HEthePrimate

Radical idea: We could call ourselves Christians. I have to agree. People have heard of Mormons, and are curious about us. Even if you don't lead with the official name of the Church, you can continue the conversation and explain that we believe in Christ, etc.

:lol:

Not having access to the case's evidence, I can't say whether or not Knox is guilty. I'll just trust the appeals court, and say that I'm glad for her. The last four years must have been a nightmare!

All I can say is that Americans, and Westerners in general, don't look very lean to me!

Thank you, Dravin. I was not aware of that (obviously! ).

Thank you, Suzie. I was very saddened when the Provo Tabernacle burned, both because it's a historical building, but also because of the fond memories I have of attending various concerts there, like the Adventsingen. And I loved that old pipe organ, too. (Phooey on those electronic "things" (as my mother calls them) they put in most all of the newer buildings!)

As far as I can tell, no governing business at all is conducted during the General Priesthood Meeting. The GAs lead the Church as a whole, and even though many people in attendance are local leaders, their governing actions are done in local meetings. I think the purpose of the General Priesthood Meeting is instruction in things pertaining to the priesthood. Why it's not broadcast live on TV or via the Internet, given that it'll be available to everybody within the week, I don't know. For that matter, I don't know why the General Relief Society Meeting isn't broadcast live, either. Maybe the content is not secret, but they just like having special events for the women and men separately. There's something to be said for that--attending a meeting in person does make for a certain ambiance, and provides a different experience than watching it on a screen. (shrug)

zone, My advice to you is "just show up." (Next week, of course, after Conference is over! ) Participate as much or as little as you feel comfortable doing. If you want to talk to the bishop, I'm sure he'll be happy to talk to you. If you're not ready for that, don't do it. Don't worry about your past or your worthiness--people will just be happy that you're there. Peace. :) HEP

I don't think "take it or leave it" was the attitude God had when presenting his plan. The very fact that we (God and all his children) were counseling together and discussing the plan tells us something about how God operates, that he does not employ a "take it or leave it" leadership style.

Where's the "Laugh" button when I need it?

Unfortunately, there has been some anti-Catholic sentiment among the LDS over the years. Thankfully, I think that has eased up more recently, and I hope you feel welcome here.

I had not heard that about the Rome temple, but if it's true, it's perfectly all right with me. I am LDS, and as such I am also a Christian, and the Cross is an important Christian symbol.BTW, the Cross was in fact used by early Mormons. LDS aversion to this symbol is a more recent development. Check it out: Mormons and the cross - Salt Lake Tribune

I'm glad about the temple in France. I served my mission there, and am happy for the French members of the Church. Their numbers are small (or at least, they were when I was there), but they are very faithful and very patient, and I'm sure they're delighted to at last be getting a temple. :)

Yeah, I missed your edit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against building another temple in Provo. It's just that I would prefer they build another temple from scratch, rather than converting the Tabernacle.Vort, you may pooh pooh the importance of community events formerly held in the Tabernacle, but I honestly believe that such events are important. "No man is an island," and all that--we are not exalted alone, but as a community, and community isn't build on religious ordinances alone.

Yeah, whatever.It used to be a beautiful forum for public, community-oriented events. Now the community as a whole will be shut out for good, and it will be used only by temple recommend-holding Mormons. Now, I am a temple-recommend holding Mormon, and so I could go in, but I think it's rather sad to see the building repurposed in such a way that the public will no longer be able to use it. Call me crazy, but that's the way I see it.

I've got mixed feelings. On the one hand, I'm really glad the building will be restored. On the other hand, I'd prefer it be restored as a tabernacle, that the whole community can use, rather than as a temple, which will be closed to most people. Really, does Provo need another temple? Why does it have to be a temple in order to be considered worthy of restoration?

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you (I've been busy, busy, busy!). You're right, Pam, I did miss that. Je te prie de m'excuser!

Um, aren't we forgetting that the entire proceedings of the priesthood session are published, for the whole world to see, the following month? I've got the video of Elder Snow's talk from last April's priesthood session playing right now... o_OBelieve me, nothing so sacred that it has to be kept secret is going on in the priesthood session (I've attended them for so many years I oughta know! ). I mean for heaven's sake, twelve-year-old boys attend these meetings.

I leave the LDS Church at least once a week. Then I go home, have dinner, sleep, and go to work the next day. Next time we have church meetings, they seem happy to have me back. They don't even ask for an explanation! Just having a little fun with you. Seriously, unless a person commits a major transgression or asks to have her name removed, they will simply be considered inactive if they stop attending church. Peace, HEP

RipplecutBuddha, you may have missed that Blocky was speaking tongue in cheek.

Apparently God did not approve of Rick Perry's rally : http://http://www.theonion.com/articles/god-urges-rick-perry-not-to-run-for-president,20981/

I think that's important. Yes, there is reason for concern about the economy, but it really doesn't help when people panic. That only makes things worse, sometimes a lot worse, than they really need to be. Last Thursday my coworker decided to give a speech about how terrible the economy is, and he said "I don't think people understand how scary the situation really is." I didn't want to upset him, so I didn't say this out loud, but I was thinking to myself, "Actually, I think people are already plenty scared. Look at what's happening in the stock market. That's because they're scared. Freaking them out even more isn't going to help."

Do you suppose they would consider Mormons to be Christian enough to participate in this rally for "Christian unity?" Perry prayer rally puts 2012 prospect in spotlight - Yahoo! News Maybe they are that open minded, but I'm just curious.

Maybe instead of having a spoken prayer, they could put up a string of prayer flags. Except rather than the whole string being Tibetan Buddhist, each different faith could have its own flag (a Mormon flag, a Catholic flag, a Buddhist flag, a Muslim flag, etc.). That way, everybody's prayers could fly on the wind together, rather than compete with each other! http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_flags

I agree with what you say, Rescue Mom.Two questions I have: 1. Is Elder Oaks' statement that "the guarantee of free exercise of religion is weakening in its effects and in public esteem" in fact true? I know that (religious) people are always saying that, but where's the evidence? Examples? 2. If this weakening is actually happening, is it in fact "attributable to the ascendancy of moral relativism"? It seems to me that moral relativism would allow for religious people to practice their own religions and morals, as long as they allowed them to do the same. Is not the rise of religious fundamentalism actually a greater threat to religious liberty? What I'm referring to is fundamentalist groups such as the Westboro Baptist Church or extreme Islamists trying to force their views on others. If we look at the history of the American colonies before the Revolution, we see a good amount of persecution being carried out by religious groups against people who believed differently, which is why separation of church and state was so important to the Founders, who wanted the persecutions to stop. HEP