Fiannan

In reference to nudism I wonder at times. I knew a couple that were really neat, active LDS people, yet also liked nude beaches (they had talked about joining a resort). I also have a really good friend who teases me for wearing a suit at a public hotspring because he likes getting back to nature all the way (and he is quite devout, served a mission and does not mess around). He isn't married yet but I did encourage him to go on an LDS singles page and mention all his activities. What do you bet he'd get lots of interested females responding with interest?

You have not answered my question -- does Hillary deserve the blame (some or all) for Bill seeking other women? And Paul was refering to missionaries in that passage, not regular people. What do you have against sex? What do you think Freud would say reading your posts ranting against rock music (not really mentioned in the scriptures) yet questioning a passage in the Bible you seem to just take issue with?

I don't care if a pastor talks for or against Bush. If he can connect it to scripture then he should be able to say anything he pleases without the government trying to punish him. You know there are gay activists who would say that the LDS Church should lose tax exemption due to its political activities surrounding propositions against gay marriage.

You know, the ultimate in modesty is seeing several thousand people gather for a Spencer Tunick photo session -- all in the nude. Strange thing about things like nudist colonies too, it makes everyone equal and kinda takes the sexual lusting out of the mind. Anyone here have any experiences with this? I just received an e-mail from a guy with a link to an LDS nudist organization. Interesting.

Make too big an issue and you may encourage your children to rebel. My parents were lifelong Democrats and my mother made a point of every time mentioning a Republican by associating a four letter word to describe the politician. Of course, I am a Republican. I remember George Carlin doing a routine in which he said that if you want your children not to listen to certain music then you should try to force them to do it. I don't remember which groups he used but it was like if your kid comes home from school you make sure before he does his homework he has to listen to Ozzy. Remember parents, don't let your kids go to bed at night without listening to Twisted Sister -- and then program their alarm clock to blast out Rammstein's "Moscow" to get them up for seminary.

LDSister writes: Are we not taught in the LDS religion that sex is both a bonding force and a power to create (the only real creative power we share with Heavenly Father)? I'm sorry, if a man or a woman desires bonding, and the other one refuses (often, not just once in a while) then the person will seek intimacy somewhere else (don't feed your dog and it will stray you know). This intimacy may involve emotional intimacy with others or can evolve into affairs -- in the least it will evolve into fantasy or pornography. I for one believe controling your appetites refers to before you are married. Afterwards both partners should let themselves experience each other and celebrate sexual union. Also, it is absolutely not true that Paul was unmarried all his life. I was listening to a documentary on Paul and the one thing people were unsure of (since Paul did have children) was what happened to his wife. There is a tradition that his wife left him when he converted to Christianity. So maybe his wife did have a headache or two, but Paul was neither a unoch, a virgin or a guy living in his mommy's basement.

So how do you deal with the scripture in Corinthians in which Paul makes it clear that you are to submit to each other's sexual desires? Don't you think the reason some people turn to porn or have affairs has a lot to do with their spouse not fulfilling this marital obligation? I thought you were hard-core on scripture and attacking the evils of modern society. Sorry, gotta side with Chris Rock on this one. Anyone hear his Bigger and Blacker presentation? I love the way he puts the responsibility for the whole Monica affair right on Hillary Clinton's shoulders. I won't reprint it but all you have to do is google Chris Rock Monica Hillary and read the transcript. It is hillarious and great social commentary.

Two of my sons have complained about church dances. My sons would rather listen to groups like Metallica than general pop songs of today -- problem is, the people who generally put on the dances think that any group that is heavy metal should not be featured (no matter what the song). So even though Metallica has some excellent slow dance music (i.e. Unforgiven 1 and 2) the people in charge of the music would rather play some pop gal singing about having sex with one guy on Monday, then another on Tuesday, etc. because it has a more appropriate beat. Puleeeeeeeze! A great deal of country music deals with getting drunk or cheating on your wife/husband but that doesn't mean we condemn the entire genre of music as "Satanic". I say look at the lyrics, not the beat. If a person is more comfortable with the easy listening station then that's fine, but if you like alternative, techno or metal then as long as the lyrics are clean then that's fine too.

Ari, do I detect some hostility there?

Darwin 101.

