Jenamarie

Probably not before General Conference is over. The transcripts always seem to take a while to become available. (probably because they wait until they've got them translated into all the various languages they do and release them all at once, and that takes time)

You left out for the health of the mother. Are you okay with abortion in those cases then?

Rough Stone Rolling (the Biography of Joseph Smith), and Wikipedia.

I heard it. For some reason our Stake building was only able to pick up the audio, and it was very grainy at that. A lot of people left to watch it at a members home, but I stuck it out and just listened very very closely. It sounded like a radio broadcast from my grandmother's generation. I'm rewatching it right now on kbyu.com Elder Uchtdorf's talk was my favorite.

It's a Civic term. When a city is formed it is sub-divided into smaller sections. I can't remember exactly why, just that that's what's done, and the term for those sub-divisions used to be wards. Think of New Orleans, how there's still the Ninth Ward there, that's still a part of New Orleans. Anyway, Nauvoo was set up similarly, and people who lived in the city's Wards were formed into congregations that matched the civic Ward boundaries, so the civic term was adopted for the congregations. It was then carried over to Utah. And we are Wards of Zion. And Stakes of Zion. A part of the Kingdom of God here on Earth. Zion is a physical place. I personally like the way it's set up. I recall hearing Marlin K. Jensen compare it to families. You don't get to choose what kind of family you're born into and are put into the position of learning how to deal with different types of people. The same is true of wards. You have a mix of people, some of whom you possibly wouldn't choose to associate with otherwise, and are made to work with them and get along with them. With other churches, there's "church shopping" where people look for a church who's doctrines and congregations they feel they most fit in with. So you end up with congregations of mostly young families, or mostly seniors, or congregations of mostly Republicans or mostly Democrats, or whatever similarity (besides belief in the Gospel) they feel draws them together. There's not as much intergration. And sometimes the "church shopping" can take months, so you're missing out on valuable time recieving gospel instruction. I think it also makes Home and Visiting Teaching more managable, if you have people visiting eachother who all live within a certain distance of eachother. Of course there are still wards who have very large boundaries, but it's not EVERY ward that has people scattered every which way across the city.

I don't think people are getting what I'm trying to say. I'm talking about the part of Salvation as defined by other Christian faiths that means Saved from Hell. The only "work" you can do, according to LDS theology, that will keep you from some degree of Heaven is denying the Holy Spirit. Everyone else will achieve at a minimum the Tellestial Kingdom. Of COURSE we're expected to follow Him. Of COURSE we're expected to have our Faith manifested by our Works, but our Eternal consequence for failing at that isn't hellfire and brimstone, it's a lesser degree of Glory.

I'll think I'll buy a Barbie Malibu Beach House that has a REAL elevator!

Well, it'll be one tricked out doll house!

Pssst. 85,000,000,000 divided by 200,000,000 is only $425. So enjoy your doll house.

Wow! That's totally crazy.

Um, no. What I'm saying is that, other than denying the Holy Spirit, our actions aren't going to get us damned to Hell, like I've heard some Christians say Mormons believe. Like we live in a constant state of fear of "not doing enough" and ending up in Hell despite our best efforts. That there's no roll for Grace in our view of Salvation. Of COURSE our actions mean something, but I think you're confusing Salvation with Exaltation, which are two entirely seperate things. We do nothing to earn Salvation, (or at least the lowest "degree" of Salvation, that being entrance into the Tellestial Kingdom, a Ressurected body, and Immortal life), but the choices we make DO effect whether or not we gain entrance into the Celestial Kingdom, gain Exaltation and have Eternal Life. The greater Heavenly Reward.

I'll be going to my Stake's broadcast. They always have a program and a light dinner before the broadcast, and it's so much fun. :)

Right. :) But we don't live in fear of not "doing enough" and ending up in Hell because we failed to do enough Works, like I've heard some Christians say is the way we must feel. Salvation is being Saved from Hell. Exaltation is the greatest Heavenly Reward. Our Works move us along the path to that reward. But they don't save us from Hell.

A sticking point I find some Christians present as their reason for disagreeing with the LDS church (among many) is how we believe works are required for Salvation. The fact is that we DON'T. Other Christian faiths teach that it is by Grace that we are Saved, and that our works only earn us greater Heavenly rewards. The LDS church teaches the exact same thing. Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, Temple Ordinances, and Proxy Temple Ordinances are not pulling us, or our ancestors, further away from the jaws of Hell. We are already safely out of their reach (unless we reject the Spirit). What they DO do is open the doors to greater Blessings in this life, and greater Rewards in the next, including the reward of Exaltation and Eternal Life with our Father in Heaven, and with our families. An LDS person who isn't Sealed in the Temple isn't destined for Hell. Nor is someone who commits a crime. What they are putting at risk isn't their Salvation, but their Exaltation, which are two seperate things (Exaltation being the greatest of the Heavenly Rewards). They are not building up as many Treasures in Heaven as they might otherwise be. But their works aren't Saving them from Hell. Our loving Savior has already done that miraculous piece of work.

