funkymonkey

Maybe I should back up... If human embryos are taken out of the equation for other methods, this takes the controversy out of it right? Or is there still a potential issue with the animal embryos?

Cool. :) I had heard about #2, but not about the #1 and #3 options. The research that is cropping up is showing some promising results for numerous conditions. I wonder if with the recent developments of non-embryonic human SCR will mean that congress will allow this research back in the states. (if they haven't already...?) If I remember correctly, chord blood banks are legal in the States. I bet in the next 20 years there will be labs in the states that will know what to do with it!

Howdy! Does anyone know if the church has an official stance on stem cell research? Just curious.

"I believe a true Christian teaches with the love of Jesus Christ. Are you here out of love? or out of motive?" KT, You have answered my question loud and clear. I am truly sorry that you are so angry. I don't know how you got to this place in your life, and allowed the spirit of contention to have such a tight hold on you. Please let go of the anger; do not allow it to consume you. Maybe share the true message of Christ ... of love and peace. Because I come here to review peaceful discussions with people of other faiths, I no longer wish to interact with you and hope that you will respect that. God Bless. -Bri

Prisonchaplain, I really like reading your posts, and love how you produce such insightful exchange of ideas in such a Christ-like manner. I've learned a lot! :) Anyway... I'm not sure what the Catholic perspective on this topic is, but one thing I've always liked about the LDS church is that we believe the "work" does not end with mortality. But rather we continue to have opportunities in the afterlife to continue to learn and grow and teach. So in this theory, anyone has the opportunity to attain any level of "kingdom", dead or alive. I like this because I'm pretty darn sure I'm going to die an imperfect being, and find peace in knowing that I can continue to work on refinement even after I die. Not sure if that made any sense!

Maybe BY had Teret's Syndrome...Couldn't get words out right. I swear I have Teret's sometimes.

haha! :)

HEP. My heart just ached when I read your post. I am so so sorry for your loss. Please remember that you are not alone . You are not alone. God loves you, and God loves your wife; your wife loves you and watches over you. Allow them both to be your companion, through both your joys and your sorrows. John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 2 Ne. 31:20 "...Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." God Bless, HEP.

Hordak Dude that is SO descriminatory. Your sense of entitlement is seriously out of balance. Do you seriously understand what you're saying? You obviously have never been in a house with a single mom and 5 kids. Go spend even just a week in a single mom family and then come back and tell me that you feel justified in descriminating women's pay. In this day in age, there should be nothing (other than experience on paper) that makes anyone have to prove that they are worthy of equal pay. In my case, I don't have any kids...so does that mean that I might have the right to equal pay? That doesn't make any sense. Even if your theory was right, should women be paid less their entire lives because they have a few kids a few years out of their life. How on earth does that make sense to you? In my honest opionion you don't have enough work experience to even understand what you're saying here. Oh, and by the way... the FMLA does not demand this country PAY women when they are on maternity leave, it only holds their job for 6 weeks...and as you now (hopefully) understand, 6 weeks very well could not be enough recovery time. This is the same exact program that protects you if you fall deathly ill for up to 6 weeks, your company is required to hold your position...but not pay you a cent. It is completely up to the company you work for to pay out maternity leave or dissability benefit. Those are the same companies that usually have some kind of dissability insurance. I have never had the privilege of using maternity leave, but am sure glad my company offered some kind of dissability pay when I needed it. If you seriously have some problem with women getting paid by your company to recover from having a kid, then you should probably work for a different company that doesn't offer benefits to their employees because I'm sure they will pay you what you "deserve".

Holy cow. Thank you all for your great posts. You are all very wise people. You really helped me see that I am totally overcomplicating it...(with help from my friend ) Jim, thank you so much for sharing your story. I have to say that I have experienced that rush of heat myself years ago when I was really really sick. I guess I just totally forgot about it but your story brought it right back to me. I do have faith that God is there, and I don't question that. But I do need to work on accepting His will over my own, and that the Lord's timeframe isn't exactly my own timeframe. ...I have a lot to learn. Thanks again. :)

Hi Sherri. I do agree that we must be very careful when it comes to any controversial information. And you are very much more a spiritual giant if it doesn't make you curious to understand it. However God gave us intelligence for a reason. He wants us to use that intellect. I really do think that God wants us to judge for ourselves all things in search for the truth, and take it to him in prayer. Because I have a lot of family and friends that are very against the mormon church, I want to be open to new information so I have the oportunity to learn and understand it. More than likely it'll help me down the road in conversations with others that may have heard the same stuff. No information in the world can be as clear as the feeling of the Holy Ghost.

