kriskriechel

My husband and were just having this dicussion the other day. I have read the book and we have both seen many documentaries about it. I thought the book was great and I am looking foward to seeing the movie. The theory of Jesus and Mary M has been floating around out there for many years. I find it an interesting theory. But just that, a theroy. And we will never know until we are with him again. And I don't think that question will be at the top of my list of questions to ask Him. I don't think it much matters. IF Jesus was married, does it change His teachings? Does it change the sacrifice He made for us? Does it change the Atonement in any way? I don't think so. Would it bother me in any way if somehow proof was found that Jesus was married and possibly had children? No. It does not change what He did for us. Again, I think its an interesting theory. And part of me thinks that it would have been nice for Him to know the feeling of "being in love". Than little skip your heart takes when you see that special someone. The little butterflies in your stomach when they smile at you. When I think of the suffering that He went through in the garden, I think it would have been nice for Him to experience those feelings before He died for us. I'm not saying that I think He was married, I just think that would be nice to think that he might have experienced being in love. And I feel His marital status changes nothing in His teachings or His sacrifice. Just my humble opinion.

My husband and I found Deadliest Catch last weekend. They showed a bunch of them in a row. It was really cool. But forgot what day the new episodes come on. So I need to find it in our TV listings and hope that it doesn't clash with some other favorites. LOL. My son and I love Lost. But he has Scouts on Wednesday so we tape it for him. My hubby and son love NCIS and The Unit.

I LOVE this song and everytime I hear it or see the video I get choked up. I saw a plaque with this sentiment years ago. Saying something like "How much do you love me Jesus?" Jesus said, "I love you this much!" spread his arms wide and died on the cross. I have looked for the same type of plaque for years and have never found another one and hate that I did not buy it when I had the chance.

I played on our YW team when I was teenager. Sometimes it would get intense depending on the ward we were playing. But the refs were real sticklers on sportmanship. They would not hesitate to throw anybody out of the game for bad behavior. We loved the whole youth basketball experience. Many times it was whole day event. There was usually some sort of bake sale going on at the same time. The different wards would rotate that duty. We would play a game and then stay to watch all the other games. And of course sometimes there was a dance that night. My mom many times just dropped us off about 9 AM and picked us up at 10 PM. It was great fun. My son plays on our YM team. But its nothing like when I was a teenager.

Thank you Mr T. Yes, I grew up in the LDS church and went every week until I moved to my dad's. Thank you for your thoughts about my daughter. I was the hardest thing I have ever had to live through. So grateful that she is fine. Her birthday is not just a day of celebration but a day of thanksgiving every year.

There is a series of books written by David J. Ridges that might help you. They are called "Your Study of The Book of Mormon Made Easier". He has a whole series of them for the different books. Right now I am using his Old Testament series for Gospel Doctrine. He has been a CES teacher, Know Your Religion teacher at BYU, and a curriculum writer for Sunday School, seminary, and institute manuals. He really helps you understand the language.

I was raised LDS and went to church every Sunday and all church activities. When I was 15 I moved to my dad's. He is not LDS and I was not made to go to church. He said that he would take me and pick me up if I wanted to go but it was my choice. Enjoyed many more liberties at my dad's house and took advantage of many of them. When I was 19 I joined the Air Force. During basic training I went to Sunday services with friends. Just about everbody went to chuch in basic. Got out from under the TIs and got to hang out with your friends. Went to one LDS service when my sister and BIL come down my last weekend. At my first base I had two instances that I felt were little nudges. I was stationed in Iceland. I was 19, single, and on my own. Needless to say, I had a blast. Partied big time. Mostly just because I could. Knew that the things I was doing were wrong, but I did a lot of them just because I could. Bad days were few and far between for me. Had lots of fun. There were two really bad days for me. Just wanted to go back to my dorm room and mope all night. On both occasions I stopped by the mail room. The first time there was a letter from a man who was like a second father to me when my parents split up. He was our bishop for awhile and he baptized me. The letter was full of things that I really needed at that moment. The second time there was package from my bishop back in Ohio. It was the serviceman's edition of the scriptures. I started going back to church after my first son was born. But it was very sporadic. I went on and off for about 10+ years. Its not that I didn't believe anymore, it was just easier as a single parent to stay home. Then, almost 3 years ago I got my biggest nudge. My daughter was born. She had some complications and was very sick. They did not think that she would live through the first night. She held on but barely. My first thought was that she needed a blessing. But my husband is not a member of the church. And did not want to seem like I was pushing my beliefs on him. But he said it was okay with him. She was born on Sunday and I finally brought myself to ask him on Wednesday. We called the chaplin's office on base (he's AF). Asked if there was an LDS chaplin assigned to the base and explained why we were asking. The guy who answered the phone said no but that he was LDS and held the priesthood and could make a couple of calls and find another priesthood holder and be at the hospital within an hour. This might not seem too odd to many but it was for me becuase I knew for a fact that very few LDS members in the Air Force go into the chapel services career field. You must interview for the career field. I interviewed for it during basic training and I was told that they really do not accept many LDS members because you have to work a lot of Sundays. So the chance that the person who answered the phone would be LDS was very slim. They got to the hospital within the hour. Gave her a blessing. She made that crucial turn within 48 hours. And she started to respond to treatment so quickly that it amazed the doctors. They thought she would be in the hospital for a couple of months. She was out in 2 weeks. You cannot tell that she was so sick except for a tiny scar under her arm from a chest tube. This really made me think. Was my next nudge going to have be a 2X4 ? This one practically was. After much prayer and thought, I spoke to my husband and I started going back to church with my kids. My son now holds the priesthood. Will be ordained a Priest in a couple of weeks. He attends seminary and says he wants to go on a mission and attend BYU or SVU. My daughter will be 3 in May and once she's dressed for church she is nagging my son and I to get out the door. Last summer also had some moments. Ended up on a dirt road trying to get to the Willie Handcart Rescue sight. It had rained a little bit and roads were muddy. Got to the sight and could decide to whether to turn around and come back the way we came or to just keep going. We prayed about it. Had my mom, son, and daughter with me. We prayed to know which way to go and if we got stuck in the mud that He would send somebody to help us, hopefully a priesthood holder. Within minutes of saying "Amen", a school bus came down the road full of LDS members. And we were told which way to go. Still ended up on a hill with a steep drop to the right and the back end of my van fishtailing. I was about to freak out. Stayed to the left away from the drop off. I was sooo scared. We prayed again. For safety and if we got stuck, that He would send somebody, hopefully a priesthood holder. Got around the bend and was heading thankfully downhill but still had a sharp drop off to the right and slippery mud. Two cars started up the road towards us. I froze. Did not want to move to the right. Too scared. My mom got out to go talk to them. The first guy had on a BYU T-shirt. Both drivers of the cars were LDS priesthood holders. Reassured me, agreed to pass me on my right and told me that we were almost out of there. These were my moments of conversion. My ages were 20, 34, and 36. Many feel that because I was raised in the church and baptized as a child I do not need to be converted. No, I do not need to convert religion wise but I needed a conversion of the heart. Whether we were born into the church or not we all need that conversion of the heart.