You know, if a natural disaster were to hit my area and wipe out our food supply, or if my family were to be stuck in the middle of nowhere in our car with no help immediately available, I hope and pray that I'm lactating. I could single-handedly (boobedly? )keep my family alive. (assuming there was food enough for at least ONE person - me - to eat )

But ice cream is ALREADY made from breast milk. Cow breast milk.

Kona, is it disturbing to you that Joseph raised Jesus as his own son? ETA: I have an adopted sister who was Sealed to us for Time and All Eternity. In the eyes of GOD it is just as if she were born to my mom and dad. The ties that Heavenly Father ties us together with trump the ties of blood, hands down.

Just with AIG, if they go under, thousands (if not millions) of people will lose their retirment funds, life insurance policies, and other insurance policies that they've been paying into which are now void, and they won't get any of their "investment" back. Heaven help their customers who are at or near retirement, as they'll be up a creek.

General Conference talks are considered "scripture" by many, but they're not necessarily new revelation. GC talks are generally interpretation of current scripture, or general teachings how we can apply gospel principles to our lives, such as repentence and loving one another. So while they can be included in our scripture study as Latter-Day Saints, they're not necesarily revelation.

He's happy because he won a cruise on the Good Ship Lollipop!!!

So if your girlfriend got pregnant and was diagnosed with an agressive form of cancer shortly after, you'd leave the cancer alone? Even if it meant almost certain death for her?

Well, look at the specific exceptions they allow: Baby won't survive past birth I recently had a friend experience this. At the 20 week ultrasound her baby was found to have no brain. After several other tests it was further proven, and at 22 weeks the baby was "aborted" (labor was induced and the baby was delivered and allowed to pass peacefully). Some women may have chosen to carry the baby to term and part with it then. In this case, the parents felt they couldn't go through 20 more weeks of wondering if that was the day their baby was going to die (because they baby could have also died in the womb, prior to reaching full-term). They wanted the chance to spend time with their baby while she was alive, and the best odds of that were to induce labor sooner than later. Unfortunately complications arrose during labor (hemmoraging in the uterus) that caused the baby to pass during delivery, but they got to hold her and take pictures and footprints of her. Mother's health is at risk from continuing the pregnancy Sometimes women have pre-existing conditions that can make pregnancy very risky. No birthcontrol is 100%, so sometimes they end up getting pregnant despite taking all reasonable precautions. And sometimes women are diagnosed with something during pregnancy that puts them at risk of death if the baby is carried to term, such as an aggressive form of cancer. Such things where treatment during pregnancy isn't safe (chemo would surely kill a baby, and some medications for severe illnesses will also cause infant death, or extreme malformation). If the pregnancy isn't terminated then the mother could very well die, which will most likely also mean the death of the child. A lose/lose situation. Rape and Incest A gross misuse of the God-given power of procreation. And it can happen to women at any age. One of my grade school friends got her first period at the mature, womanly age of 9. Had some sicko decided to misuse her she could have become pregnant. Should a child that age have no option but to deliver the child? Could you imagine watching your 10, 11, 12 year old daughter go through the rigors of childbearing and childbirth? Can you imagine what that could do to their young, still developing bodies? And in grown women rape and incest is just as traumatic an event, and sometimes having to carry the child of the person who so grossly violated them can be too much to bare. Feeling a child move inside you that was put there by someone so vile can cause great mental anguish. Some women have the fortitude to endure such a trial and love the baby inspite of it's origins, but for many women it's just being victimized all over again. (not by the child, but by having to go through pregnancy and having the right to chose the father of their child irrevocably taken away from them).

And you know what's funny? I've heard that one several times, from different people, from different parts of the country. I wonder which "Are Mormons Christian?" book it came out of.

That we don't drink milk. Still not sure where they got that idea from.

Ya, it's a called a pregnancy glow. But really, my hubby is great. His dedication to his family is amazing. He's busting his butt to improve our quality of life, and our kids adore him. My dad was/is another great man in my life. Even though he was only home 3 days a week for most of my childhood, during those three days it was all about us kids. Even though we missed him when he was gone, I never felt "starved" for attention from my dad, because he gave us so much of his attention when he was there.