Prodigal_Son

I'm grateful that the art is filled with beautiful people. Take a look around, y'all! We are a planet of seriously homely people!! I don't want the likes of US hanging all over my walls!!

President Hinckley talked about this briefly in conference as we went into war in 10/01... Soldiers are being obedient to their country and to their leaders - which is what they're to do. Those in power will be held accountable for the atrocities of war.

All hail the mighty arbiter of vocabulary. Get a life.

I'm a bit more optimistic. I used to feel that same way. But as I learned and my inconsistent/imperfect relationship with the Savior has grown, I've come to the awareness that - though justice must be met - He's going to give us the benefit of the doubt every time. He's going to downplay our flaws as much as possible, while He trumpets our victories for all to hear. He's an opportunist in the best way. He's going to focus on how many good things we've accomplished. And HE DOESN'T REMEMBER those sins we've properly repented of. Just because WE often struggle to forgive ourselves doesn't mean He has the same problem. Remember: it's one thing to believe IN Christ; but another entirely to BELIEVE Christ. Have hope! Be positive. Don't let Satan fool you into thinking you're not going to make it. Life is a marathon of sorts. And God doesn't even demand we finish. He simply asks that we're still making progress when our time comes due.

You're splitting hairs. But, it still applies. They've got their fresh ideas and enthusiasm. And they're diluting the "stagnant" agrarian community. To many they ARE a positive addition. For those of us who don't want another valley that's wall to wall suburbs, however.... well, we could happily do without.

My wife and I each have our own aromatherapy (I started a post about such matters a while back). Neither of us are real fond of the other's. :lol:

I find it amusing that the author of that page, after conceding that multiple prophets referenced April 6th, that he still has a hard time accepting it. My goodness. If we can't take a prophet's word - or, rather, if we think WE know better than a prophet of God... well, we have issues... Edit: I'm not trying to start anything. I don't mean to impune anyone for their opinions. I just find it interesting that people can get sooooo into issues that are completely irrelevant in regards to our salvation. I'm an April 6th advocate. But if I'm wrong... big deal. I'm pretty sure that won't demote me in the next life.

Wish I knew my scriptures that well. Would love to be so immersed in them that I could catch something that had slid under the radar for nearly 150 years... But, alas, I'm too easily distracted... oh yeah, and lazy.

Reminds me of Holland's conference talk from last October: In the year A.D. 325 the Roman emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea to address—among other things—the growing issue of God’s alleged “trinity in unity.” What emerged from the heated contentions of churchmen, philosophers, and ecclesiastical dignitaries came to be known (after another 125 years and three more major councils) as the Nicene Creed, with later reformulations such as the Athanasian Creed. These various evolutions and iterations of creeds—and others to come over the centuries—declared the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to be abstract, absolute, transcendent, immanent, consubstantial, coeternal, and unknowable, without body, parts, or passions and dwelling outside space and time. In such creeds all three members are separate persons, but they are a single being, the oft-noted “mystery of the trinity.” They are three distinct persons, yet not three Gods but one. All three persons are incomprehensible, yet it is one God who is incomprehensible. We agree with our critics on at least that point—that such a formulation for divinity is truly incomprehensible. With such a confusing definition of God being imposed upon the church, little wonder that a fourth-century monk cried out, “Woe is me! They have taken my God away from me, . . . and I know not whom to adore or to address.” How are we to trust, love, worship, to say nothing of strive to be like, One who is incomprehensible and unknowable? What of Jesus’s prayer to His Father in Heaven that “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”? It is not our purpose to demean any person’s belief nor the doctrine of any religion. We extend to all the same respect for their doctrine that we are asking for ours. (That, too, is an article of our faith.) But if one says we are not Christians because we do not hold a fourth- or fifth-century view of the Godhead, then what of those first Christian Saints, many of whom were eyewitnesses of the living Christ, who did not hold such a view either?

I find that "x" # of hours of sleep when I'm in bed by 10pm or so - is infinitely better than that same "x" # of hours beginning at 1 am. It's just not the same. That being said, there aren't enough hours in the day, are there? I run off of about 5 hours a night, work a labor job... and it kills me. I feel like a zombie sometimes...

They're the ones drawn in by the new development and the hustle and bustle. They are the antithesis, so to speak, of the people that were already here.

I don't think we want to start this mess, but I can't help but say that communism is Satan's plan. You're forcing people to do it. Where's man's God-given agency in that?

I am a bit frustrated at how many things there are out there that I'd like to study... but cannot find the time or willpower to make it happen. Alas, Tauler now holds a spot on my endless list...

