Clarity_over_agreement

Read the Talk :Tragedy or Destiny By Spencer W. Kimball Its really eye opening

Thats a good point Vort, assuming there is equal weight between rubber parts and fake blood I still hold that Pornography is worse than violence. You must also consider the sexual nature of man (Im speaking of Males not of mankind). The sexual nature of a man can consume him if not checked in place. Now you might argue that a violent natured man has the same problem. This is true, however, male sexual nature is universal and violent nature is more rare. therefore as a general rule, sexual imagery is more dangerous to a man's soul than violent imagery

Pornography is worse than Violence. In films we all know after vilolent scene the actors get up and have a dinner together after. We know its an effect. After a pornographic scene that woman's virtue has still been ransacked.

Infinity is a concept that we humans cannot grasp. Perhaps the knowledge of planets and star systems before ours was brought to light in order to help us on process the idea of eternity.

But still its luck that could play the part of you being in the 10% or the 90%. example a motorist gets t-boned by another car and is left paralyzed. the chances are slim that would happen to any one of us. understanding the statistics cant help you unless your solution is: never be in a car.

Do you believe that luck and God are compatible? Let me explain. Luck is the circumstances or events that operate by chance to bring good or ill to a person. Whereas on the other hand God can is in control and the ill comes by disobedience and the good comes by keeping the commandments.

These are just 2 possible scenarios. God could have made it a commandment right from the beginning. Instead section 89 could have begun with "thus commandeth the Lord".

as a disclaimer this is not doctrine but it is a logical argument that seems to fit. So the WoW chapter of the doctrine and covenants was originally given as a suggestion for the "weak" saints and not as a general commandment. From the first few versus of the word of wisdom revelation we read: "A Word of Wisdom for the benefit of the council of high priests... To be sent; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and word of wisdom, showing forth the order and the will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last day. Given for principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all the saints, who are or can be called saints." D&C 89:1-3 It was later that the WoW became a commandment. I would assume that this is the reason that it is a suggestion in the scriptures but a commandment in the more recent could be the following: 1. Many of the early saints drank, smoked, chewed, and drank coffee and teas. To give a commandment to stop all addictive substances right away might be the cause for much damnation among the saints in that they were unable to stop cold turkey the use of many of these substances. Therefore it began as a suggestion to wane the saints off of their dependencies. 2.That the church needed to set a standard for all, a macro standard. You can drink small amounts of wine(alcohol) without becoming drunk. As a suggestion it would be too difficult to manage at the micro level, when man A drinks a certain amount and his bishop is ok with it and then if he moves a different bishop finds the man unworthy for drinking the same amount that the previous bishop was ok with. It could be one or the other or maybe both.

This is an awful survey. It asks fact questions not opinion questions. i.e. "Who wrote the bible?" Theoretically all lds members taking the survey should answer virtually the same thing for most of the questions (excluding the demographic questions). From the questions I read the only reason I can see for this survey is to study the consistency of belief across the lds religion.

We fail because "pull of the flesh" is strong. We believe that before we were born we did not have a mortal body. Now here on earth we experience lust (oooo la la), fatigue (I know i should go help my neighbor but I'm so dang tired), envy (I want what he has but I don't want to work as hard). The list can go on and on. Almost all addictions are pulls of the flesh. Overcoming weakness is only part of the way to overcome this pull. Lack of RELIANCE upon and GRATITUDE for the Savior's sacrifice also contributes to our inability to be righteous and avoid sin.

Usually in Sunday School I get a lot of stories that are pull on the heart strings but not many thought-out ideas. Most of my intellectual conversation I get from doctrinal classes at school, friends, or forums like these.

well that's the Great thing about LDS.Net is that you can raise issues like this in a less formal atmosphere than your gospel doctrine class. And no this statement is not meant to mean "childish or immature" but rather it is meant to mean "surface-level thinking". I mean to ignite conversation and points that aren't usually talked about that would be beneficial both in understanding for one's self and also for debate or discussion with non members who might ask questions like this. Those who go to church for many years or who have grown up in the church always hear similar talks on fasting again and again. I am trying to incite conversation in a way that you may or may not have thought about before.

Now.... How does "Denial of the physical enhances our ability to sense the spiritual?"

I would like to start a discussion on fasting. One that will enlighten us more then just the standard sunday school understanding of the subject. The standard understanding of fasting is thus: Fasting brings us closer to GodFasting teaches us self masteryFasting is a sacrifice and brings forth blessingsSome questions that I would like to hear thoughts on. How does fasting bring you closer to God?If Fasting is a sacrifice of bodily discomfort than why dont we participate in inflicting pain upon oneself as a form of sacrifice? (Think of the monk on Divinci Code)Why do the prophets put such an emphasis on fasting?I would welcome any thoughts or other questions that you all might have.

Just for the record if you disagree with me that is really good because it helps us fine tune our arguments and learn from each other. Your concerns are quite valid. When I was in the mission field I would see people in other churches convulsing and foaming at the mouth while they were overcome with the "holy spirit". When I would ask them how they new it was the holy spirit and not the spirit of the devil they would describe to me wonderful feelings of love, peace, and warmth. So I would say that it is very difficult distinguish the correct from the incorrect in some cases. However there are a few rules of thumb. 1. Seek the gift of discernment. 2. Satan does not have a body, therefore a body rules out satanic angels 3. Satan cannot imitate the sign of the dove 4. Often times the spirit confirms only after logical analysis See D&C 9:89 - a note on number 4. Here we see that a feeling alone should not be enough but that analysis, study, pondering, etc should be used here, then in humility one should ask. Sole emotion is unwise and not of god. 5. Look at God's past dealings with man and it should be similar today as it was back then