unixknight

See, now I should be offended that the chart failed to show my Black Templar (Maltese Cross) identity. DISCRIMINATION I TELLS YA!

And here I would have guessed "Chaos Undivided" for you... didn't you once say you also had a Black Legion 40K army?

That's true, they don't see it as sinful. Then again, there's plenty of things that Christians in general view as sinful that others don't, but the gay community is the only one that seems bent on attaching the worst possible motives to it and playing the victim.

What makes you think so? (Honestly curious.)

If somebody's ready to leave the Church over the issue, they're essentially putting the moral cues of society over those of the Church and calling it "acceptance." It's unclear to me why a culture that values self gratification over self control is somehow the premier guide to morality these days.

Aw great you add the spoiler alert at the end... now I don't need to bother finishing the Three Little Pigs. THANKS A LOT, @Vort

Kinda says something about the people who don't realize this, doesn't it? Think about the implications.

What does it say that I can't tell if this is legit or parody?

The problem is that our culture is drifting toward the idea that the only way to show compassion and love toward someone is to support every single thing they do. "Love the sinner, hate the sin" is an idea that people are forgetting in alarming numbers. What makes it worse in the case of LGBT issues is that instead of someone's sexuality being an aspect of their personality, it's treated as the core of their being... so if you disapprove of homosexual behavior, our culture interprets that as hating the person himself/herself. "It's who I AM!!!!" It's a completely illogical notion, but one that has taken in a LOT of people.

I thought about looking up a few scriptural references where we're warned about wolves in sheep's clothing, but here are so many... so very many. We've been warned about this. It's a straight-up glorification of the desires of the natural man over the spiritual teachings of the Savoir, by a person claiming to preach His Gospel. They're usually more subtle than this, but even as blatant as Bolz-Weber is being there are still those who are convinced she's doing right.

I think you're probably right in the majority of cases. I can only speak about the very specific case of Clinical Depression. I hate to say it, but I'm one of those guys who has very little patience for Millennial thinking, and it isn't hard to imagine that being the center of a lot of cases where a missionary has trouble adapting. To those, I'd add my voice to yours and say "get over it, kid."

If the author was truly experiencing Clinical Depression, then there is no worse or more useless reply than "buck up and get over it." That really is damaging, because a person who is struggling with CD (and I'm not just talking about being in a blue funk because it's hard to adjust to mission life. I'm talking about actual, diagnosable Depression) then they're already struggling with a variety of difficult emotions, not the least of which being "this is my fault." So the reply of "get over it" just reinforces that idea, no matter how delicately or diplomatically it's phrased. I think in this case what went wrong was that the author (by her own acknowledgement) had expectations of this leader that weren't reasonable. It sounds like she expected that this reply would be a sort of magical elixir that would just make the problems go away, but that isn't how CD works. To be fair to the leader, unless he had a background in mental health, it isn't likely that he would have recognized the symptoms for what they were, especially if the author herself didn't realize it was at a clinical level. This is just one of those situations where nobody was being mean or insensitive, it's just that nobody had all the information they needed to deal with the situation better.

I think the kind of information being discussed here is Physical Information, which is a concept used in physics (among other sciences.) This kind of information is discussed as an actual measurable quantity.

Good point. I guess that's an area where maybe following promptings goes a long way. OH one other thing that is worth noting with your Bugoutmobile. Another reason to get something old is that you want a carburetor. Fuel Injection systems are controlled by computer, and if the source of the emergency comes with an EMP burst (as with a nuclear weapon) then that computer is toast. A carburetor is not affected by such things. Even if you have a new-ish carbureted engine that is computer controlled, you can still get it to run.