Oh most definitely. Its nobody's business how many kids someone has. The Church wants us to be financially sound also. So they don't want you to have anymore kids than you can afford. It is a personal choice and there are so many factors that come into play in family planning. And they are nobody's business.

Geocaching is great fun. My husband introduced my son's scout troop to it at the beginning of the year. They have a travel bug whose mission is to travel to as many LDS temples as possible. It actually traveled really close to my mom's house (we live in NM she lives in OH) and she was able to get it. Taking it to the Columbus Temple this week. She is just tickled pink that she has their travel bug. We introduced her, my sister, and bil to it this summer. My mom just loves it. My sister is going to get my bil a GPS for Christmas. They are all hooked. My brother has been in it to it for a little while too. We have two family travel bugs that are in a race. Its great fun. Especially with little ones. My niece just loved finding the caches. She's only 4. It was precious. I would recommend it for anybody. Its great.

Totally agree Ray. Thought the word didn't belong in the quote but that's how it came up so I didn't change it. Its from LDS Library software that I have. I don't have the CR myself but my mom does. Would be interesting to find out if it was a software typo or what.

And until we know their "fruits" and not just what we think are their "fruits", we have no place to judge. "When you hear stories, be wise. Unless you are in all the interviews, and hear all the evidence, you are not in a position to really know. Be careful, lest you jump to a confusion. Unless you are a participant and have full knowledge, better" Elder Boyd K. Packer, “Judge Not According to the Appearance”, Ensign (CR), May 1979, p.79 "What a different world it would be if we would put into practice what we have all heard so many times: “… whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:12.) Instead, we are all so inclined to judge others by a standard different from the one by which we would wish or be willing to be judged." President N. Eldon Tanner, “Judge Not, That Ye Be Not Judged”, Ensign (CR), July 1972, p.34 "I hope you will bear in mind that I do not bring these matters forward with any assumption on my part that I have the right to judge of the Christian status of my fellow men. No one, under the declaration of the Savior, has the right of judgment of his fellows unless he be specifically commissioned so to do. Scarcely anyone fully conscious of the responsibility of exercising such judgment would ever seek it, for the Lord has said: "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged." President Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1955, Afternoon Meeting, p.38

Snow, you are doing exactly what anti-mormons do to us. You, don't get bent out shape? That's great! I admit that I tend to get a little irked when people criticize my beliefs. Yes, Scientology beliefs are a little out there in my opinion. But what I know of their beliefs is only from what I have heard and a couple of things that I read. I worked for a guy who started to get into Scientology. He would come in and be all excited about what he had learned. Did not make him a bad person or any less of a person. He knew my religion in fact his brother is LDS. He made no judgements of me and I made no judgements of him. This is what he chose to believe. All I could do is be a good example of the gospel for him. Not come down on him for what I viewed as whacky beliefs. I do not know if anybody here has said anything untrue or unfair about Scientology. There is nobody here that I know of to refute your statements about their beliefs. You could go to an anti-mormon board and see all sorts of things that people post about the LDS church and they feel that what they are saying is true and fair. There are all sorts of anti-mormon websites that are filled with untrue statements. But people will quote them and say that they are true because it was on a website. What I was referring to about the Bible and what it says about judging, was "Judge not lest ye be judged." I will not pass judgement on them. It is not my place, nor is it yours. Be a good example of the gospel.

But we get bent out of shape when others do the exact same thing to us. I know very little about The Church of Scientology and have no right to make any judgment about what they believe because I do not understand exactly what they believe. And even if I did, it still is not my place to pass judgement. I can say that I disagree, but that's it. Consider also what the Bible says about judging.

Thank you Pushka. I have heard so many horror stories of people not being welcomed and judged. Its just heart breaking. This is not what we are taught. I am just happy that I have had the good fortune of having great wards.

This repsonse seems very judgmental. And is the reason for many not to come back. I did not go to church for many, many years. It was not because of pride. It was the fear of meeting someone like you at church. I have been very lucky in that aspect. I was in the Air Force for 10 years and moved around a lot. After each move, it would take me awhile to get back to church. But when I did, I was very lucky and was welcomed with open arms by everyone. Not one person passed judgement on me or the mistakes that I have made in my life. I felt very welcome in each and every ward. If I had been in your ward, I doubt that I would have gone back. Which is very sad. Its people like you that prevent people from coming back. That you will pass judgement on them. Something that you do not have the right to do.