bytebear

Mainstream press covers Obama with 58% postitive stories. Bush got 33% in his first 100 days, and Clinton got 44%. You still think the media is unbiased? FOXNews.com - President Obama's Media Coverage by the Numbers - Special Report w/ Bret Baier

it's a tough situation really. When California legislators are debating how to offer instate college tuition to illigals (not just if they have the right, but actively trying to get laws passed to allow them college educations), it doesn't seem such a big step for the church to see them as having rights. The church's responsibility is to follow the law of the land, but immigation law (particularly here in California) is so murky, there is no proper course of action. The church is an institution of mercy, and allowing the poor and underprivilaged opportunities of education (i.e. truth and light) seems like the right thing to do, and they are certainly not working against the trends that immigration is taking. I personally do not like illigal immigration. i think we need solve the problems that cause it, rather than trying to absorb the ramifications of those problems, but I can understand that the church sees the individual, one who had little or no choice in their circumstances, and should not be accountable for either the sins of their parents, or of the governments who put into place the actions that brought them into the country illigally.

It's true that Mormons believe that eternal families are only created through temple marriage. Although that may be specific to Mormonism, it is true that any two people of different faiths have problems in their marriage, particularly after children come and they want to raise them differently. One of you is going to lose, so it is better that whoever she marries and whoever you marry are really on the same page as far as faith goes. If you are not (even if you think you are by compromising) then things will change down the road. Best to get it straightened out before things get too serious. I think if you want to persue her, you both need to grow in the church together, and that means as she is returning to the church, you are learning and understanding and eventually deciding if it works for you too. Neither of you should compromise your beliefs, but both be focused on the same goals, and that goes well beyond just love, but a truly lifelong (or eternal) relationship.

I would start here for the factual stuff, but also include your own personal experience and feelings. How has the Aaronic priesthood blessed you in your own life? LDS.org - Topic Definition - Aaronic Priesthood

Everyone needs to read two books, both written by Bernard Goldburg: Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media If you think the mainstream media was fair in this last election, you simply weren't paying attention.

Based on D&C 50:24, I would say we will be learning for a long time, but eventually we will know it all on "that perfect day."

God the Father does not himself grow or gain wisdom or knowlege or become more perfect, but his children do, and that refects back on him. Every time you learn even one eternal truth, God grows.

LDS.org - Sunday School Table of Contents - Gospel Principles - Chapters 5 and 6 should cover it. LDS.org - Sunday School Chapter Detail - Because of My Transgression My Eyes Are Opened

Every time I hear about how we are destroying the environment, I just look at pictures of what Southern California looked like in the 1800s. I live in a city with lush green forests. Back then, there was one tree surrounded by miles and miles of dust. Man's intervention has done far more good here than harm.

Seems to me the church is involved. Here are a few examples. Church Leaders Meet with Al Gore - LDS Newsroom Church Urges Alternatives for Nuclear Waste - LDS Newsroom LDS.org - New Era Article - Ecology, Pollution, and Consumerism (this one's from 1971) This is from an article about the revitalization of downtowm SLC: Here's an article about what Junior High kids are thinking about. It includes a section on their ideas to solve polution problems. LDS.org - New Era Article - The Twelve-year-old World

Replace the word 'GOD' with the word "SAVIOR" and suddenly LDS theology becomes crystal clear.

A couple points. 1. The instruments given with the golden plates are described in the Book of Mormon as "interpreters' Alma 37: 21, 24, 38 Mosiah 28: 14, 20 If you search the Book of Mormon for the words "urim" and "thummim" you will find no entries. 2. Although Joseph Smith called his work a "translation" it was really an interpretation, since the tools he used were interpreters. 3. The term "urim and Thummin" was give to the interpreters some time later, after the connection to the Biblical devices was seen. D&C 10:1 and D&C 17:1 were updated from the original text to include the phrase U&T. 4. The seer stone is just another interpreter. Apparently interpreters can come in many forms. There is no first hand evidence that Smith used the seer stone in the translation of the Book of Mormon. Every first hand account talks about the interpreters being used. Unfortunately, the waters have been muddied between the two devices, but I believe that the seer stone was used after the angel returned the plates as a tool that replaced the interpreters which were returned with the plates. 5. The understanding between prophetic interpretation and secular translation helps clarify the JST as well as the Book of Abraham. 6. Occultism and Christianity's fear of it is a recent phenomenon, as recent as 1960, when concepts like the evils of the pentagram became a standard test for evil. Unfortunately history has a very different view of such things. For example, the pentagram was a mideval symbol for the five wounds of Christ, and was used anciently by the Jews as the official seal of Jerusalem. So, not all things considered evil today were considered evil in the past. Folk "magick" was common in Smith's day, and was not seen as evil but in harmony with the teachings of Christianity. 7. The bible is filled with so-called "occultic" practices. Below is a non-LDS link explaining some of them Divination, magic & occultic activity in the Bible