In thinking about preparedness, many scenarios would involve evacuating the area. I've done a little research and some pondering, and have some thoughts to share. Also, people with better ideas than mine are invited to speak up! 😎 There are plenty of scenarios that might require you to get out NOW. Tsunami coming (if you live near the coast) Terrorism (They're looking to use nukes or dirty bombs. Either way, you need to GET OUT) Massive civil unrest Zombie outbreak (Joking but not joking. The Zombie plague scenario has been used by Government agencies as a fun way to educate about emergency preparedness to represent problems that require the most extreme measures to survive) If there's a situation where you need to evacuate... and I mean RIGHT. NOW. Could you do it? Could you be at least 100 miles away from the city you live in quickly? If you would be relying on roads, you're screwed. Understand that in any emergency evacuation scenario, people who stick to the roads are dead. If your entire evacuation plan involves packing the 72 hour kit and the kids into the family minivan and heading for the highway you may just as well bunker down instead and try to survive in the basement. If that's not an option, then you're in real trouble. In the event of a severe emergency requiring immediate evacuation, you need to think about the vehicle you're going to use to carry yourself and your family to safety. Considering the roads will be hopelessly jammed, you need to choose an overland route that will get you away from the area without relying on highways, road bridges or road tunnels. You need a 4x4. I don't mean your AWD Subaru or that full size SUV with the street tires and custom rims. I'm talking about a vehicle that can: ford water at least 3' deep drive over fences push other vehicles out of its path keep from being taken by force handle mud, snow, sand or debris It's not as hard as you might imagine to get such a vehicle. If you don't have a ton of money to spend, look for something old, something you could avoid having to do a state inspection on (in MD, a vehicle that's over 20 years old is eligible for historic tags, meaning it doesn't need state inspection.), something that replacement parts would be relatively cheap for (because junkyards) and something that would, in the meantime, be useful for hauling stuff around in. Such a vehicle can be had for less than $1500. We're talking an old F-150 or Chevy fullsize. Know what else such a vehicle can do? It can drive on... ...Train Tracks. The ground clearance on your Bugoutmobile should be high enough to roll over rails. Now you have a way out of town that won't be as packed as the main roads, a vehicle that can handle it, and if the railroad ceases to be an option you can still handle terrain or whatever else. You won't be the only person to try this, but it's better than the roads. That also means you can use railroad bridges and tunnels.

I feel you brother. It isn't too late to pull up and regain altitude!

Saturday was awesome... and brutal. We left in the morning to head up to Philadelphia so my wife could get her Endowment. Had a couple of eggs and a couple smallish sausage patties for breakfast around 8 AM. We got to the Temple at about 11:30 and managed to get a parking space in the garage underneath. Took the elevator up to the entrance and went in. And then... the stairs. Up, up up, then oops, forgot to get our passes for the Endowment so back down the stairs, then back up... Yes, the Temple has an elevator but I didn't use it. Then up, up up stairs again. Then down stairs twice and we were done. Had to go outside and take pictures, of course, then back down to the parking garage and drove across town for cheesesteaks (It was Philadelphia, after all) and walked a couple blocks from the parking lot to Jim's Steaks, apparently a very famous place. Waited in a pretty long line and then the dining area was... up a steep and high flight of stairs. Then back down the stairs, another couple blocks' walk, (in new/uncomfortable loafers, mind you) and then took the car home. So many stairs...

No I haven't, but now I wish I had. 🤣

Historically, pentagrams were used as Christian symbols, and in fact they even appeared on the Nauvoo Temple. I decided to start wearing one for a while a few years back. The problem was twofold: 1. People who saw it tended to (understandably) think I was Wiccan, not LDS. That led to awkward conversations at times, because from their point of view they may have felt I was usurping the meaning of a symbol they considered to be theirs. (Also understandably.) 2. At some point I just felt that I was being prompted by the Spirit to stop wearing it, so I did. Even though that symbol was once used by Christians, the fact that it isn't anymore may have altered the symbol's meaning enough that it just can't be used for the older purpose anymore. I do still have it, though. I also have a couple copies of the Qur'an given to me by some very kind Muslim co-workers when they learned I was interested in reading it. (I believe there's value in doing that, as long as it doesn't take priority over studying Canon Scripture.) I also have a Catholic Bible somewhere. (Edit: I just noticed that this is an OLD thread and I'd said some of this before... Well, I'll leave it up since I put in more detail this time.)

I want to live in the ward where THAT is necessary.