Addiction is really hard, especially this one because it's can be hidden so easily. Having someone in person coach you can really help, especially at first... like a bishop or a counselor. I know guys tend to have a bigger problem than women when it comes to accepting outside help but when it comes to this kind of tempation, outside people to give you the necessary tools to beat this. Keep the computer in a public area and don't use it when you're alone. Use computer labs on campus with people around if you're in school. Also, always have the will-power to regain control over your own mind, and be stubborn about it. For the first while it'll feel like you'll be fighting fighting fighting, but it will get easier with time, and don't feel bad if you slip up or if it takes longer to conquer than you thought it would. Sometimes it takes even years. There are a ton of Ensign articles that talk about coping with this too.

My grandparents moved from Sweden when my mom was pretty young (back in the 50s)...for the amazing Wasatch Mountains. When they got to SLC, they learned about the gospel and were baptized. BUT soon after, they learned that blacks could not have the preisthood, and immediately removed their membership from the church. They both died without reinstating their membership with the church, nor did they go to any other church. I often wonder if because of her "progressive thinking" that she will be blessed. I always had a problem with this too, and trusted my grandma's judgement. Then I moved and there were a couple of black families in my ward and one of the men got up and told us his conversion story. He said that Joseph Smith actually did ordain black men to the preisthood. So it wasn't God or even the church that descriminated by race, but rather it was imperfect men. He found the truth through his heart, that undeniable feeling. And forgave the forefathers of the church. So what I got from it was... I think that Joseph Smith had the complete truth and he truly put the Lord's work before anything else, including any predjudices or preconceived notions he himself might have had. I think it was too difficult for his "successors" to follow the Lord with that same totally unconditional obedience. ...this it totally just my opinion though, not anything to do with doctrine. Found this cool story... " The experience of one convert in Africa illustrates how the hand of the Lord has blessed these people. A college graduate and teacher had a dream in which he saw a large building with spires or towers, into which people dressed in white were entering. Later as he was traveling, he saw a Latter-day Saint chapel and felt impressed that this church was somehow connected with his dream, so he attended a Sunday service there. After the meetings, the mission president’s wife showed him a pamphlet. Opening it, the man saw a picture of the Salt Lake Temple, the building of his dream. Later he said: “Before I became aware I was weeping. … I can’t explain the feeling. I was released of all burdens. … I felt that I had gone to a place where I visited often. And now I was at home.” Article under Kimball

KT, I like this article by David Bednar It's got a couple invitations/challenges at the bottom. There is a lot of power in anger, but there is also a lot of power in love. :)

Hi KT. I don't think how you were treated was fair or right at all. On the other side of the coin, I have lived in lots of places around the country and I get asked "Are you Mormon?" and I say "yes", and then they never talk to me again.... Friends that we have had for years. I have also been turned down for jobs because I was Mormon (yes, they actually ask that question in interviews, and yes I know that's illeagal). People see "Utah" on my husband's resume and they immediately ask if he's mormon...then the interview goes south real quick. It goes both ways...I am judged constantly because I am Mormon, I am descriminated against because I am Mormon. Does it make it right? No. But I try to understand others and change the only thing I can...change how I act, and not descriminate. I personally believe that it is the faith that is perfect, the people are most definintely not. My roommates would take me to church and I have to admit I was a synical little bugger just looking for reasons to be offended, or put off, or just anything to prove to myself that this was not for me. I was fighting what I felt and using the imperfections of everyone around me as a reason for not going or having to participate. But then I tried just being honest with myself and then realized that my relationship is with God and not with anyone else at church. So my relationship with God grew and grew and then I later realized that everyone else at church is struggling and as screwed up as I am. (Doesn't mean that a lot of them don't bother me a lot of the time) But I don't let it interrupt my realtionship with God. I am working on my faith for myself...and have decided to not let anyone else's wierd comments or actions (that they probably didn't mean to offend me anyway) impede my own relationship with God. Sorry so long! Just some things to think about. God speed KT.

Socialist countries have programs similar to that, but they don't dock someone's pay. In Sweden "all working parents are entitled to 18 months paid leave per child, the cost being shared between employer and State. To encourage greater paternal involvement in child-rearing, a minimum of 3 months out of the 18 is required to be used by the "minority" parent, in practice usually the father." Parental Leave Pretty cool, but of course the taxes are sky high.