I love Scriptures.LDS.org The topical guide is amazing, and whenenver I think, "What's that scripture that has that phrase 'woe unto him...'?" I know I can fnd it using the search features. The Bible Dictionary is amazingly comprenensive too. And the cross referrences are great too. I would ve lost without that resource.

I think this video is a perfect example of what that scrpiture s talking about: Serious matters should not be handled lightly.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Do solidiers who come from war having killed people get temple recommends? Yes.

The church does not have high and holy day. Even Easter and Christmas are not required sacraments. We only have the Sabbath, which we know is to set one day aside one of every 7 days to worship and partake of the Lord's Supper. We do honor and celebrate the birth and resurrection of Christ in a religous fashion, but through a cultural construct.

Tha Law of Consecration is trusting in people to do the right thing (and knowing what the right thing is). Socialism is not trusting them and thereby forcing them to do what YOU think is the right thing.

Wow, a lot of Californians. I am in South Orange County (near Laguna Beach). I can't tell you how excited I was/am to have the Newport Beach Temple. With so many temples nearby, I feel so incredibly blessed. The only way I know to gain a testimony is to get on your knees and really humble yourself before God. Just follow Moroni's promise. It really does work.

If you really feel like you cannot control your feelings, i would look at an in patient situation, where you can get evaluated, treated and understood with someone looking over you. Sometimes it does take the right combination of medications and therepy, and it may take time to figure out what works best for you, and it may even change over time. So, take advantage of the doctors who specialize in these issues and get yourself to a place where you enjoy life again. I think I can safely say that we all will be praying for you.

I can see your logic, but doesn't that make us all potential aliens in heaven? Isn't heaven, or the spirit world another planet? Well, my answer is not really. We weren't spirits of God on another planet, but in another plane of existence. and we will be so after we die. I assume you believe we have a spirit which separates from our body at death. We simply believe that spirit is eternal and existed before we were born as well. We did not start our journey at birth. And there is plenty of Biblical evidence of such a conclusion. here are some verse to consider: Num. 16: 22 (Num. 27: 16) God of the spirits of all flesh. Job 38: 7 all the sons of God shouted for joy. Eccl. 12: 7 the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Jer. 1: 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. Zech. 12: 1 Lord . . . formeth the spirit of man within him. John 9: 2 who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind. Acts 17: 28 poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Rom. 8: 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. Eph. 1: 4 chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. Heb. 12: 9 subjection unto the Father of spirits. Jude 1: 6 angels which kept not their first estate. Rev. 12: 7 Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.

"humans as alien residents on Earth." That's just silly. It's like telling a Catholic that they are cannibals because they "eat the flesh of Jesus." Do you not see how this distortion of belief is offensive?

I think if we are going to discuss specifics, we shoudl stick to one topic, until it is agreed to be clarified, and not jump around. I could start quoting Bible prophecies about the last days, and show how they have been fulfilled through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I really don't know that they would be convincing unless one has an open mind about such things. i will say, I am glad you are sticking around. Can you think of one specific issue and we can discuss that, or start a thread on each issue separately, and then it will be easier to clarify.

I really don't know how else to respond. I don't mean to sound harsh, but when you say Moses never saw God, the Bible verses pop into my head that completely contradict you. Same goes with the character of Joseph Smith or the apparent belief that "magick" never existed in the Bible. Your statements are demonstably false. You simply lose all credibility when you say you have some special discernment of truth and then say Moses never saw God. There are so many examples, from Jacob to Enoch to Paul to Stephen who all claimed to see God. I already gave you a link of the use of the so-called occultic practices of Biblical prophets, but you have not addressed any of this, other than to repeat yourselfi with not a single referrence to back it up.

You want concrete evidence that the Book of Mormon is true. How about this: And this