bytor2112

I remember when all of those books....Left Behind Series were very popular and those Omen movies.

Your new avatar cracks me up....I imagine your voice as Marge Simpson when I read your posts:lol:

Mormons and Catholics really have a lot in common. Both contend that they are the true Church of Christ. Both have ecclesiastical accountability. Both believe they have the Priesthood. Both are led by men who are considered to be the Lord's official spokes person. Both have sacred texts in addition to the Holy Bible. Catholics have strong family values and large families. Purgutory and Spirit Prison. A deep reverence for the Savior. I have long felt that if I weren't LDS....I would be Catholic.

Your certainly entitled to your opinion, however your opinion would suggest that millions of faithful Catholics feel no remorse for sin and are not held accountable by their ecclesiastical leaders for transgressions. Accountabillity that can include excommunication. Catholics, like many other faithful Christians of other denominations, faithfully adhere to the creeds of their faith and strive to serve the Lord just as faithful Latter Day Saints do. Remember, as Latter Day Saints, we believe they have a portion of the truth, just not the fullness.

I think he is referring to your firm and unshakable and IMO erroneous opinion of catholic confession, not your testimony of the LDS repentance process.

There is no salvation in believing a false doctrine......... none.

I was responding to your statement regarding Catholics not feeling remorse and having their sins majically forgiven with no accountability. This just simply isn't true. They feel the same heavy weight of sin that we do and through their ecclesiastical leadership seek to set things right with the Lord. I believe as you do that ultimately they must pass through the same strait and narrow gate that I have passed through for salvation. But, I believe that the Lord honors the sincerely repentant regardless of their denominational beliefs.

I know lots of Catholics who would disagree with your assertions. It is my understanding that Catholics believe in Jesus Christ just as strongly as we (LDS) do and are prone to feeling just as remorseful for sinning as we do. Ever heard the phrase "Catholic guilt"? I think that they can confess face to face as well and are subject to Ecclesiastical discipline just as we are. I am sure that their Priest is their to give guidance and counsel as well. You are correct though, in the end repentance is between the sinner and God and requires a mighty change of heart.

Sometimes I want something so bad.... I end up needing it.

Ultimately, that is what you must do......confession of a serious transgression to your Bishop ultimately determines your standing in the church. It also allows the Bishop to help you through your struggle. In the end, the church doesn't forgive sins...only Heavenly Father does that.

It is a last-second pass to score a touchdown and win the football game.......:lol:

I think that the Evangelicals believe that the Anti-Christ will be one man and they take this passage pretty literally as far as the mark, 666, etc. Any thoughts on what the LDS believe in regard to this passage or perhaps some enlightenment from non-LDS? Revelation Ch. 13 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Salvation by Grace: Elder Bruce R. McConkie Now, there is a true doctrine of salvation by grace--a salvation by grace alone and without works, as the scriptures say. To understand this doctrine we must define our terms as they are defined in holy writ. 1. What is salvation? It is both immortality and eternal life. It is an inheritance in the highest heaven of the celestial world. It consists of the fullness of the glory of the Father and is reserved for those for whom the family unity continues in eternity. Those who are saved become as God is and live as he lives. 2. What is the plan of salvation? It is the system ordained by the Father to enable his spirit children to advance and progress and become like him. It consists of three great and eternal verities--the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement--without any of which there could be no salvation. 3. What is the grace of God? It is his mercy, his love, and his condescension--all manifest for the benefit and blessing of his children, all operating to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. We rejoice in the heavenly condescension that enabled Mary to become “the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:18). We bask in the eternal love that sent the Only Begotten into the world “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). We are profoundly grateful for that mercy which endureth forever and through which salvation is offered to erring mortals. 4. Does salvation come by grace, or grace alone, by grace without works? It surely does, without any question in all its parts, types, kinds, and degrees. We are saved by grace, without works; it is a gift of God. How else could it come? In his goodness and grace the great God ordained and established the plan of salvation. No works on our part were required. In his goodness and grace he created this earth and all that is on it, with man as the crowning creature of his creating--without which creation his spirit children could not obtain immortality and eternal life. No works on our part were required. In his goodness and grace he provided for the Fall of man, thus bringing mortality and death and a probationary estate into being--without all of which there would be no immortality and eternal life. And again no works on our part were required. In his goodness and grace--and this above all--he gave his Only Begotten Son to ransom man and all life from the temporal and spiritual death brought into the world by the Fall of Adam. He sent his Son to redeem mankind, to atone for the sins of the world, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). And again all this comes to us as a free gift and without works. There is nothing any man could do to create himself. This was the work of the Lord God. Nor did we have any part in the Fall of man, without which there could be no salvation. The Lord provided the way, and Adam and Eve put the system into operation. And finally, there neither has been, nor is, nor ever can be any way nor means by which man alone can, or any power he possesses, redeem himself. We cannot resurrect ourselves anymore than we can create ourselves. We cannot create a heavenly abode for the Saints, nor make provision for the continuation of the family unit in eternity, nor bring salvation and exaltation into being. All these things are ordained and established by that God who is the Father of us all. And they all came into being and are made available to us, as free gifts, without works, because of the infinite goodness and grace of Him whose children we are. Truly, there is no way to overstate the goodness and grandeurs and glories of the grace of God which bringeth salvation. Such wondrous love, such unending mercy, such infinite compassion and condescension--all these can come only from the Eternal God who lives in eternal life and who desires all of his children to live as he lives and be inheritors of eternal life.