Go to Deseret Book and look at how many good works are published by people who are right, who are accurate... but who are not set-apart prophets. Though their callings are not so in title, does this diminish the significance of their work?

We're also taught that "he who must be commanded in all things is a slothful and not a wise servant." I suspect that the church is working hard to establish neutrality. If we openly condemn communism and socialism, how are we going to ever get missionaries into China and other such places?? Any righteous saint who's worth their salt knows the truth of these matters. But "the church" has to work in a politically correct world in such a manner that we don't shoot ourselves in the foot. The church doesn't need to say it. We should all already know it. I believe it was Monson who, years ago, said "just because something is a truth doesn't mean it always needs to be said." (He was referring to using tact in our relationships. I think it applies here, too.)

Very interesting question. Christ was aware of the "plan" that Father had gone through to achieve His Celestial inheritance - and presented it in the premortal council. Was this plan shared by Father to Christ as a "new" idea for His spirit children, or were we perfectly aware of how our Heavenly Father got to be where He was? If we had knowledge of Father's earthly trial, then we saw that sin existed previously. We, by having voted in Christ's proposal, had some understanding of the need for "opposition in all things". Thus, and here's where it gets crazy, is it possible that Satan, while surely messed up in the head - understood that he was filling a role? The role of evil? Is it possible, that on some level he embraced this responsibility? Of course, if we did NOT know how Father got to where He was, then this whole "what if" is immaterial. And it's possible that we didn't know - else why did we have the council in heaven? Crazy stuff...

Perhaps I'm giving away too much of my secret identity , but I live in Cache Valley. I only moved here 6 years ago. But the transition that's taken place in those six years is (to me) just terrible. Every store you can imagine has come racing in here, all based on speculation that this is the next hot spot. And, unfortunately, this commercial development IS bringing new blood in. This is/was an agrarian society. Logan is a "Main Street" town, where everything you need is on one strip across a few blocks. Now, six years later there's traffic out the wazoo, the presence of the tractors on the roads has lessened - as these poor fools have cashed out pioneer-great-great-grandpa's farm to some developer for a quick buck... It's sad. I moved here because of the environment. Being from the midwest, I wanted my kids raised in that environment... I even bought an old farm house in January on a few acres, just to get away from the hustle and bustle - only to find that the land right next to mine just got sold to a developer... Aaaargh. My life experience agrees with what you've observed, Over43. The dynamics of my community are changing for the worse. The new blood and new money are heavily influencing the way of life that had been the status quo here for 150 years. Pride is rearing its ugly head in myriad facets. Worldliness is suddenly vogue. It's just awful.

Potiphar's Wife. She knew what she wanted and went after it. Such inspiring tenacity!! (Just teasing!)

My wife was able to attend the conference last night. She, also, expressed profound gratitude for Pres. Uchtdorf's talk. (She also said that the lady directing the choir looked possessed!!!)

I don't mean to condemn anyone, but I get the sense that nobody seems to know squat about Mohammed. President Kimball (and counselors), shortly before the 1978 revelation on the priesthood, sent out a statement talking about how Christ's light had been granted to the likes of several reformers, etc. Mohammed was the first name on that list. What's more, is that if you do your homework on Mohammed, you'll find that his descriptions of revelation and visitation are uncannily similar to Joseph Smith's descriptions. In looking at Mohammed's life's progression, one can see that in his early teachings he was SPOT ON. Not until later - when he became a political warrior - did he seem to get a little crazy. Victor Ludlow, for what it's worth, considers Mohammed to have been a prophet... My conclusion (which has a value of even less than the Dollar) is that Mohammed began as a righteous prophet, but eventually devolved into a fallen one.

Well, crap. There goes my "10 Suggestions" theory.

I don't know if this aids your quest at all, but as I read that scripture I think: Christ is "The Way, the Truth, and The Life", is He not? The Truth (Christ) sponsored the Father's plan in the premortal council, thus giving us our free agency. And He, through the Atonement, has freed us from the grave (and from sin - for those who meet His terms). Be KNOWING Him, we are freed from ignorance and able to competently choose right/wrong...

While this might be a bit extreme, it is ironic that we, as a nation, complain so much - when we put these clowns into power.

Speaking of Congress, Federal Reserve, etc. Glenn Beck was warning folks yesterday that they needed to GET OUT of the stock market! That with the full scale bail out just proposed, we're about to face a full blown depression like the 1920's or worse. Any thoughts? I haven't read the transcript from the show yet, but my dear mother was listening and immediately called me, admonishing me on what to do.

Anyone read Ron Paul's Manifesto? It's an interesting read. He has a logical formula for exiting both our military presences globally AND our nanny state.