aodan

"This, of course, requires that you understand the basic principles of the gospel. It is essential that you are able to offer a clear and correct witness of gospel truths. It is also important that you and the people to whom you testify understand that you do not speak for the Church as a whole. You speak as one member" I paraphrased.

That's fine but we've been counseled to share the news of the restoration with others through the internet. This does not mean that we should engage people in argument, we should never do that. But we should correct people on points of doctrine that we have a sound understanding of. We should make sure that they know we are speaking of ourselves and not by any authority from our church. Read LDS.org - Ensign Article - Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet to understand this advice better.

"I bear testimony to you that those moments in my life when I have been unhappy, depressed, or sad are when I have deviated, even in a minor degree, from the teachings of the Lord." - Elder Robert D. Hales

The seriousness of a sin can be measured by the effect it has on the person that commits it. If they do not understand that adultery and fornication are wrong then they do not understand the scriptures. The scriptures clearly state that adultery is a serious crime and was punishable by death. If a woman was not a virgin, as she claimed to be, and her new husband discovered this, he had the right to tell her father and give her a paper of divorce. If people will understand the laws of God and allow them to govern their lives, they would know that they must "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thes. 5:22). Happiness would fill their souls and they would always delight in righteous doing. They would also be much more receptive to the truth. Perhaps we should unload with truth on their forums in the hopes that at least one soul would turn to their God and find peace.

We do not want that. It does not fit into the teachings of our church or my personal beliefs that one race is better than another because of skin color. There are more factors to success then the color of one's skin. I believe we have sufficiently discussed this topic. Thanks guys :)

I'm of the firm belief that Nephites were white skinned, like me and the settlers of America. My friend, however, is not. I'm not interested in proving myself right or my friend wrong. I just want to know what you guys think. My belief comes from this passage, 1 Nephi 13:15 "And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain." My friend doesn't think that I understand the passage correctly. I then pointed him to this passage, "And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations." 1 Nephi 12:23 Were they white (pale like people of an Aryan race) or did they look much like the Indians of America do now days?

I'm just gonna post my research here and you guys can comment on it.. Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void;... Footnote for "form" points to Abraham 4:2, And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep... Footnote for darkness says "Darkness, Physical" in Abraham, Genesis, Moses. Jeremiah 4:23 says, I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void... Footnote says, "OR empty and desolate" I'm beginning to believe that when God's Spirit "moved upon the face of the water", He caused the "Physical Darkness" to abate by shedding His glory upon the earth, thereby causing life to come upon it.

Perhaps we both need more prayer and scripture study

What is the light that God was speaking of? In D&C 88, we learn that light is truth and the Spirit of God; if the light God was speaking of is the Light of Christ, which "gives life and light to all things" (Guide to the Scriptures: Light, Light of Christ), then what is the night that divides the light? Actually, I think it was made clear to me as I was reading it in Genesis. The Light of Christ gives life to all things and was needed to create the earth, grass, &c, and the Sun helps to sustain it while in this mortal probation, correct? Also, if He "is in the sun, and the light of the sun" then every time we step into the sun or into the moonlight, or starlight, are we then literally being bathed in the Light of Christ?

If we tie D&C 88:15 (And the spirit and the body are the soul of man) and D&C 25:12 (For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart...) we can decipher that the Savior is testifying that He has a physical body. It's something we already know but this connection is interesting to me.

So, I've recently found out that most of the people that join the church are direct descendants of Ephraim (LDS.org - Ensign Article - Of the House of Israel) Joseph Smith was declared by Brigham Young to be a "pure Ephraimite". Almost everyone that settled the portion of America, that Joseph Smith was from, came from Europe; the Smith family came from England. Keep that in mind, my real question will be revealed later on. In 721BC, Israel was taken captive and removed from their homeland by the Assyrians. Some of them were allowed to return to Jerusalem, obviously, but the entire nation was taken nonetheless. In Genisis 48:17-19, we find that Manasseh shall be great and his seed will become a great people but that Ephraim will be greater and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. Genisis 48:11 (JST) we find that the Israelites will look to the seed of Joseph to "deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin." The isles of Great Britian are mainly comprised of Celtic people (who are also dispersed throughout Europe). The Celts first came to prominence around the 6th century BC. My question is, could the Celts really be mainly made up of Ephraimites (or the rest of the 9 tribes + the 5/6 of the Levites that followed them)? I kinda doubt it because of their ferocity.. but in some ways it makes sense. If any of my conclusions are wrong, please feel free to correct me :-)