong with it. Regards, Finrock

Good afternoon Misshalfway! I hope you are having a good day. :) Why do you feel this way? Regards, Finrock