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

Its all about the REFERRALS Qtpie In missionary work the best baptisms are referrals and the best guys you will most likely find by getting referrals from people that have similar traits that you are looking for in a guy. Also pray that you will find that type of guy, tell God that it is in his hands and that you want him to direct you to a worthy man and to direct a worthy man to you. You should tell him that you trust his judgement. Dont try to force anything, if you do this with complete trust and reliance on the Lord he will literally be given to you on a silver platter.

Well this question of "is it right" is completly opinionated, hence the "in your opinion that follows the question, and in the final analysis does not matter. It will not matter what your or my opinions are. The only opinion that matters in the end is God's, and he will judge us riteously, all we can do is learn the best we can what he expects and if we messed up in the past then repent. This is not a democracy haha : ) However if you were asking "Does he punish those that were deceived and made a choice contrary to their real nature?" Then I really dont know if there is a solid way to answer that. But you might want to consider that punishment might come as way of prodding to get us on the right path again "See Alma 32:16"

So at BYU there was a lecture series on the savior during an exhibit they had. In the lecture series one of the scholars of scripture said that the original hebrew used a word similar to touch but that in actuality the true hebrew word really meant "to cling unto" or "to hold steadfastly". The scholar then says that it might be suggested that Jesus was telling marry to let go of him rather then to not touch him at all.

I would have to say that the key word in your sentance is "imitate" which means to mimic or to impersonate. (false prophets or actually false anything is an example) In that sense that is exactly what I am saying. As far as discernment is concerned this could be defined as the ability to percieve the reality of something or to see, recognize, or apprehend. We know that in our time Satan, whether personally or vicariously through someone else will decieve (perhaps by trickery, or even IMITATION) even the very elect of god See Joseph Smith Mathey verse 22. Let me liken this the creation or imitation of "any and all feelings" to a more practical and modern example. It is pretty easy for a person to imitate any feeling. Just take a gander inside your local Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. Just about any emotion can be artificially created in movies through actors. Satan is the GREAT actor and has been doing what he does for a long time. If he were not able to imitate feelings then he wouldn't be a very good devil or deciever would he? Scriptural example of mimicing or decieving. He became Satan, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, Moses 4: 4 Scriptural example of discernment. The wise have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived, D&C 45: 57.

Don't look to your new love as an escape or a an excuse to get a divorce. We men crave variety so dont let that blind you. Dont get caught up in the thrill of the hunt.

I completely DISAGREE with all the prior posts that say things like "Satan has no power, except what we give him by choosing to follow his whisperings." and "Satan has but a single power: temptation" Satan does have a specific measure powers allotted to him. He was one of the high angels in the pre earth life and when asked by Adam what he was wearing he says that what he wears is symbol of his power and priesthood. He also overcame Joseph smith prior to the first vision. Also Revelation 13:7 reads And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Also he CAN imitate love and peace. He can appear as an angel. He uses cunning and smooth ways to tempt us, sometimes justifying with us or making us feel as though we deserve something which is an imitation of love and care over us. Thus he is the great deceiver, tricking us to think what we might perceive is love is actually not. So although it is not specifically known what the extent of his powers are, there is evidence to support that it is more than just "temptation" or "influence" Now the scriptures tell us to seek the gift of discernment, this is one tool we could use to "discern" between devils and angels. Also keep in mind that satan's followers have not flesh and blood therefore any physical being would be from God.

How would you fundamentally change the approach to missionary work? Answer My first obvious response is that there is very little missionary work among the general populous of the church. That is where we will double baptisms is there, so a new question of how to increase missionary work among members? should be the next question you should ask. Number 2 is for missionaries, they need to understand that its not about the quotas but about humbly seeking the lords assistance in finding those ready for baptism. Often times mission presidents preach hellfire and brimstone for quotas, missionaries are not going to have the spirit if they are continually strung up more then they already are. How would you specifically use the Internet, media and other new tools? Just dont make things out to look to much like Hollywood productions or make ads that look like you are trying to sell them something. Those usually turn people off.

I agree with the quote above, there are a few things that prophets some times say that was not preceded with "THUS SAITH THE LORD", and I sometimes believe that it was the prophet's opinion rather than doctrine (although a prophet's opinion often carries a lot of weight). None the less it still just might have been opinion. On the other hand another idea that we are memeber of the LDS church believe is that living revelation is for the current time period and it could be that during Brigham Young's time it was required to enter into polygamy as the lord was trying to "raise up seed unto [himself]" See Jacob 2:30 and for those saints in that time period it was required to do so in order to increase the birth rate and raise up a righteous posterity all within the covenant of the Lord. Just a few ideas. Pick them apart if you disagree.

You should absolutely go see your bishop even if you are not required to by the laws of repentance. The actual act of going to him is "fruits" of a repentant soul. This will require humility, submissiveness, and a desire to fix a prospective problem; all signs of one who is seeking and recognizing the power of the atonement. This case involves powerful emotions for each other. Even if the the Lord doesn't require that you see your bishop for this type of sin, you still SHOULD go see him. THIS SIN MERITS A MEDIATOR TO HELP YOU PURGE THE SIN FROM YOUR LIFE AND IT ALSO GIVES SOMEONE IN YOUR LIFE TO WHOM YOU NEED TO REPORT PROGRESS TO. The most important thing in this earthly life is your family, and you are jeopardizing it's life. That merits a bishops interview. You should also find out what in your own marriage is lacking and making you want to run to the arms of someone else. Perhaps it's only sexual desire but I think there is a bigger problem here than just the "single case of infidelity". I don't know you or your situation this is just speculation.