Alma Ch. 40 11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. 12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

Our Stake President said that there isn't anything wrong with eating at a resteraunt or picking something up to eat when traveling......

As I have posted in other threads, I have been an active member of the church since March of 2005. I was in-active for 21 years and sadly living far from the Gospel. Since my return, I have had a voracious appetite for all things related to the Gospel. The scriptures, books, talks.....this site, anything that teaches me about the Gospel. I had a dream a couple of years ago that I think of often. In this dream I am late for class and as I enter this very large class room filled with all of my church friends, they turn to look at me and I see a desk that has been saved for me at the front of the class. I can't help but believe that this from Heavenly Father.......that he knew I was coming and saved a place for me. I feel the spirit when I think on this and it makes me realize how much the Lord knows and loves each of us and that he never forgets any of his children. I have had other dreams and experiences and I am sure you have to......care to share?

Me too.....:)

Unholy desires to be sure and one definitely feeds off the other! I am not going to blame anyone, just think it is unfortunate. Um, john? Whore? I guess one might say if the shoe fits wear it.......but, perhaps in a Christ like spirit we could refer to her or them as lost or something else?

I only meant that if pornography wasn't so widely consumed that perhaps her choice to follow this path in life wouldn't have been so attractive.

Hello Spade, I have some experience with confessing to my Bishop and my Stake President. First of all, I am not sure reading something bad or viewing something inappropriate necessarily calls for seeing your Bishop...unless it is an addiction or something. But, I have learned that you can see your Bishop no matter how serious or how trivial if you think it will help. I often talk to my Bishop about whatever I am thinking about or feeling....always very cool. I confessed a lifetime of sins to a man I really respected....21 years of serious transgressions...I was inactive for that period. I just went in and said I had some things on my mind and out it came. We first knelt in prayer and then I opened up. My Bishop wept with me and the Spirit was so powerful. He was so not judgmental and was very easy to talk to. My current Bishop told me that it is his responsibility to help the members feel the love of the Savior. My Bishop never treated me differently and in fact we are good friends to this day.

As I ponder this, I think about all of those who buy or watch pornography and how that has enabled her and others like her to do such damage t o their lives. And also, the damage her films causes to those who are drawn to them.

Last night as I was channel surfing I paused on a documentary on "E" about a "porn" actress named Jenna Jameson. I listened to an interview segment with her and was struck with several thoughts. The first thought was that she was very beautiful, very well spoken and conservatively dressed. I wondered what steps she would have to take for repentance and to be recieved in baptism. Her sins are different from another 's who may have been sexual promiscuous, because her acts have been recorded for others to see and she has a star like status because of her films and has apparently built quite a financial empire as a result of her involvment in this type of lifestyle. She would obviously have to divest from any form of this business, yet people would always have access to her films. How would she be received by members of the church? She could never really escape her past. I know the atonement is for everyone, I wonder what would happen in a case like this.....

PC....thanks for your candid answers! I want to reiterate that I mean no disrepect to you or anyone of your faith.I just find this fascinating. Can anyone peak in tongues? Can a Latter Day Saint? Or a member of any other Christian denomination? If so, how does one receive it, through prayer? Or is it just manifested to member of your faith as an example to others?

I would talk to my Bishop and let the flood gates open up. It may not fix the problems, but I bet it will give you perspective and make you feel better. :)

You might try FAIR, FARMS, Shields, Jeffllinday.com all good pro-LDS sites. Check out LDSVoices.com. Theyt have talks on MP3's dating back to the 1940's!!