ADoyle90815

I saw one of those once on a summer vacation, and when it finally moved, it freaked me out a bit. I don't have those in my area, but another bug I hate are those Japanese beetles because they bump into you and are noisy.

Wow, my prayers are with his family, how sad.

I think there are some adults who convert because they marry someone, or want to marry someone in a different church than they were raised in. Ideally, the one converting would do so because they want to, but often, it's more to please their spouse or significant other they're dating, whether it's pressure from the person or church community, or in many cases, a threat of divorce or breakup that works. I myself am happy with my church, so I have no desire to convert.

People who say that without religion, they wouldn't be moral people are the ones that scare me the most. One doesn't need religion to have a set of morals, as most people consider it a bad idea to commit murder, rape, or exploit others in some other way. I think that in a way, atheists can be more moral than someone who claims to be religious because an atheist doesn't need the fear of the wrath of God to avoid doing bad things. They also provide community service because they know it's a good thing to help others, and they don't need a church to tell them to provide that service.

I haven't heard anything negative, it's just like other religious universities. It's still a university degree, and that's what employers and grad schools look for.

I agree, if we really care about religious freedom, we'd let them build that mosque/community center. Those terrorists don't represent all Muslims, in fact the majority of them condemned the attacks. With LDS temples, eventually those who had the NIMBY attitude back down and realize that in the end, the temple is a good thing. Sometimes there has to be a compromise between the church and the city, but in the end, the temple gets finished.

I would think that there are some converts who joined too soon before they really believed, often from pressure by members, whether they were the missionaries, friends, or a member spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend threatening to leave them if they didn't join. Other churches require several months to a year of classes, as well as regular attendance of services before they'll allow a potential convert to join. They also do what they can to make sure that the person is joining out of their own freedom to choose, and not because anyone is pressuring them to join.

I guess the BYU cheerleaders would be considered immodest, especially at games. After all, they're wearing extremely short skirts just like other cheerleaders do. I'm not LDS, but I could imagine that garments are longer than those cheerleader uniform skirts.

The BSA also doesn't allow atheists to join as members or leaders.

I mostly go to Supercuts, in fact I also get my eyebrows waxed there as well. I use coloring at home, especially since my hair is naturally lighter at the ends than the roots, so it's just a way to even out the color. I wash it every other day at the most, since it can dry out if I wash it every day. I mostly use the Suave shampoo and conditioner, and once a week, I do use the Neutrogena shampoo to remove any buildup. My hair is medium length and barely touches my shoulders, so I can still put it in a ponytail for the gym if I want.

Churches have never been, or ever will be forced to perform marriages they don't support, and that includes gay marriages.

I don't like most reality shows anyway, so this will be another show I'll skip.

Even though other Christian churches helped with Prop 8 being passed, some of those churches still have a negative view of the LDS church.

That's what I think as well, any photographer who doesn't want to take pictures of gay couples won't be forced to. After all, there will still be plenty of heterosexuals who will continue to get married. By the way, the judge who made this decision was appointed by George HW Bush.

: I guess you can tell how I feel about the court's decision.

Compulsive hoarding, to the point where a home becomes unsanitary is seen as a mental illness, a form of OCD. My ex-husband was a compulsive hoarder, but he never used drugs or even drank alcohol because he didn't want to become an alcoholic like his dad. Back to the original topic, it's sad that in Western culture, the elderly is seen as a burden and simply dumped into nursing homes and neglected, while in other cultures, the elderly is still revered and cared for as a source of wisdom.

One thing I've noticed is that the LDS missionaries don't seem to tract as much anymore as they seem to go from member referrals now. The Jehovah's Witnesses on the other hand, still seem to rely on going door to door.

My abusive ex-husband used the D word all the time, but if he kicked me out, I would have had family to go back to because he didn't succeed in isolating me from them. I ended up going to counseling myself, as he refused to go. The counselor wasn't one to quickly blame the man for everything, instead we focused on what I might have done to contribute to our problems. When that didn't work, the counselor was supportive of my decision to divorce. The last time he threatened divorce, I took him up on the offer and filed the papers myself. I also had to file a restraining order because he got so angry when I told him I filed for divorce, that his anger scared me. The only thing I could say is that I thank God I got out before there were any children, or even a pregnancy as I was able to cut him completely out of my life. In the end, the divorce was the best thing to happen in my life, as I'm now with someone who treats me far better than my ex-husband ever did.

If Texas found the need to press charges against him, they should send him there for trial. After all, others in his cult have received stiff prison sentences. If he were to be convicted by a jury in Texas, he might have more life sentences.

One thing this recession has shown is that often, the woman has no choice but to work, especially if the man had been laid off. For those who live in a high cost of living area, you really do need 2 incomes to provide the basics such as food and shelter, and those people are living within their means and doing without luxuries such as big homes, expensive cars, or vacations. Sure, people could try to move to a lower cost of living area, but that's difficult, especially with the economy the way it is.

I'm not LDS, but from what I've observed in general is that the more someone pushes their beliefs on someone who was thinking of taking a break from a church, it pushed them farther away to the point where they never wanted to return, when if they were allowed to explore their own spirituality, they might have returned. I also understand that the LDS church has Articles of Faith, with the 11th one applying to this issue. "11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." I looked this up on lds.org, so it's from the official site. If people believe in what the LDS church teaches is true, then they would honor this particular article and let someone have their name removed if they feel it's the right thing to do. If someone later decides to return to the LDS church, they will of their own free will. If they decide another church is the true one for them, then that's also within their right.

I udderly enjoy this thread.

One thing about that citizenship test is that there are many natural born US citizens who have been born to natural born citizens who wouldn't be able to pass. These are people who can trace their families on both sides to the colonial period.

I tend to fly Jet Blue or some other airline where the fee only applies to bags over a certain weight. Anyway, I prefer the curbside check in because the line is much shorter. There are some items that I do put in my carry on bag, such as something too fragile to be trusted to the people who load the planes.

I'm curious about other religious belief systems, even though I have no desire to convert. We have one thing in common and that is that we're all God's children.