Hi Wanderer. (love the name) :) Actually this has already happened in a few countries...the one I'm remembering off hand is Japan. There are a couple of countries in Europe that dealt with this after the second world war too, but I can't remember any of the examples they used. In Japan, the younger generation is having a real hard time keeping the economy going. Most of them work 12-18 hour days, 6-7 days a week, and their elders are still increasing in homelessness every year. I wish I remember the articles I read on it. It talked about how they're encouraging the younger generation to have kids now to atleast get the reproduction rate to 2.3, or something. Pretty interesting stuff.

No worries, KT. I'm most definitely not perfect, but I do have a sense of humor... To be honest I see myself as a total screwball just lucky to get something right in the day. It really wasn't the "perfect time" because we were all going into a meeting. Because it became a little office joke, there were plenty of opportunities to "set the record straight" every time someone brought it up...and actually with lots more people than just her. For my wierd personality it worked out well because I didn't have get sappy or cheezy to share different aspects of the gospel. The dynamic of the office wasn't exactly "straight and serious"... We're all good friends and bring up little funny things now and then. They would tease me all the time because my husband looked just like me (supposedly) and someone thought he really was my brother and asked one of the girls why I was kissing my brother. She told him that was my husband of course... So whenever they bring it up, I just smile and say "yeah, my brother's hot." ...like I said, I'm a screwball.

Hi. :) I'm new here but hope that I can draw from all your experience and wisdom here. I have been reading these posts and have already learned a lot! But right now I'm on a personal journey to learn the true meaning of faith. I thought I knew what faith was and that I had faith, but over time my own personal view of faith has changed. It has changed so that I don't even really know what it is or understand it anymore. I recently had a convo with an older friend (I think he's going a little nuts). He said that because of the state of our society, the kind of faith required to perform miracles, like being healed, doesn't really exist anymore...not even with prophets. I find this a little hard to swallow and this has confused me even more. So, I guess my questions are... - What does faith mean to you? - How do you interpret the word "faith"? - Does the high level of faith needed for great miracles exist in people today?

Hi Kona. The women you work with are very fortunate, equal pay (especially by a big corporation) is pretty rare. Please take a look at: The Wage Gap — Infoplease.com Part of it says: "The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2007 female financial advisors earned 53.7% of the median weekly wages of male financial advisors, and women in sales occupations earned just 64.8% of men's wages in equivalent positions. If working women earned the same as men (those who work the same number of hours; have the same education, age, and union status; and live in the same region of the country), their annual family incomes would rise by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half." Wage descrimination isn't just an issue for gender but but also race. We are supposed to be a progressive nation but we're still a little behind in this area. Hordak I completely dissagree with you. I find your point of view a little odd because your family would directly benefit by a maternity leave program, your wife is the sole "bread-winner". Would you really want to be without 6 weeks of pay...because your wife is the one with the "oven"? Should we just tell women "sorry, I know you have to work to get by, but I'm going to dock your pay if you happen to get pregnant." If that's really "fair", we should just dock the father's pay too...afterall he is "50% responsible" for the maternity leave. Would that be "fair" to you?

I for one am very thankful for the women's movement. I don't think God thought that it was right for women to be beat bloody by their spouses as "punishment", or that women had to submit to sex whenever their husband demanded, etc. If the man had an affair, it was his wife's fault and she was required to look the other way. Young girls were repeatedly molested by their uncles, fathers, grandfathers, etc, with no consequence. Women were not entitled to child support or any other kind of support if their husbands left them. The men that ruled society were not men of God and were not about to ease up their awesome deal going, and keeping women under their thumb. I don't think God wanted women to be used and valued only as a spectacle of objectivity for men. We are his daughters. Would anyone want their own daughters treated this way? Supression of women's rights stems all the way back to the beginning of time. There is a book written by and lds author called "Eve and the Choice Made In Eden" It's pretty interesting, and I think a "must read" for all women and men in search of information of gender-roles and God's plan. It really helped me understand just how women fit into God's plan of salvation...and it also explains how women came to be sub-citizens. It is 2008 and women still get paid 70 cents to the dollar. Coming from a single-parent home (dad ran off with a younger woman) my mom provided for 5 kids, being paid equally would have made a huge difference for us...a difference between a two bedroom place and a three bedroom place. If I am doing the same work as a male coworker, I should be paid equally. It doesn't matter if I have equipment to bare children or not. I do the work, I should be paid equally.