I don't know how I failed to notice this one when it first came up. This article is okay, but it does miss a couple of points, maybe because the author is less introverted than some? I don't know. For my part, I'm a severe introvert in the sense that while I can be perfectly okay around other people and interact, my need for alone time is probably well above the average and once my introvert battery is drained I move quickly into the "Introvert Hangover." An Introvert Hangover is what you experience when your social battery is drained and you feel tired, irritable and sick. What I would impress upon anyone reading this is: If you have an introvert in your life and you see them exhibiting these symptoms, the greatest act of love you can possibly perform for them is to hep them get out of the situation as fast as possible. To keep an introvert among others (including you, most likely. No offense.) when they're into the Introvert Hangover is torturing them. I'm not exaggerating. It's literally like being tortured to deny us our chance to be alone and recharge. You won't understand this if you're an extrovert, so please just trust me on this one. The introverts in your life will appreciate it. To the list in the article I'd add: 6. Be careful about volunteering to accompany the Missionaries. It's good to go with them to visit investigator's homes. There's a reason that system is in place and I recently had the honor of joining them to visit an investigator who went on to get Baptized. (We have really great Missionaries. The day he got Baptized, 4 other people did too.) The problem was that now I've been identified as a member who is willing to go do stuff, and they contact me often. They have tended to reach out on days when I already had other things going on so I haven't been out with them again, but tonight I'm going. We're taking that new member to the Visitor's Center and I'm already in "Social Battery Conservation Mode" so I can be pleasant and friendly the whole time. (Though I'm really having to pace myself today, because my son and his wife are staying over tonight which means any semblance of true alone time for recharging will be lost. I'm on a hair trigger, because I'm toast if I start getting pulled into meetings at work today.) I'm not saying that as an introvert you shouldn't accept when invited to do these things. I'm saying that you should be aware of your limits when you do. These kinds of things generally happen after work when you're already running low, and it's perfectly okay to factor that in. It might also not be a bad idea to let the Missionaries know you're an introvert. Some of them are, too.

I gotta tell ya, I'm looking to switch careers and get into real estate investing and these kinds of stories make me lean heavily toward the buy and flip side, rather than the rental side. Many years ago, a close friend of mine (basically a brother) was doing evictions for a property management company. When I needed extra money he made room for me on his eviction crew. One day, we had to do an eviction on a really nice house in a relatively upscale section of Prince George's County, Maryland. At first, the Sheriff was refusing to let us get going because he was expecting a larger crew (there were only 10 of us.) Eventually my friend convinced him that there were enough to get it done in under an hour (which was true) and so he let us start... but then didn't hang around. Things were going okay at first, but slowly a crowd of angry neighbors started to gather around the property. At one point, the tenant got home and was enraged. He demanded thta my friend change the locks back (changing the locks was his first step in any eviction.) The mob of neighbours were starting to move in. It was beginning to get ugly when my buddy decided it was time for us to retreat. As we left, we got racial threats from the growing mob. We got the County Police to come in and clear the crowd, who had broken into the house and had started to move stuff back in. We were able to finish the eviction and got out of there. What really made me feel bad was that one of the rooms I was assigned to clear was a bedroom for two little girls. Having to help disassemble those beds and take them outside really got to me. As you might imagine, that was my last eviction, and my buddy quit doing them not long after. The thing is, I felt bad for those little girls, but I didn't feel guilt. It wasn't my fault their parents rented more house than they could afford. Now, maybe it was a job loss kind of situation, which can happen to anyone, but even so from what I could tell, this was a set of parents who probably didn't manage their money well and it caught up to them. I can't be sure, but that was the impression I had. I judge nobody for being a tough landlord, and I judge nobody if they decide that isn't for them. It's a complicated business, and hard decisions have to be made. I may be at the beginning of that road, and I'm not sure it's one I'm up for.

For someone who takes such a dim view of politicians, you are quite accomplished at answering like one. It was a pretty simple question. No, we aren't offended by your views on marriage, since we share them. The fact that we're willing to be flexible on that point in a case like this is a result of a more pragmatic view. You're certainly free to disagree, and nobody is offended that you do. It isn't clear to me what gave you that impression, but hopefully it's all cleared up now. Now, I'd appreciate you addressing questions that both @anatess2 and I have posed regarding you remark about people who support President Trump having an IQ lower than room temperature. That was a sweeping statement that applies to many of us, and to people close to us. We've both given you ample opportunity to clarify/retract/whatever that statement but to no avail. Care to do so now?

A phenomenon which also lies at he heart of Newspeak in George Orwell's 1984.