I was actually watching a Dr. Phil the other day. Phil asked a couple to state how many times they think sex should occur. The man thought everyday, the woman thought once in a while. My question is, due to the teaching in the New Testament referring to a husband and a wife submitting to each other's needs, is it no sin, a small sin or a major sin for one person in a relationship to say no to the other person's sex drive? I really loved a comedy show in which the popular comedian basically blamed the whole problem Bill Clinton had on Hillary. If she were doing her job... Well, is that correct? If a woman wants sex more than her husband is he not setting her up for infidelity? And if a man wants it more than the wife...? I know of two couples in which the women think they are righteous members but one made her husband move into another room (no night-time visits) and another woman "gives in" about twice a month. If either husband did something contrary to the commandments should they really get a severe punishment?

Should be repeated over and over in the visiting teaching message. Seems too many Mollies want a husband to pamper them, raise the children, and never ask for anything in return.

This when I made a "modest proposal" for treating health care like economic globalization? Shall we then go for the survival of the fittest? I mean, the plague did render many people in northern Europe (especially in Scandinavia) immune to AIDS due to a small mutation that seems to help in surviving both plague and AIDS. I did have a college professor that questioned heart surguries on infants because that would allow them to live to spread their genes. Is this the way to go?

Globalism seems like a nice way of saying social Darwinism (on a world scale). Wonder if we should apply these principles to medicine? I mean, if bird flu does mutate and strike humans it will mean the virus is a superior cell to the ones that make up our bodies. It will probably go away anyway and just kill those weak enough not to be able to fight it. Good for the species as Darwin commented about plague.

Rape, child molestation, drunk driving and murder -- you can't use poverty to excuse any of these.

Please, ever been to China? Euros go to the US to do Christmas shopping because our prices are so cheap compared to theirs. However, you have not seen anything in low prices if you have not been to China. The low wages of the Chinese is not only hurting our businesses but the business development of nations like Mexico and Russia that are not advanced enough to compete with high end products but whose workers will not work for a couple of dollars per day in unsafe working conditions.

Globalization: The process of downsizing US worker's expectations. It's great for multinational corporations, bad for the middle/working classes. But hey, there will always be jobs for young people in the US military (not for the rich kids, they are too important to join the military) so we can fight for a country that says we are selfish if we ask for laws to protect our own industrial base.

If I'm going to patronize China I'll just go there myself and cut out the middleman to buy products.

Uh, correct me if I am wrong but isn't it true that the vast majority of kids who have been involved in school shootings are victims of bullying? If you want to stop such acts of violence you need to have school administrators who are willing to go as far as caning the bullies -- not do stupid things like blaming trenchcoats or a German techno-metal band. By the way, the new Rammstein CD is out -- a friend of mine said it's pretty good, anyone here hear it yet enough to comment on it? I was actually thinking of getting it (my 2nd. oldest is always borrowing my other 3 Rammstein CDs and I guess I'd have to load it on my Mp3 I use for running pretty fast).

So why do so many Canadians come to the USA to get treatment?

Okay, I have CDs from Ozzi as well as Rammstein. Most of Ozzy's music is just good, energetic music. Rammstein is in German so I have no idea what they are singing -- for all I know they are singing tributes to the Telitubbies (I realize they aren't but their music is great for energizing a long run or bike ride). If you like the idea of songs that have a good beat, but are in foreign languages, you can use vtuner.com and listen to music from Mexico, Russia, Albania or just about anyplace else that has radio stations on-line.

Good luck on finding one. A friend of mine is a journalist and when we were in Utah he really wanted to get an interview but we could find none that were on the net (webpages, e-mail links, etc.). One ironic outcome of not recognizing such living arrangements is that these people go underground in fear -- less some prosecutor who wants to make a name for himself takes them to court.

Good point!

Utah has a high percentage of homes with guns, more children per household than any other state, and the lowest rate of accidental gun deaths for children in the country. Pushka, I am one of those free speech fanatics maybe. If some anti Mormon wants to post a billboard saying Mormons are (fill in the blank) I might not like it but I would not want the state to step in an stop it. Better to state how we feel and get issues in the open than repress feelings and create more hostility in the longrun.

Violence for a good cause can be good. Some say this in Sweden to mock the system -- a play on the Good Samaritain teaching. Two Swedes see a man raping and beating a woman. The rapist then throws the severely wounded woman in a ditch and takes off. The witnesses walk up, look at the woman, look at themselves, and one states "This is horrible. The poor man must have been violated by an uncaring society. Hope he turns himself in and can get the assistance he needs and deserves." Don't think this is a horrible exageration. When I first visited my inlaws my wife said that if she were being raped on the subway it would be extremely rare for anyone to come to her assistance. In Russia or Mexico, a rapist would be beaten to death -- in the US (at least where I come from) there would be someone who would take out a gun and solve the problem real fast. In a Biblical sense, I do not believe beating or killing someone who is trying to kill or rape someone is in any way a sin.