Funny anti-mormon story... A co-worker found out I was a mormon and said, "You guys are Freaks!" and then said "I heard that when your husband dies you have to get locked up!" ... WHAT?! I started laughing so hard I could barely talk but I asked "where did you hear that?" and she said with all asurity and gigantic eyes "I READ it!" I was laughing so hard and just shook my head "no" and later added "so do I get locked up like in a prison or something?" she said "In a closet!" I was still laughing and couldn't believe anyone in this day in age would believe that, and so I could only say "don't believe everything you read." By this time a whole bunch of people were laughing. After she realized how rediculous her story sounded she walked away in embarassment. The rest of the office staff (all not mormon) tease her about it to this day. Funny Foot-in-mouth story... Me and two co-workers went out to lunch and it came up that I was Mormon, so I said "Yeah I'm Mormon" :) and they just sat there looking at me funny so I said "We're not like a cult or anything." And then one of the girls said "I grew up in a cult." [Oops] but by that point we were all looking at her funny, so she proceeded to tell us about her childhood.

Hi VOL. I have been watching this thread for a while now, and I so feel for you, but I am thankful that you were strong enough to ask this question. I relate to your concerns right now, and I also thank all of those who have added little excerpts of encouragement. I have been left chronically ill for a year now, from West Nile Virus. I am now a slave to a sick, weak body; my life as I knew it is completely gone. So at the age of 27 I am living the life of an 80 year old who is just waiting to die. Nobody has any answers as to when it will be over, no doctors, no religious figures, nobody knows anything about this disease. I have been pushed to the brink over and over again (and what I thought was beyond the brink). I have thought for months on end that I can't go on like this, in pain and too sick to sleep or even feed myself every day. I have spent countless days and nights on my knees pleading with God to make it easier, to bless me with health, to give me something to help me along the way. I have tested my faith in ways I never thought, and yet I still feel spiritually abandoned and left to deal with this on my own...at a time when I need my Lord the most. And, like you, I ask when will this get better, or easier, or when any relief will come. I don't have any answers, and have a lot more questions now about the ways of God than I did a year ago. While I still have many many questions...Here are a couple tiny things that have helped me get through the day, and sometimes the hour. Different things help at different times... 1 - A general authority guy once said that God doesn't give you trials but rather he lets them happen. I am not being punished, nor do I deserve this...it simply just happened to me. 2 - God will not swoop down and make my problems go away. In order to see any progress in my condition (both mentally and physically, and as small as the progress may be) I must do most of the work on my own. I must do my part and work to find the tools to make my situation better. It's much like school...if I do nothing, I'll get an F; if I work hard, I might get a B or and A. Alma 36: 25 "Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;" (His love and wisdom is eternal but how are we truly going to find it without doing the work and struggling ourselves?) 3 - If we seek him out, he can give us hugs every now and then; and we can work to accept our situation... Alma 36: 20 "And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!" 21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy. Since I have started to try to accept my trials, dealing with them have been easier. (I really only started doing this in the past week) I pray that my trials will add depth to my soul and help me build strength. Because of my trials, I hope to someday taste of even sweeter joy, and have a greater appreciation for the Lord's guidance in my life. 4 - (this one probably a ton of people will not like)...When the deep despair of depresson start to grab hold and all I can think about is how I'm not going to get better so I might as well "end it". I try to immediately stop those feelings and tell myself that I'm not going to let the adversary have that kind of control over me and I take control of my mind. When that doesn't work, I just start thinking of less extreme ways to "escape" my situation, like fanticizing about getting drunk or eating a ton of ice cream. Never done it, but I figure that's a better thing to tempt myself with than just being done with life. 5 - Throw out the guilt. I'm not perfect, but neither is anyone else. Someone once told me that women tend to think they are worse than they really are, and men tend to think they're better than they really are. (I think there might be some truth to that) I am doing the best I can with my situation, some days are better than others...and struggling and stumbling is a part of my life and for the moment. I'm going to be OK with my imperfections and focus on one small thing at a time. 6 - For me, this struggle is long and many times unbearable. But I can find peace sometimes in the scriptures and then write things down about them and my situation... 2 Ne. 31: 16, 20 "Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. " If you're anything like me, the same strategy or method doesn't work all the time, so I am always looking for new ideas. But maybe something from my very personal "arsenal" may help someone else here. God bless.

I was once told that belief in God can't come from books, but rather what you feel in your heart.