bytebear

Frankly, I find on any forum, the point when a standard anti-Mormon statement is made (and yes, yours was textbook), everyone yawns, posts the standard rebuttal, and both sides talk past each other. It would be far more productive to say, "Why do you believe what you do, and then repeat the belief to your understanding, so that at least, if you don't agree, you understand why we believe and accept that we have well reasoned justifications for those beliefs.

A couple other points. There is only one Father of our spirits. And there is only one creator of the physical world, Jehovah who we know is the Lord Jesus Christ. But, the odd thing is this notion that there must only be one supreme being, when "God" is a singular that represents a plurality. Similar to the word "family", a singular that represents a collection of persons. And the notion that God even lives within the confines of our universe is not even true. God is infinite. The Father's creations are infinite. But even if there are other worlds, or other universes independent from our own, that doesn't mean they diminish infinity. Because in math, infinity + infinity = infinity.

I wonder how new parents would feel if someone said "you didn't create that child. It already existed in pre-existing material that you just organized into a baby."

Hmmm, I guess the concept of God as the father of our spirits just doesn't seem that confusing to me. God is our Father, and our potential become clear when we understand the true relationship between the creator and His creation. It's probably the greatest aspect unique to Mormonism.

I grew up in a suburban area, but it still had some remnants of farming (horses and such), and one member was a big ol' farmer who came to church in overalls. Every single Sunday. But you know what, wards really do become extended families, so people will get to know you, and not your attire. So wear what you are comfortable with (and that may mean dressing up a bit if it makes you feel less out of place). But the farmer of my story didn't ever worry about what people thought, and I am pretty sure he was just as spiritual as any other person there.

I always assumed it was things like age of accountability for baptism, priests requiring marriage (plain) and temple rituals, work for the dead (precious). Many other, but really, just basic doctrines. The concept of the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Ghost is clearly a Biblical principle, but I have found Christians are unfamiliar with the notion.

I always distinguish OT and NT, in that the OT times (in the BoM too) the church was led by Jehovah, who at the time was the non-physical Jesus Christ, but they didn't fully understand the resurrection or the physical substance of the Father. It was only after Christ came that the physical resurrection was understood as applying to God, and so I have no problem with people then (and even now) understanding God as a great spirit. But Christians should understand that God (the Son) came to Earth, and was resurrected in physical form, so claiming Christ is anything but a physical being just makes no sense to me. He never shed his body, but ascended Heaven in physical form. So, God (the Son) was both the great spirit of the Old Testament, and the physical God of the post Resurrection.

Just as I don't see the creation being done in 1000 year increments, I don't see the end times ending at exactly 1000 years. I see them as periods of time, and not an exact measurement. I mean we had 33 years of Christ + maybe 200 years of the church (400 if you count the Nephites), and then 1600 years of apostasy before the restoration, so the timing doesn't seem remotely consistent.

Commandments are for us to achieve higher levels of happiness. No one is required to follow any commandment, and no one is required to follow a commandment that makes them miserable if they are not committed to it. Having kids is a commandment, but not every one wants to commit to it. They may or may not regret that decision later in life, but it may be the right decision for them. This applies to going on a mission, to accept a calling, to marrying a member vs a non-member, to attending church weekly, to paying tithing to not getting a tattoo. They are to benefit us, if we commit to them, but not everyone does, and not everyone can. But I would say, the rewards are greater than we can ever imagine, particularly from an eternal perspective. So, people will naturally want you to share in what they see as eternal blessings that you just aren't wanting. So, that's what the motivation is, it's not out of rejection or anger.

Go to church. Get a copy of the scriptures and a copy of Gospel Principles. Go from there. The church probably has copies you can borrow until you get your own sets..

Go to church. Get a copy of the scriptures and a copy of Gospel Principles. Go from there. The church probably has copies you can borrow until you get your own sets..

Just the fact that members of the church are the only ones with the gift of the Holy Ghost is enough to say "yes" to the question. No other way to receive this gift.

They need to distinguish between real life and online. Online I think can be brutal on attacks, but I don't consider that a real indication of christian/non-christian relations..

I use WAZE, which is an app and it gives you directions, but also does crowd updates, so you get instant updates on traffic, accidents, etc. And it redirects you based on traffic patterns. I used it to go around a major issue on the I-15 in California, and it saved me an hour of bumper to bumper, but I did get to see more of San Bernardino than I cared to.

Fine, but if your disagreements are such that you are willing to walk away, you should live with the consequences of that choice.

So, you are getting 1/2 tuition, and you want what? I mean if you really want to leave the church, can't you just wait until you leave school. Seems like it's just as deceitful either way.

Jesus Christ is the only name under heaven in which we can be saved. Being saved means returning to the Father. So those two individuals are unique (one being the end, the other being the means to the end). Even the Holy Ghost doesn't have such a role. And certainly not prophets of old.

The thing is, no one has denied the content of the leaked material. Frankly, that surprised me. I would have thought they would have at least claimed some of them had been doctored. But maybe because the FBI is investigating, your words can come back to haunt you.

Well, Provo isn't really all that far (coming from a Californian who will travel an hour or two for lunch).

Here's a handy map if you want to see the distance and locations. http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/maps/wasatchfront/

And in 20 years there will be another social issue. I suspect it will be transgender or priesthood related. Or maybe polygamy but from the other side of the argument.

How far south are you going? Timpanogus is south of Salt Lake. When I lived in Utah, my home temple was Jordan River, and it was built when I was a kid, so I have a soft spot for it. And now you can see three temples at once there (Jordan River, Draper and Oquirrh Mountain). You might also want to consider the new Provo City temple, or even the classic Provo Temple. Ok, I changed my mind. Provo city.

Logan, I think is the obvious choice. I love it, and well worth a stop to visit. (And you might consider visiting the tabernacle which isn't really near the temple, but still a nice building). I also really like the style of the Brigham City temple, as it has two opposite spires, a style that has come back in recent years. And the Ogden temple just got renovated, and I like the Bountiful temple. I think that's all of them. LOL If I had to pick only one, I would do Logan.

"If only the plan could be such that everyone was saved. God has the power, why doesn't he save everyone?"

I am thinking of situations like where a Lion will kill the cubs of a competitor. Or hierarchical systems where you literally have to kill off all the other alphas to become king. Those are hardly moral choices. But they are beneficial if you want to preserve your genetic lineage.